Don't know why I didn't connect this to Alpsten's other book, Tsarina (Didn't enjoy that one). to this one. While there were elements I enjoyed, it just seemed to take forever to get through this book. I just couldn’t get invested in Elizabeth's struggles and kept putting this down reading other books..

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 foe 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 their burning passion 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.

The Tsarina's Daughter is the follow-up novel to The Tsarina, and centers around Elizabeth (though better known throughout the book as Elizavenka) the daughter of Catherine I, the protagonist of The Tsarina and her husband Peter the Great. The end notes mention this is a trilogy of the Romanov's, so it is not unreasonable to assume the third and final book is likely to feature the most well-known of the tsarinas of the eighteen century, Catherine the Great. Meanwhile, the first two books are intricate histories of two lesser known women in a time and place that many authors choose not to write about. The Tsarina's Daughter was even more enjoyable than The Tsarina for me. I don't know if this is because I had expectations going in, or if Alpsten has hit a really good rhythm. Unlike her mother, Elizavenka knows nothing but a world of privilege growing up. It is not until her father's death that her world begins to crumble and she realizes that privilege is not guaranteed, and being in the orbit of the monarchy can be an incredibly dangerous place to be. Elizavenka goes back and forth between being favored and unfavored by her relatives and their cronies and her fortunes waver accordingly. She begins to realize that if she wants to survive to one day possibly sit on the thrown herself that she will have to play and win the games of strategy that take place at court and avoid making the wrong enemies. With such a long time period to cover - the book runs from when she is a teenager until age thirty when she seizes the crown - the story often doesn't go into great depth. That being said, Alpsten still does a wonderful job of giving the reader a feel for how it would have felt to be in Elizavenka's position and the danger and excess that came along with the life of a Romanov and the royal court. A copy of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I was given the chance to read this book as an ARC thanks to NetGalley! I absolutely loved the history in this story of the Romanov family, and how the author developed all of the characters. I was very lost at the beginning though because you are introduced to a lot of names and it was hard to keep everyone straight. I also found the story great and interesting but very long.

I thoroughly enjoyed Tsarina by Ellen Alpsten, so when I saw The Tsarina’s Daughter was available I jumped at the chance to read it.

In this novel we are once again transported to the volatile inner workings of the Russian royal court—this time following the story of Elizabeth (daughter of Peter the Great and Catherine I). The young Tsarevna is living a charmed life as the story opens. She’s the daughter of a revered ruler and on the cusp of an engagement to the king of France. But as so many fantastically heartbreaking stories go, she soon finds everything she thought her life would be swept away and she’s relegated to the life of a pauper on the fringe of the royal court she was once destined to rule.

The stark realities of Elizabeth’s life are highlighted by the cold, harsh descriptions of Russia during this time. Cold winters, poverty, and famine feature as prominently as each character in the book. Ellen Alpsten has once again done an amazing job of building this world and transporting us into it. It was a hard book to read only because I felt the anger and disappointment for Elizabeth’s predicament so strongly every time I opened the book—but not opening it again was never an option because I had to follow her journey through to the end.

The Tsarina’s Daughter is a fantastic historical fiction (and just a damned good book!). It will be released March 15, 2022 and I highly recommend it if historical fiction is your jam.



*I received a copy of The Tsarina’s Daughter from Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review*

The Tsarinas Daughter by Ellen Alpsen

9781250214416

512 Pages
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press / St. Martin’s Griffin
Release Date: March 15, 2022

Fiction, Historical Fiction, Women’s Fiction, Russian History, House of Romanov

Elizabeth is the daughter of Peter the Great and his wife, Catherine. She grows up believing she will be married to the King of France and live in Versailles. Things have a funny way of turning out when her half-brother is executed, and his son banished. Elizabeth suffers so much pain and loss from those she loves. Just when you think she has suffered as much as one person can, another event happens to throw her life into more despair.

This book follows the book, Tsarina by the same author. In that book, we meet Elizabeth’s mother Catherine, born a serf and her rise to marrying the Peter, Tsar of all Russia. Elizabeth is the younger daughter born out of wedlock and not considered to be an heir that could rule Russia.

