This historical fiction tells the intertwining stories of three strong women caught up in the turbulent times leading up to World War I and after. American Eliza and Russian Sofya are close friends and love traveling together. When WWI breaks out, Eliza retreats to her home in New York, while Sofya returns to her estate in rural Russia. Both women are very wealthy, so the character Varinka and her lifestyle are quite a contrast. Varinka is hired to care for Sofya's young child and establishes a close bond with him. As cousins to the Romanovs, Sofya and her family are put under house arrest and worse, while Eliza is in New York trying to assist white Russian refugees. Varinka basically kidnaps Sofya's son, and Paris becomes the place where they all end up after much hardship. This novel is based on the true story of Eliza and her family, and paints a vivid, suspenseful portrait of lives that are both opposite and parallel. As a prequel to The Lilac Girls, Lost Roses stands alone very well.

Lost Roses is the prequel to Kelly’s fascinating and successful Lilac Girls. Although there’s an interesting story buried in its pages, it seemed less significant and more forced, perhaps to highlight the parallel roles of Eliza and Caroline in their two stories. Unfortunately, their stories are not of significant importance. Eliza really plays only a minor role in this story and by making her the central character of the book Kelly seems to have opted for emphasizing Caroline’s family’s story over the much more serious story that seems to take a back seat here.

Our community is very familiar with Martha Hall Kelly after the release of Lilac Girls and now here is a new historical fiction novel based on Caroline from Lilac Girls' mother Eliza. Eliza travels with Sofya who is a cousin of the infamous Romanov family. The adventures Eliza and Sofya get themselves into including meeting Varinka who later becomes their friend regardless of her dangerous past and the value she brings to seeing their future. Fans of Lilac Girls are sure to enjoy this novel and get the same satisfaction.

Thank you Netgalley and Ballantine Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. This will definitely be considered for our historical fiction section at our library. That is why we give this book 5 stars.

Inspired by a real woman and actual historical events, Hall’s latest takes readers to World War I Russia and the last days of the Romanov dynasty. American Eliza Ferriday isn’t bothered by the rumors of war and in 1914, joins a friend, Sofya (cousin to the Romanovs) in Russia where the two enjoy the art and architecture of St. Petersburg. Then tensions boil over, on a global scale and within Russia, as revolution sweeps the nation. Eliza escapes back to America and tries to do her best to aid the “White Russians” who are under imminent threat of death. When letters from Sofya stop arriving, Eliza fears the worst. So often when we think of war or catastrophe, we see things in black and white, and think in terms of number of people killed. Those numbers are always so staggering, we cannot comprehend it and lose sight of the real people who lived, loved, fought and died during those terrible times. Hall brings their stories to life and reminds us we can never forget