Unfortunately I was never able to download this title.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Canongate/Severn for this missed opportunity 😭😭

Charles Belfoure looks at the end of the Russian empire with a friend of the Emperor involved with those who want bring better government to Russia in The Faberge Secret. The warm family life of the imperial family is contrasted with the indulgent and corrupt life of the rich and noble and the suppressed and dangerous life of everyone else.

I am way behind on my posts! I apologize. I’ll try to get caught up over the next week or so. Always wanting to learn more about history, I thought this would enlighten me more about Russia and this time period. I felt it was an interesting book with an interesting story, but I kept wanting more. I felt there could have been more depth provided for the storyline and characters. It did provide a little intrigue in the hiding of information in the eggs and wondering if the people would get caught. At times I also felt like the author was also just trying to throw in information just for information sake, like the comments about Tchaikovsky that also didn’t add as much depth as they could have. I listened to the audiobook version which was narrated well. Overall, I’d still recommend the book for historical fiction lovers, I just felt it could have been so much better.

Although I liked Dmitri and Katya and Belfoure's writing, I found this difficult to get into. It was just too violent and the idea that Ministers in the government actually planned progroms seemed far-fetched. It is a pity because I like the Imperial Russian setting and I usually like historical novels like this. However, I will try his other books.

I received this free ebook from NetGalley in return for an honest review.

A member of the Imperial Court of Russia is exposed to the brutality the Russian government inflicts upon Jews, and suffers disbelief that the man he loves like a brother, the Czar of all the Russias, is not only aware of the violence, but condones it. Well written, well researched, fascinating read for all of us who are interested in Russian history.

As a fan of historical fiction, I was eager to read/listen to a novel set in Russia during the Revolution. The narrator did an excellent job with pacing, keeping me engaged, and mimicking the accents of the characters without going over the top. The writing was disappointing, though, so much so, that I almost stopped about halfway through. The author was so busy describing what people were wearing that the plot suffered. There were also issues with authenticity. For example, “To hell and a handbasket” was a phrase used during the American Civil War and would not have been said in turn-of-the-century Russia. A good editor should have caught those missteps. Based on the synopsis, I expected more intrigue ̶ the Faberge eggs had very few secrets–and less about how the eggs looked.

The Faberge Secret takes us into the heart of St. Petersburg during the revolution. Dmitri is a Russian prince who becomes captivated with doctor Katya as the world around them erupts in discord caused by a pogrom against Jews. I love how Belfoure seamlessly blends historical facts with suspense to create an intense and entertaining work of historical fiction. This will be a good pick for book clubs.

I’ve read quite a bit about the end of Tsarist Russia, so the premise of The Faberge Secret excited me.

Unfortunately, the historical time period didn’t come to life for me. The narratorial view of the tsar felt too western to fit a Russian like Dimitri; for me, it felt like the narratorial voice was too aware of itself to really work. That’s one of those things that’s subjective and almost impossible to explain: a gut-feeling, not a head-analysis. If you asked me to explain why the voice felt western rather than Russian, and “too aware of itself”, I don’t think I could do it. But that gut-feeling remained throughout my reading of the book.

All the descriptions are well-written: dresses, jewels, the Faberge eggs, and, of course, architecture are all shows in great detail. But the book describes these things repeatedly, even when they aren’t of any real significance to the story. The repeated descriptions feel excessive. After a while, I skimmed them. (That’s a shame, I know. I do wish Belfoure–and other writers, myself included!–would learn to dwell on the descriptive details in proportion to their importance in the story.)

As well, there are many times when the execution of the writing felt weak. The dialogue and general conveying of information is too overt, often spelling out the obvious. As in, one character tells another character something that they both already know just so the reader will understand. Or, certain details scream, “Look, a clue!” to anyone who reads in this genre.

The plot didn’t quite hang together for me, either. Things happen with little regard for cause and effect, as characters accidentally discover important information. It often feels that characters go to particular places not to further the story, but as an excuse to describe setting and more architecture. The ending didn’t feel properly set up; it felt rushed and unbelievable.

Despite the author’s attempts to develop the characters, they often feel two-dimensional. Katya is determined and passionate. But she never stands out as being different from other strong females in current historical fiction. Lara (Dimitri’s wife) is selfish and vain. (The book hints that she had been an intelligent, interesting person at the beginning of their marriage. Yet the book never tells us why and how she devolved into the gossipy, superficial court lady of this story. This was a missed opportunity to deepen her character and Belfoure doesn’t resolve this loose thread.) And so on.

All of this is unfortunate, because I truly love well-crafted historical fiction.

