Having not read Tsarina, I was glad to find that The Tsarina's Daughter also works as a standalone novel. The story follows Elizabeth, daughter of Tsar Peter the Great and Empress Catherine. Not being as familiar with this time period of Russian history, I found this fictionalized telling fascinating. Although the story felt a little slow to start, it did pick up as it progressed. I appreciated the character of Elizabeth much more in the second half and would have loved to see more of her actual reign. This saga has a large cast of colorful characters and is full of intrigue and politics, backstabbing and thirst for power. I would definitely recommend this for those interested in historical fiction and Russian history.

3.5 stars rounded up.

This is a sequel to Tsarina, which I didn't realize & haven't read, but I believe The Tsarina's Daughter can be read as a stand-alone. This is a beautifully written historical fiction novel about a time and place that still seem other-worldly to me. I look forward to reading more from this author!

Historical literature. The saga of females and the Russian throne.

This is about Tsarevna Elizabeth, born into the house of Romanov to Peter the Great and his wife Catherine.
She and her sister are his only living children of his 15 sons and daughters. However her mother gave birth to her out of wedlock. Her mother is Peter's second wife, his first lives shuttered away in a convent
.She was bethroed to King Louis VI of France while still a child.

A woodland creature imparts a curse on her: that she will bear no children.

Her father dies but neither she or her sister are named his heirs and therefore her mother becomes Tsarina Catherine I,, the first woman ever to rule Russia.

Her sister turns against her and King Louis VI of France marries someone else,

Elizabeth becomes engaged to marry her brother in law's cousin who is a Prince of Germany.

Her mother dies and Elizabeth doesn't become an heir to the throne.

Her young nephew becomes Peter II and Elizabeth is cheated out of her mother's bequest.

Her fiance dies of smallpox and her sister dies of pneumonia after childbirth.

Her nephew dies of smallpox as ell and subsequently her cousin becomes the Tsarina.

When the tsarina dies, Elizabeth at last becomes the Tsarina after a palace coup and her infant nephew is taken out the country

The Tsarina's Daughter by Ellen Aplster
The Tsarina's Daughter is a follow-up from Tsarina which I did not know going into this book. However, I had no trouble knowing what was going on. This book is a historical fiction story of Elizabeth, daughter of Tsar Peter and his wife Catherine, who later became the Empress of Russia. The story details Elizabeth's remarkable and often suspenseful journey from innocence to surviving life in the volatile Imperial Russian court. There is love and tragedy and all that other good stuff. I definitely enjoyed reading this one! I've read that there will be a third book so I am looking forward to reading that and picking up the first book as well! Thank you Netgalley for my advanced readers copy in exchange for my review.

The gorgeous book cover was enough to draw me in when I saw it on NetGalley. I thoroughly enjoyed this historical novel set in the cutthroat royal courts of early 18th century Russia. The Tsarina’s daughter is Elizaveta Petrova Romanova, called Lizchenka by her family and lovers. The story is fast-paced, driven by actual historical events and richly imagined private moments of family life. Alpsten has a gift for details. Her descriptions made me feel like I was there, from the food (too much sour cream) and the silkiness and luster of the ladies’ gowns, to the bleakness and ice of the Russian climate and the horrible poverty of its citizens who have the misfortune to live outside of the sumptuous court environment. This book has inspired me to learn more about the Russian empire. Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for an advance e-galley in exchange for a candid review.

This was a decent book but it isn't really my genre so I had a hard time getting into it. The cover is beautiful and the author's writing style is excellent but it just wasn't for me.

The first-person view allows readers to live through the stunning story of a young woman as she lives though tragedy and upheaval in the cold, treacherous halls of the Russian royal palaces as Tsarevna Elizabeth would have.

This book made a very turbulent time in Russian history so personal and real. I really felt for Elizabeth (Lizenska) as the throne is kept from her over and over again. There were parts of Russian history that I wasn't aware of--like that one diosece alone owned over 50,000 serfs. I knew about the Tsar owning serfs, but not about the church. Rather appalling. No wonder they revolted.

