This is an incredibly well-written historical fiction novel about Catherine the First of Russia, formerly Marta Helena Skowrońska, and how she came to be Tsarina. She was overshadowed by Catherine the Great and other women in Russian history but her story is just as important. Yes, it is long but it is also worth it.

A captivating and vivid portrayal of the life of Catherine I. As I'm more familiar with Catherine the Great, I enjoyed getting to know this earlier Catherine and her fascinating (at times difficult to read) experiences. I see historical fiction fans getting lost within these well-crafted pages.

Read if you: Enjoy juicy, occasionally bawdy, and passionate historical fiction.

Although this took me a bit to get into, I was hooked several chapters into the book. This epic story of Catherine I is sensational, gripping, heartbreaking, and startingly violent.

Note: There are several instances of rape and one brief description of incest. Also descriptions of violent torture and death.

Librarians/booksellers: Russian historical fiction is usually a good bet; this is a compelling read.

Many thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for a digital review copy in exchange for an honest review.

A gripping novel about Peter the Great's second wife--Catherine! Her journey from poverty to power! It kept me enthralled and I didn't want to put it down. Loved the details about the Winter Palace, her jewelry, and so much more.

I liked this book because of the authors descriptive sentences. I also liked the storyline taking place in Russia in the 1970’s. Be prepared for a little sexual content. Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. #netgalley #tsarina

It's 1725 and her husband is dead. Peter had been a great ruler of Russia. Evrookia had been banished to a convent with her tongue cut out. The future of Russia is placed in the hands of Tsarina. I wasn't interested although I love historical books.

I received an advance reading copy (ARC) of this book from NetGalley.com in return for a fair review. I was very interested in reading about Russian history, but I found this book a bit disturbing. Tsar Peter and his wife (crowned Catherine) were not in the least likable. They were self-absorbed rulers who treated their subjects with extreme cruelty. The story was told in the first person by Catherine, but surely I could have done without the vivid descriptions of torture and murder. I was particularly disappointed in Catherine as she came from a very poor family. I thought she would have more empathy than she did. She pretty much slept her way into Tsar Peter's good graces and he ultimately married her. She had baby after baby hoping for a boy to take over the realm (and assure her position), but lost most of her children--only a few girls survived. Any woman whom the Tsar dallied with was a threat and Catherine took no mercy on them. The tables were turned when she had an affair and Tsar Peter murdered and mercilessly tortured her lover. She was next in line to be punished when her husband died without finishing the job. I found no redeeming qualities in either the Tsar or his wife, but felt very sorry for anyone in their entourage who displeased them, as well as the Russian people who suffered at their hands.

Born into poverty, one woman would rise from peasant to TSARINA and would hold the key to forever changing the landscape of Imperial Russia. Enter Ellen Alpsten’s world of eighteenth century Russia as war, political machinations, loyalty and the power of love and lust turn a pauper into an ambitious dynamo who will stop at nothing to achieve her goals.

Brilliant, richly detailed and atmospheric, this is a raw Cinderella story with grit. Spanning decades, we witness a young woman’s rise from washerwoman to consort to Peter the Great, sharing in the excesses of the times as Fate and Opportunity conspire to create a powerful personality for an era in upheaval.

Ellen Alpsten has done a remarkable job of bringing her characters and their actions to life, from drunken debauchery to lavish feasts to the brazen audacity of desiring to hold the power of life and death over a nation.

Entertaining, mesmerizing and thought-provoking, this tale of history fairly leaps off the pages as the drama builds and redoubles itself.

I received a complimentary ARC edition from St. Martin's Press! This is my honest and voluntary review.

Fantastic read! There are many books out there about Tsar Peter the Great and his Tsarina Catherine. This was so well written. Yes, there are a few writers liberties, but over all very factual of that time period. I have been to St. Petersburg and the city is breathtaking, but I now will see it through different eyes. There is a comment about it being built on bones and I now understand why. This is Catherine story, her climb up the ladder to become Tsarina. Her joys, her heartbreaks and a good insight in Court life in Russia. A must read for history buffs.

A wonderful work of historical fiction. Beautiful writing, amd I was so enthralled I couldn't put this down!

I did not like this book unfortunately. It was a long, long story and could not quite keep my interest.
I really wanted to like it and give out rave reviews about it but that wouldn't be me. It breaks my heart to say it wasn't a gripping one this time for me.

Thankyou NetGalley and the publishers for giving me an e ARC in exchange of an honest review.

I enjoyed Tsarina and would love to read more by Ellen Alpsten in the future. I give this one four and a half stars.