There are a lot of terrific historical details in The Faberge Secret, though. Belfoure has done his research. While the execution of the writing is often weak, he does try to show the Russian aristocracy of that time period. Their avid appetite for gossip. The petty cruelties. The exploitation of those in service to them. The empty talk and dismissal of what is truly important. For example, there’s an interesting tidbit about how on certain estates, footmen must carry the mistress up and down the staircase! (In contrast, Dimitri manages to install a small elevator in one home he designs. I imagine the footmen of that estate is quite grateful.)

On the positive side, the portrayal of the pogroms against the Jewish people are well-done. Sadly, the suffering he portrays is historically accurate. At various times, the Russian people, prompted by anti-Semitic propaganda, mercilessly attacked, raped, and killed their Jewish neighbors. Authorities did little (nothing) to stop these attacks, often blaming the Jews themselves. Dimitri accompanies Katya as she tends to the wounded and dying in the aftermath of one particular attack. His reaction to the people’s suffering is genuinely moving. I read parts of these scenes with tears in my eyes.

Scenes like those show that Belfoure is capable of writing a strong story. The Faberge Secret has a great premise. But it sometimes felt like a draft, as if the book needed more time to be developed into a vivid, passionate, and compelling story. I wonder if he’s being rushed in writing and publishing his work. If so, that’s a shame.

After reading two of Belfoure’s novels, I think he isn’t the author for me. (When I requested The Faberge Secret, I’d forgotten that I’d read and reviewed The Fallen Architect and felt disappointed in it, too.) Considering the Belfoure is a bestselling author, many other readers will disagree with my assessment of his work.

Some may not have read very much about Russia during this time period. For them, it may be enlightening to see the factors contributing to the fall of the Russian monarchy. Those are interesting. Given the importance of the Russian revolution, it’s important to know the reasons behind it. If you’re already well-informed on both the revolution and the Jewish persecution in Russia, the book probably won’t add much to your knowledge.

If you’re already a fan of Belfoure’s work, then The Faberge Secret might be a terrific book for you.

I also recommend the book for those want to learn more about the end of the Russian monarchy and/or the pogroms against the Jews. Also, if you absolutely love architecture, this book contains many elaborate descriptions of the Russian architecture of that period.

I was received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions are my own.

Note: this will appear on my blog on January 18, 2021.

I read Charles Belfoure's first novel and loved it. I read his second novel and thought it was okay. I skipped his third novel because I thought it was too similar to his previous ones. When I saw that he transferred his focus to Imperial Russia, I knew I had to read The Fabergé Secret. Except, now I wish I had avoided it.

Simply, The Fabergé Secret is not good. The first thing that strikes you is the writing. Not only is it pedantic, but it is also incredibly childish. His descriptions are clinical, while any dialogue transitions ruin any narrative flow.

To make matters worse, it feels as if Mr. Belfoure cannot make up his mind just who the bad guys are in his novel. He tends to fawn over the wealth and pomp of the Imperial Court, but then two paragraphs later will rant about how mindless and shallow it all is. He tries to garner sympathy for the Tsar and his family but then condemns them for their ignorance regarding the plight of the poor and the Jews.

To that extent, it is difficult to define what type of novel Mr. Belfoure means The Fabergé Secret to be. The story shifts from Marxist revolutionaries to the Jews to the royals to one member of the elite opening his eyes and learning about all of it. Except, we switch so often to other points of view that it seems that Dmitri's growing social justice awareness becomes less the main plot and more of a subsidiary one.

The Fabergé Secret feels, to me, like one long, drawn-out lecture by a professor who feels his own superiority to everyone else in the room. Except in this instance, the professor does not have a clear agenda for his lecture and rambles about whatever topic strikes his fancy. His connections between the Russian Jews, Marxist revolutionaries, the Russian elite, and the last Russian Tsar make sense on the surface but lose coherency upon reflection. Combine that with the extremely basic writing style and you have a novel best avoided. There are plenty of other novels that explore the end of the Russian monarchy, the Jewish plight in Russia, and the Marxist revolution and do so with much more clarity, cohesion, and better writing.