The book contains a lot of factual historical information and is written in the first-person point of view. The characters are well developed, and the book has a steady pace. I enjoyed reading this book and learning more of Russian history. The author did a great job bringing Elizabeth to life on the pages of this book. If you like historical fiction, you will enjoy reading this book.

I loved Reading about Marta in Tsarina and though I did not need to read that to enjoy this one, I am glad I did. having said that, I actually had reservations about reading this one, The Tsarina's Daughter as I am a student of this time period and love studying the beauty that was, Elizaveta of Russia and her lover Nikoli.
Ellen Alpsten did not disappoint. Overall, I feel she did leave out a lot the life struggles that kept Elizaveta from court early on but that does take away from the romanticism of the Russian court and castles.
Until the late 1990's the Russian government SEVERLY controlled what not only the own citizens learned of their own history but blurred what the rest of the world saw as well. Similar to what North Korea does now of only letting you see what they want you to see. Even now we are still pulling back layers of the Winter Palace and the Royalty that inhabited it.
Who are we to say how historical figures actually felt and reacted?? Does that make this historical fiction or fact? I do not care. I love historical fiction and the great Queen Elizaveta was a beauty beyond compare that I can not blame Author, Ellen Alpsten for writing of such opulence.

The story of Tsarnia Elizabeth of Russia. A beautifully written piece of historical fiction. There are many characters, all who are provided at the beginning of the story to help keep them straight. It may not be one of my favorite time periods of history to read about but the story was engaging and thrilling at the same time.

Thank you to Netgalley for a copy of the book.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for my copy of The Tsarina’s Daughter by Ellen Alpsten in exchange for an honest review. It publishes March 15, 2022.
First off: WOW! Alpsten is such a gifted author and researcher. What an in-depth telling of history. What a way to bring it alive and make it fresh, yet keep it in its time in history.
I liked this one more than Tsarina, and I am so excited for the next installment. Although I’m sad that I have to wait any amount of time to read it.
If you have interest in the Romanov family, Russian history, or honestly a fantastic historical fiction, give this series a try!
My only warning is, this doesn’t hold a lot back as far as blood, guts, sex, etc. however, I appreciated that this was toned down on the R-rated content compared to Tsarina.

I'm fascinated by stories of the royals, especially the Romanovs. I enjoyed learned more about Tsarina Elizabeth, however, I found her almost unbearable for the first half of the book. As many who are in positions of power, she is selfish and spoiled and thinking only of her own gains while the people of Russia suffer. As the story progresses, Elizabeth matures and does come to think of other's suffering and how she might as their ruler. I gave this story 3 stars because the writing was very clunky, and at places, too modern.

Extensive research went into the creation of this historical fiction novel. In reading The Tsarina's Daughter I found myself completely immersed in Princess Elizabeth's (aka Lizenka) trials as she grows up in the Russian court.
The daughter of Catherine I and Peter the Great could not love her country more. Her relationships with others are sincere and she's passionate about her love of family and country. This wasn't the case as others in her circle were aware that she would not be marrying King Louis XV of France while Elizabeth continued to dream of the day Louis would place a band on her finger. The marriage was never to come to fruition.

Alpsten's fine prose has us experience the deceit and suspense of the Russian court as though we were walking the halls of the Palace. Elizabeth finally learns that she can trust no one as relatives turn on each other and no one's life is safe.

I found myself fully engaged in the politics of the Russian court and didn't know chapter to chapter who would be the ruler by the end of this engaging book. Ellen Alpsten keeps you on the edge of your seat wondering what could possibly happen next to the Russian princess. Will she be Queen, and if so, who has to die for her to be so?
This follow-up novel to The Tsarina is one you definitely will enjoy if you like historical fiction. If you have not read The Tsarina, give it a try. It's the incredible story of Elizabeth's mother, Catherine I, and how she came to be The Tsarina.

Thank you to #Netgalley, St. Martin's press, and the author for this ARC copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

As a lover of historical fiction I really wanted to enjoy this book, but ultimately I think it is just not for me! I cant pin point exactly where this book lost me though because I do really think many will enjoy it! Especially those that love Russian history.

Thank you NetGalley and St Martin's Press for the opportunity to review this eARC!