I also wasn't as aware of this bit of the history of Russia. We all know about the two Peters. About Catherine the Great. But this bit in between I wasn't familiar with at all. It kind of gets eclipsed by later history. And this is just as intriguing. The story made it all come alive and feel human and immediate. History can so often be dry and just a list of events. This was so much greater than that. This was personal and real.

Books about the Romanovs always bring the glitter and shine, an almost unreal sense of wealth and a constant pulse of impending doom and tragedy. So it's an adrenaline ride. The story here didn't meet my expectations, with the woodland creature losing me and breaking the spell that I alone concocted for the story. Sometimes the reader is completely at fault for not loving the story, and that's definitely the case here. So I'll grade only on what my expectations were and were fulfilled so beautifully. Alpsten is a gorgeous writer, and I'll seek out her other titles.

This sequel is a very consistent follow-up to the previous ‘Tsarina.’

It overlaps and continues in a very nice way, to where the story shifts seamlessly from Catherine I to her daughter, Elizabeth. And this does exactly what I want from an historical fiction novel - it takes key people from history and humanises them. They are no longer facts and dates but become characters. Obviously a lot of liberties are taken with this story, but I didn't mind it too much.

My main issue was with the writing itself. The narrative is a little all over the place. It's pretty inconsistent pacing without any real indication of how much time has actually passed and other times felt unauthentic to the time period. It also took me a very long time to tolerate Elizabeth as a character. I would have much rather the narrative focus more on her reign, rather than her early years, because of this reason.

But overall, this is an easy-to-follow story that can be read as a standalone. I think if you have any interest in this time period, then it would be a book I would recommend, as long as you go into this expecting entertainment value only.

Historical fiction has a tendency to be either hit or miss; some historical figures just do not merit an entire book about them, and some are embellished to the point of being mythologized rather than seeming like a real person, even some centuries removed from every day. The Tsarina's Daughter had none of these problems, instead revealing a side of history in the Russian royal family that is fast paced, constantly evolving, and yet easy to follow despite having a huge amount of characters.

None of this would be possible without the main historical figure of Elizabeth who the book follows from when she is fourteen years old to when she is thirty-two. Rather than tackle her years in power, this novel follows her rise to power and all of the pitfalls along the way. I did not know much about Elizabeth before reading this novel and initially, I was worried that her lack of bloodthirsty qualities were an effort to make her more palatable (considering Russian history tends to be heavy on coups and bloodshed) but after learning that she spent her entire reign without ordering a single execution, you still leave this book marveling at how she managed to gain her power.

I really enjoyed this and am planning on reading Tsarina as well.

ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Tsarina's Daughter is a great book by Ellen Alpsten. It is about Tsarevna Elizabeth of Russia, the daughter of Catherine I and Peter the Great. I have always been fascinated by the Romanovs of Russian history and this historical really made me even more curious with this family. I loved learning more about Elizabeth and see her strength, determination, and bravery through life. I was not sure of her at first but she grew on me as she matured through the years. I thought it was a great book!

I am giving The Tsarina's Daughter a very well deserved five plus stars. I highly recommend it for the readers who enjoy reading historical fiction based on real figures from the past. I will be most definitely looking for more historical novels by Ellen Alpsten in the future.

I received a paperback copy of The Tsarina's Daughter from the publisher, but was not required to write a positive review. This review is one hundred percent my own honest opinion.

This book is the second of a trilogy about the Russian aristocracy in the times of Tsar Peter the Great and his descendents who were collectively known as the House of Romanov. In this second novel which can be read as a standalone, Elizabeth is trying to find her path in life, specifically as it pertains to the royal court. There are those who support her as an heir to the throne, even though she is female, but others who seek to detract from her standing in order to gain power and status. As a child, she was given a harrowing prophecy by a menacing witch who she would remember throughout her life.. As Elizabeth ages, she finds each line of this prophecy coming to pass one-by-one that makes her fear for her future. This era in Russian history is popular in fiction, but I hadn't read too much about it. But I did enjoy traveling there into the ice and snow of harsh winters to see what became of Elizabeth through the years. I didn't want to spoil any outcomes by researching as I was reading, so I didn't know the details about how things played out in real life. But I can tell you that Elizabeth's journey took a sharply winding path that kept me reading into the night. There is a slight element of fantasy with the appearance of the witch, but it doesn't dominate the story except for providing the outline for the road Elizabeth travels to her ultimate fate. My advice is to take a chance and preorder your copy. Thank you to #NetGalley for the opportunity to read it early.. Pub date is March 15, 2022.