I read Charles Belfoure’s previous novel, The Paris Architect and absolutely loved it so I was excited to see that he has a new book out, The Faberge Secret.
There are similarities in the two books in that they both have architecture as a theme and they are both historical novels.
In this book Prince Dimitri Markhov is a Russian aristocrat who is also a practicing architect in Imperial Russia, a great friend of Tsar Nicholas II and his wife Alexandra. He is married to the beautiful Lara but it is a loveless marriage and both have numerous affairs. However although life for aristocrats in Imperial Russia is fabulous with a round of parties and balls, the day to day existence of the peasants and the Jewish population is not great with poverty and pogroms which seem to be countenanced by the Tsar.
When Dimitri meets female Doctor, Katya, his eyes are opened to the inequalities and he begins to take part in a peaceful revolutionary movement.
I loved this story, particularly as I had visited Russia and seen many of the wonderful St Petersburg sights and subsequently developed an interest in the history of the Romanovs. Nicholas, Alexandra and their family were portrayed in a positive light although Nicholas’s inability to see the poverty and inequality of the Russia he is ruling was emphasised. The irony of his situation is that he is viewed as a god by the majority of his subjects but there there are also those that want him dead and try to assassinate him several times in order to start a revolution.
This book has everything, history, espionage and romance and it appears to be very well researched. I certainly increased my knowledge of Imperial Russia at the turn of the twentieth century after reading it and googled some of the characters and events to learn more. I was disappointed to find out that the dashing Dimitri was merely a fictional character!
One of my favourite parts was the description of the Faberge eggs in the royal palace which really made the story come alive. Each egg had a story, so to speak, gifted to the Tsarina every Easter by her husband, Nicholas. I am in a fortunate position that I have visited the Faberge exhibition in St Petersburg and it was lovely to be reminded of these beautiful objects which were also very cleverly constructed with hidden surprises inside.
This was a thoroughly enjoyable read and will appeal to readers who enjoy well researched historical fiction. It made a change to read a book focused on this period in history and I highly recommend.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for my arc in exchange for an honest review.

It's the first book I read by this author and I'm a bit on the fence because I found it interesting but very slow.
The historical background is well researched and vivid, the characters are fleshed but the I struggled a bit with the plot.
Not my cup of tea.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

While fabulously painted, this book was slow going. I enjoyed the start of the book picturing the lavish lifestyles of the royals in Russia circa 1903. But I felt like this book didn’t know if it wanted to be a romance or historical fiction. There just wasn’t enough happening to keep my attention. Speaking of attention, I love the cover of this book and I loved the beautiful descriptions of the Fabergé eggs in the novel.

I would recommend this book for those who like to slowly enjoy the view, with books such as “All the Light We Cannot See”.

- The blurb from the publisher, as they do it best -

New York Times bestselling author Charles Belfoure takes readers on a breathless journey from the gilded ballrooms of Imperial Russia to the grim violence of the pogroms, in his latest thrilling historical adventure.

St Petersburg, 1903. Prince Dimitri Markhov counts himself lucky to be a close friend of Tsar Nicholas II and Tsarina Alexandra. Cocooned by the glittering wealth of the Imperial court, the talented architect lives a life of luxury and comfort, by the side of his beautiful but spiteful wife, Princess Lara. But when Dimitri is confronted by the death and destruction wrought by a pogrom, he is taken aback. What did these people do to deserve such brutality? The tsar tells him the Jews themselves were to blame, but Dimitri can't forget what he's seen.

Educated and passionate, Doctor Katya Golitsyn is determined to help end Russian oppression. When she meets Dimitri at a royal ball, she immediately recognizes a kindred spirit, and an unlikely affair begins between them. As their relationship develops, Katya exposes Dimitri to the horrors of the Tsar's regime and the persecution of the Jewish people, and he grows determined to make a stand . . . whatever the cost.

Thank you to NetGalley & Severn House for an advance copy.
@bubblybookreviewer
#TheFabergéSecret #Severnhouse #NetGalley #BubblyBookReviewer

Note: Amazon review has been submitted.

It’s not just the British royal family that captures my interest. I also have a passing interest in Russian History and the Russian Revolution. So I was happy to pick up the historical fiction novel The Fabergé Secret from NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion. The book’s release date is January 5, 2021.

From the publisher: “St Petersburg, 1903. Prince Dimitri Markhov counts himself lucky to be a close friend of Tsar Nicholas II and Tsarina Alexandra. Cocooned by the glittering wealth of the Imperial court, the talented architect lives a life of luxury and comfort, by the side of his beautiful but spiteful wife, Princess Lara. But when Dimitri is confronted by the death and destruction wrought by a pogrom, he is taken aback. What did these people do to deserve such brutality? The tsar tells him the Jews themselves were to blame, but Dimitri can’t forget what he’s seen. Educated and passionate, Doctor Katya Golitsyn is determined to help end Russian oppression. When she meets Dimitri at a royal ball, she immediately recognizes a kindred spirit, and an unlikely affair begins between them. As their relationship develops, Katya exposes Dimitri to the horrors of the Tsar’s regime and the persecution of the Jewish people, and he grows determined to make a stand . . . whatever the cost.”