I hadn't read Ellen Alpsten's first book in this series, The Tsarina, but I found that that in no way detracted from my enjoyment of the Tsarina's Daughter. The book begins in a fairly idyllic setting with writing that felt to me very much like Anne of Green Gables; Elizabeth (Lizenka) and her sister Anna (Anoushka) frolicked and played and heard stories from the housekeeper and wandered the woods. The story takes a dark turn when Lizenka drags Anoushka along to the Golosov Ravine after having heard a dark tale about time travel and prophecy, and they encounter something dangerous and unexpected...

Aside from that one fantastical element, The Tsarina's Daughter follows the true history of Elizaveta Petrovna, second daughter of Tsar Peter the Great. She is willful, bold, brave, and loving; true to her family above all else - and often to her own detriment. I enjoyed reading Lizenka's story (and following along on WIkipedia as these events are mostly true!) I didn't know a lot about this era or this region of the world prior to reading this novel, but it is so well written and engaging that it was easy to become interested in learning more. (And realizing just how fictional the Hulu show "The Great" is - that Peter is meant to be Anoushka's son!) I'm going to find myself a copy of The Tsarina, and look forward to the next book in this series about the Romanovs.

Fascinating historical fiction!

After reading this author's Tsarina, I knew I couldn't miss the follow up story, Tsarina's Daughter. Like the first, it is based on historical figures but spins a spellbinding fictional tale around the known historical facts. I loved getting my history-nerd side going, looking up stuff as I read to compare what is known and what was created for the story.

Even without the historical comparisons, this story is amazing. I love the author's easy writing style, and the characters vibrantly burst to life on the page. The pace is perfect, keeping me entertained and just this side of breathless. Simply put, this is outstanding historical fiction and I highly recommend it. I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.

Definitely takes some creative liberties, but even so I liked reading about Catherine. Ellen Alpsten has told a captivating story and I thoroughly enjoyed reading this.
This is an easy book to recommend is you enjoy Russian history, royal families and historical fiction.

ARC kindly provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A captivating and heart-pounding read, taking place during a fascinating time in Russian history. This is the fictionalized story of Elizabeth, the daughter of Tsar Peter the Great and Tsarina Catherine I.

Told from Elizabeth’s point of view, we follow her emotional journey, navigating the dangers lurking at every corner, and the fleeting moments of happiness only to be ripped from her so tragically. There are heart-wrenching scenes, betrayal, and unexpected twists and turns. With beautifully detailed descriptions the setting comes to life. A riveting and action-packed story that will keep readers turning the pages until the end.

I look forward to reading the previous novel, Tsarina, and can’t wait to read the third book in the series. Thank you very much to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for this ARC.

I received an ARC edition of this book through a Goodreads Giveaway.

Trigger warning: some descriptions of violence including torture are graphic.

This is the follow up to Tsarina (also by Ellen Alpsten). The first half of The Tsarina's Daughter overlaps in the timeline with the Tsarina, but it is still a stand alone. It follows the story story of Elizabeth, daughter of Tsar Peter the Great and Catherine I.

The book is fast paced. It did not have the same style as the first book, but it was still a good read.

I tried really hard to get into this book and it's completely possible it was just my mindset at the time. I can see myself enjoying The Tsarina's Daughter at a later date but right now, it just wasn't for me. I was especially interested in reading about Tsarina Elizabeth of Russia.

The Tsarina's Daughter
By Ellen Alpsten

This book is the second in a trilogy about the Romanov dynasty in Russia. The first volume, "Tsarina", is the story of Elizabeth's mother, a Russian peasant who captures the heart of Peter the Great, marries him, births many children, and goes on, after his death, to be the Tsarina Catherine of all the Russian people. This book is the story of the political ups and downs of her daughters, Anna and Elizabeth, as various factions try to control the Tsars and Tsarinas who follow in Peter's footsteps.

Both of these books were interesting reads about the complex – sometimes savage – political landscape of a backward country which Peter dragged kicking and screaming toward modernization after the European model of the times. The cast of characters is extensive and well-drawn by the author. I find myself waiting with high expectations for the third volume of this series.

Read 3% of the way into this book but kept starting and stopping. I had trouble getting into it and figured it was better to review as is. It was written well just not my cup of tea.