A birds eye view of life in Russia during the times the Tsar Peter the Great and his Romanov heirs. Elizabeth is his only surviving child, and she quietly bides her time until she is named the new Tsarina and work to complete the initiatives her father started. She has to endure heartache to get to her final goal.

An interesting look at 1700s Russia and how the Tsar and his family lived. Great descriptions of Russia and the people that lived and existed in that time period.

Sadly, I had to DNF this one around 20%. I was in the mood for some historical fiction and intrigued by a subject and setting that I'm less familiar with. The level of detail helped me learn a lot about the subject of the book, but also made it feel bogged down. Combined with some really stilted and over the top dialogue, and a really unlikeable Elizabeth, I just couldn't get into this.

This was ok, but I just couldn’t finish it. Personally it felt slow to be and I had a hard time getting in to.

The Tsarina's Daughter, by Ellen Alpsten, is part history, part fiction with some good old fashioned bodice ripping included. I enjoyed learning about some of the history that led up to Tsarina Elizabeth becoming Elizabeth of Russia. The book opens at the point right before she becomes the ruler of all the Russias, then quickly takes us back in time to when her beloved father, Peter the "Great", was in power. When her father dies her mother, Catherine l, becomes the first woman ever to rule over Russia. This is when all the different factions, vying for power, start to show their true, very ugly colors. While this family was really missing out on basic human decency, some of the extended relatives were really scary. There's a very real reason that her cousin, Tsarina Anna, was often referred to as Ivanna the Terrible. The Russians even refer to her reign as a "dark time". We get to "see" all this and more until we're, full circle, back to right before Elizabeth begins her reign. This is a good book for anyone who enjoys Russian and world history.

What happens when you request a title from NetGalley without looking at the author’s name, only to find out it was the same author whose previous book you LOATHED? You’re about to find out. I requested and received a copy of The Tsarina’s Daughter by Ellen Alpsten from NetGalley and St. Martin’s Griffin in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

One of my first reviews for this blog was Tsarina by Ellen Alpsten. I loathed the book. You can click on the link and read my review, I’m not going to rehash it, but suffice it to say that it was not my cup of tea. I had no recollection when I saw a book on the Russian royal family on NetGalley that it was the same author of the book that I almost DNF about 5 times but persevered. I hoped for a better outcome. I was pleasantly surprised.

Years ago, when I first started reading about the Romanov family, I picked up a book called Elizabeth & Catherine: Empress of all the Russias from a library book sale. I got a general sense of Elizabeth but the book left me wanting me to know more about her, but most Russian Romanov history is about Peter, Catherine or the last Romanov, Nicholas. I never followed up, however.

The book traces Elizabeth’s life from the time she’s about ten, up until she ascends to the throne. But getting there wasn’t easy. Simply living to adulthood was a struggle, even for nobility. Smallpox, Diphtheria, and a host of other diseases could wipe out a city. It was no different for Peter the Great and his wife, Catherine. They had something like 15 children, but only three survived to adulthood. Not to mention Peter the Great’s insistence on having a male heir. His son with his first wife didn’t please him, so he had him killed, leaving his grandson, Peter, just a boy, as his heir. Elizabeth and her sister, Anna were born out of wedlock, so even though Peter married their mother, Catherine, people in the royal court still called them illegitimate. Besides, they are girls. Boo!

There’s all sorts of court intrigue and double-dealing and back stabbing and all the things that make for a good soap opera. Elizabeth, while strong and feisty, for the most part knows how to keep her head down low and curry favor of the power brokers behind the throne. After Peter the Great dies, his wife and Elizabeth’s mother, Catherine, becomes Empress. But she falls under the spell of Peter’s right hand man, and it’s really he who rules. And he does not like Elizabeth at all.