First, I appreciated the fact that the author explained what Russian or Jewish words or phrases meant. Seriously, that’s a big deal to me. So often I read books where another language is sprinkled in and there’s no translation, so I’m left to try and figure out what the phrases meant.

I immediately connected with Prince Dimitri, even though his life is so unlike my own. In a loveless marriage to the Imperial Court’s top gossip, they live in a world of opulence and discreet affairs. Dimitri is also Tsar Nicholas’ closest friend. Unlike most of the aristocracy, Prince Dimitri has a job as an architect. It is my understanding that the author is, too, and that is made clear by the detailed descriptions of structures Dimitri is working on.

Dimitri is still a royalist until he meets a young woman doctor, Katya, and witnesses the after effects of a pogrom where he sees Jewish people brutally beaten and killed, including young children. He begins to doubt Tsar Nicholas’ handling of the situation, and soon, the running of the country.

Katya is just the antidote Dimitri needs from his loveless marriage and meaningless affairs. He finds his soul mate, despite their different stations in life. Katya opens his eyes even further to the true poverty of the peasants in Russia, not just the splendor of the ruling class. Soon, the two start a discreet relationship and Dimitri attends meetings where talk of a non-violent, peaceful revolution against the Tsar is discussed. Dimitri mainly stays quiet at these meetings, but he’s always listening, and thinks he could slowly convince the Tsar that a constitutional monarchy is what the country needs.

The persecution of the Jews is described and the Tsar’s obvious hate for the people he thinks killed his grandfather with a bomb comes through. There are repeated scenes of the Russian army attacking the non-provoking Jews. Dimitri and Katya witness this and become even more committed to the cause of peaceful revolution. Dimitri’s attempts to convince the Tsar of loosening restrictions against the Jews or giving the peasants more freedoms go nowhere. Tsar Nicholas is obstinate on those two subjects.

So, you might be wondering what all of this has to do with Faberge. The Tsar’s household is filled with spies, who pass notes to each other in code by placing notes inside the famous Faberge eggs in the display room in the palace. The reader might be surprised to find out who or who isn’t a revolutionary spy.

I wasn’t sure how the book was going to end up, either with Dimitri being arrested and executed for treason, going into hiding and continuing his revolutionary aspirations in Russia, or escaping the country. The Fabergé Secret (Amazon) was a quick read, and had a satisfying conclusion. The only thing I wished for this ARC, as I wish all historical fiction to do, is have an Afterword, explaining what exactly was fact and what was the imagination of the author. I have only done a little reading about the Tsar and his family, so I do not know enough of Russia’s backstory to say whether everything described is true, although I do know that some of it is.

Charles Belfoure's "The Fabergé Secret"
⭐️⭐️/5
✈️to: Russia.
Quick Summary: Prince Dimitri Markhov, a close friend of the last Tsar, Nicholas, learns about the wrongs being done to the Jewish people in imperial Russia and must decide if he will take a moral stand.

Warning: DNF'd.

As a Russian studies major in college, I'm always excited to read some good Russian historical fiction... "The Fabergé Secret" was not that.

Much of the novel is set in St. Petersburg and yet the descriptions of the city -- whose beauty has been famously written about -- fall flat. Likewise, I couldn't of cared less about the characters. I understand that Belfoure was trying to point out that much of high society is vapid and shallow, but there wasn't a single character I felt positively about. Dimitri was so embarrassingly naive that I could barely stand to read his "realizations" about the treatment of the Jewish people. He's the close confident of the Tsar and he didn't know? I didn't believe it for a moment.

The only reason I even gave this two stars was because of the way the author weaves historical background into the narrative... and maybe for the cover.

I love Russian history and I was utterly bored reading this. The writing was overly simplistic and it read almost like historical fan-fiction. I made it a third of the way and then DNF'd it.

Thanks to NetGalley for a digital copy for an honest review.

This was my least favorite of the books by Belfoure. I expected to be entertained rather than preached to about atrocities in the last days of Tsarist Russia. There was an unexpected compassionate twist to end the novel.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I’ve read several books about the Romanovs, but never any outside the insular familial perspective, and while there was room for nuance about the divide between their lives and the suffering of the people in many of those, it was refreshing to pick up The Fabergré Secret, about an aristocrat who is exposed to the outside world and the suffering more directly, allowing him to ponder these ethical questions about whether Revolution is right.