Wow, what a life this woman had! Tsarina tells the story of Marta, a peasant girl, who rises to become wife of Peter the Great, and then Tsarina Catherine, Empress of All Russia. I knew nothing about Catherine I, and very little about Peter the Great, so I learned a lot about both. This is historical fiction, but even if you look past the flash of the imagined dialogue to just the outline and actual events, her life was nothing but remarkable. This novel also shows the brutality of Russian life, both for the peasant and at Court - lots of rape, general debauchery, and internal intrigue. This is a re-issue of the novel, I'm so glad I caught it this time around. I thoroughly enjoyed this look at Russian history, even more than I expected. Many thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the e-arc. Solid 4 stars!

I love Russian history and became interested in the “other” Catherine after a trip to St. Petersburg. I found this book very interesting and the fictionalization of her life felt fairly realistic. It did take me a long time to read but I would recommend to anyone interested in that time period or Russian history.

This book took a while to finish. Excellent description of the time period. As much as I enjoyed this book, it was awfully long. I got tired of reading it. Lots of characters but not difficult to keep straight. Nice slice of history.

The story of the empress of Russia Catherine I, great love and wife of Peter the Great is mesmerizing. Well documented, written with style and panache, the life of the adventurous, dangerous, exciting, ambitious Marta, crowned by her beloved husband, the tall and powerful tsar with whom she will have twelve children is fascinating. Every page taught me something about Russia and its beauty, the cruelty of the wars, the fragility of life, the luxury of the court and the political manipulations surrounding the tsar. One had to be strong to survive. Catherine I was an extraordinary woman with a fabulous destiny which we are lucky to share thanks to this wonderful novel.

Game of Thrones has nothing on Tsarina by Ellen Alpsten. This gripping story told in the first person of Catherine Alexeyena has to be historical fiction because you can't make a story like this up. The act of preserving herself from attack leads Matka (her name before Peter the Great changed it) to being sold by her parents and the church to servitude to queen. As a strong woman and a survivor, Catherine is like a phoenix that becomes a cat with nine lives. Her story is barbarous from war, to court life, torture and sex scenes (consensual and rape) but I have to believe this was life during that time period. Catherine's cool head and calculations kept her in the king's circle and she triumphed in the end. She was an exceptional woman and this is an exceptional book.
Thank you Ellen Alpsten and Macmillan for the ARC through NetGalley. I can't wait for Ms. Alpsten's next book!

Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres, and it was very interesting learning about this time in Russian history. Catherine was certainly an amazing woman--resilient, compassionate (for the times) and smart (despite not being able to read). I guess she would have also been considered a very strong woman back then, but it was frustrating to read about how subservient she still was to her husband, the Tsar.

As a matter of fact, it was difficult to read about all the decadence and cruelty of life back then. I found the graphic sex scenes unnecessary. The torture scenes, while probably accurately portrayed, seemed a bit gratuitous in their gruesome detail. (Trying to keep up with Game of Thrones?) The people back then were cruel, crass, and disrespectful (especially how they treated women, servants, dwarves, and animals, as well as how they destroyed property) at times, and at other times extremely loyal and generous. It was a different time, and the author portrays the contradictions of the period well, showing love or humanity of a character just when you want to scream at how horrible everyone was!

I thought the book was longer than it needed to be. Besides Catherine's story (which started to drag for a bit after her relationship with Peter was established), I was most interested in learning about Peter the Great, the construction of his palace at St. Petersburg, and, although heartbreaking, his relationship with his son Alexey.

My biggest complaint is the Prologue. I came back to it after reading the end of the book, and it made so much more sense. There is so much in the prologue that is alluded to, but it all goes over your head in the beginning because you have no idea of the events that are referred to. I realize it is a stylistic thing, but I don't want to have to re-read an entire section after reading 465 pages. I think this is a book that would've been just fine being presented chronologically.

I try to give every book I am reading a fair shot especially if it’s historical in any way and I know enough about the time period and place already. Though I do tend to judge somewhat more stringently when it’s a book with not new information. At any rate, overall I enjoyed the book very much. Being from Ukraine and a native Russian speaker, I value good research about my home country, and this was very present in the writer’s work. Correct Russian words and phrases were used throughout the novel, and used well. The historical background was very well established and while a few moments of the book read too much like Wikipedia gossip postings, the history well represented. The writing and the characters felt real and relatable, or in case of Peter The Great, despicable. Sure, there were a few overly gratuitous sexual descriptions that made me think of romance novels, and I don’t think those are truly necessary but they didn’t cheapen the book, and I felt that my time was well spent with Marta.

I was very interested in the history of Russia. This novel features more of the sex and mayhem of life at court. A fast read but not quite what I was looking for.

Copy provided by the publisher and NetGalley