As we travel through the years and several different rulers in a short time frame (three in five years, I believe), I thought Alpsten did a good job of showing the maturity and growth of Elizabeth. She’s smart to curry favor with the various rulers, but gets a little P-O-ed about other people being chosen as ruler when she, as a daughter of Peter the Great, should also stand in the line of succession. Time and time again Elizabeth is screwed over by the succession of rulers. Then she would fall back into favor. So she goes through periods of great wealth and abundance, and then she’s nearly destitute for a time. Wash, rinse, repeat several times.

But, as would prove to many a person, she’s also a fool for love. I do have to say that there are no gratuitous sex scenes like there were in the author’s previous work. That’s not saying the book is completely devoid of it, but when it’s there, it’s appropriate, and not beleaguered like the last book. She takes a handful of lovers throughout her young life, but there’s no wild sex parties going on.

One thing I do wish, because the book spans many years, is that there were dates at the beginning of each chapter. I found myself wondering how old Elizabeth was at any given place. Sometimes it is mentioned, but not enough to keep track when the book jumps ahead several years, then several years again. I’ll have to Google to find out just how old she was when she came to the throne.

After reading The Tsarina’s Daughter, I feel I got to know Elizabeth better, as it covers her life from childhood to ascension to the throne, but now I hope I can find a non-fiction book about her to see how much of Alpsten’s prose was fiction and how much was real life. Despite my misgivings going in, this was a very good read. The Tsarina’s Daughter goes on sale to the general public March 15, 2022.

"Ellen Alpsten's stunning novel, The Tsarina's Daughter, is the dramatic story of Elizabeth, daughter of Catherine I and Peter the Great, who ruled Russia during an extraordinary life marked by love, danger, passion and scandal.

Born into the House of Romanov to the all-powerful Peter the Great and his wife, Catherine, a former serf, beautiful Tsarevna Elizabeth is the envy of the Russian empire. She is insulated by luxury and spoiled by her father, who dreams for her to marry King Louis XV of France and rule in Versailles. But when a woodland creature gives her a Delphic prophecy, her life is turned upside down. Her volatile father suddenly dies, her only brother has been executed and her mother takes the throne of Russia.

As friends turn to foes in the dangerous atmosphere of the Court, the princess must fear for her freedom and her life. Fate deals her blow after blow, and even loving her becomes a crime that warrants cruel torture and capital punishment: Elizabeth matures from suffering victim to strong and savvy survivor. But only her true love and the burning passion they share finally help her become who she is. When the Imperial Crown is left to an infant Tsarevich, Elizabeth finds herself in mortal danger and must confront a terrible dilemma - seize the reins of power and harm an innocent child, or find herself following in the footsteps of her murdered brother.

Hidden behind a gorgeous, wildly decadent façade, the Russian Imperial Court is a viper’s den of intrigue and ambition. Only a woman possessed of boundless courage and cunning can prove herself worthy to sit on the throne of Peter the Great."

I am TOTALLY obsessed with the Russian Imperial Court!

Trigger warning... there is an attempted rape scene. It also has some detailed (consensual) sex scenes, so if that's not your thing, also be warned. There's also a fair bit of humiliating one's enemies (which is not uncommon historically among ruling parties).

Putting aside the above, I did enjoy this book as I did its predecessor. I will admit though, I kept looking at my progress through the book and wondering how everything was going to fit in as there was so much to get through but so little left in the book. It did happen though! I will suggest having some kind of family tree handy to follow along with while reading. As someone who knows a little, but not a lot, of Russian history, it can be confusing. There are many repeat names much like in the history of the English monarchy. This book partly overlaps with the last one, during the rule of Peter I, known as Peter the Great and his wife, Catherine I, not the great (who are not to be confused with Peter III, not the great, and his wife Catherine II, who was known as Catherine the Great... see what I mean?) Anyway... it tracks through the rise and fall of six members of the ruling Romanov family. I do hope that the author continues the series to track the rest of the Romanov's that came after.