The world around the characters is well researched and immersive, really capturing a snapshot of the lead-up to the Revolution in 1905 and the political issues at play at the time, from Nicholas’ inefficiency as a ruler to the rampant anti-Semitism endorsed by Nicholas and others in positions of power and influence. There is also a balance of compassion shown in Nicholas and Alexandra’s heartbreak in their quest to have an heir, ending with the birth of Alexei and his diagnosis of hemophilia, while also showing it as another point of weakness in the future for the Russian monarchy that would lead to their eventual downfall just over a decade later.

However, this book was more “high-concept, poor execution” for me, particularly in terms of the characters. I didn’t really connect with any of them. Dimitri, in spite of being the protagonist, wasn’t that compelling, even though I felt for him slightly as he found out his marriage was a sham. Katya is slightly more interesting, being an outsider who exposes him to the world and its imperfections, but she still did not compel me to feel overly drawn to her.

This is a fairly enjoyable book from a history perspective, even if it never really does much with its major characters to endear them to the reader. I do think Russian history buffs will enjoyed this story, especially as the 1905 revolution gets a lot less discussion than the later 1917 revolutions, and you can already see a lot of the symptoms that would eventually doom Nicholas and Alexandra at work here, with some good ethical questions being posed around the subject for its characters about loyalty vs. doing what is right.

With this second book that I've read written by Charles Belfoure, I am now convinced that he's not the writer for me. As in The Paris Architect, a self-absorbed man suddenly becomes a staunch defender of the oppressed. Belfoure, who is an architect himself, has a knack for choosing architecture and historic periods that fascinate me. In The Fabergé Secret, it's the reign of Nicholas II and Alexandra. This is a period in Russia filled with incredible beauty and indescribable brutality, and Belfoure does well in depicting the pogroms that were rife in the country at the time. But then... there's the rest of the story.

In reading The Fabergé Secret, it felt as though Belfoure fell so deeply in love with his setting that he forgot all about including any action or real movement in the plot until well past the halfway point in the book. I was left wondering if anything was ever going to happen. The author also felt comfortable in sacrificing well-known historical facts to his fictional tale.

At the end of the day, I found The Fabergé Secret to be a predictable, standard, historical romance laced with a bit of architecture. A pleasant diversion that could have been so much more.

I have always been interested in the Romanov family, and I really enjoyed reading about them in this book! I felt like Belfoure did an amazing job of drawing vivid images of the ridiculous wealth and opulence against the utter poverty of the rest of the country. I was really disappointed in the Romanov family. They focused so much on blaming the Jewish population for all of the problems. It was really sad to read about.

Overall, I thought this was a really interesting story. I did feel a bit overwhelmed with the number of characters introduced, but as the story progressed, I was able to get a good handle on who was who. This is a great read for people that enjoy Russian historical fiction.

I was provided a gifted copy of this book for free. I am leaving my review voluntarily.

In the early 1900s Russia’s aristocracy attended opulent balls and lived a life of luxury. Tsar Nicholas II was the Little Father who believed that his people loved him, but the people were starving and there was growing unrest. This was blamed on the Jews and the pogroms were instituted to rid Russia of these troublemakers. Prince Dimitri Markhov was a friend of the Tsar. Unkike others in his class he was a working architect who saw beauty in design and structures. In a loveless marriage to his wife Lara, his life changes when he meets Katya, the daughter of a wealthy merchant. Katya is a doctor who shares his interest in music, literature and Russian culture. It is Katya and her friends who open his eyes to the suffering around him.

Dimitri is torn between his loyalty to the Tsar and his need to bring a change for the people. Working with a group whose aim is to peacefully work toward a constitution, he must keep his work hidden from Lara and avoid notice by the Okhrana, the secret police. One of his assignments is to pass messages to a conspirator in the palace. Using the collection of Faberge eggs, folded notes would be hidden inside. He also uses his meetings with Nicholas to convince him to see what is happening beyond the palace walls, but Nicholas is influenced by the ministers around him and the pogroms continue.

Charles Balfoure’s descriptions of the gowns and banquets attended by royalty are countered by the violence and suffering brought on by attacks on the villages and the Cossacks’ attack on the peaceful demonstration of Bloody Sunday. This is a fascinating look at Russian culture and the events that eventually led up to the end of the Romanovs. I would like to thank NetGalley and Severn House for providing this book for my review.

I read this ARC for an honest review
All thought and opinions are mine

Wow, this was EPIC !!

I loved everything about this novel - right from the cover - beautiful
So well written, researched to the enth degree

This would make a fantastic movie or TV adaptation - it would be lush