A history spanning about 70-80 years. Three generations but two main characters. Russian history and folklore. A love story. A search for the past. Like many other multiple timeline books, The Last Russian Doll by Kristen Loesch is about a woman with an artifact and a key searching for her past. Unfortunately, I find myself getting lost in the many characters and the history, and I end up not the reader for this book.

Read my complete review at http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2024/11/the-last-russian-doll.html

Reviewed for NetGalley.

"The Last Russian Doll" weaves together multiple perspectives and explores the complexities of family history and the Russian experience, which aligns with the historical fiction and gulag themes I am often drawn to when reading. The Last Russian Doll's narrative spans multiple time periods, echoing the dual timelines which I love in historical fiction.

This debut novel spans three generations of Russian women, from the 1917 revolution to the final days of the Soviet Union, with an enduring love story at its core.

It starts with a young girl living happily in Moscow with her sister, father, and eccentric mother, who collects porcelain dolls and tells fairy tales. One summer night changes everything, leaving only the girl and her mother.

A decade later, Rosie, studying at Oxford with an English name and a loving fiancé, seeks to understand and bury her past. When her mother dies, Rosie returns to Russia with her mother’s folklore and a single key. She uncovers a devastating family history from the 1917 Revolution through the siege of Leningrad and Stalin’s purges.

Central to the story is Tonya, a young noblewoman whose love for an idealistic man sparks a sweeping saga. In 1991 London, Rosie works as an assistant to a famous Russian author. Her mother leaves her a key hidden in a porcelain doll, leading Rosie to a map in a drawer in their old Moscow home. This map takes her to a house in Tula Province, linking her quest to Tonya’s 1917 story. Tonya’s journey, beginning with her marriage to a wealthy factory owner and a forbidden pregnancy by a Bolshevik revolutionary, intertwines with Rosie’s search for her family's truth.

The novel switches between Rosie’s 1991 journey and Tonya’s 1917 struggles. While the historical richness and emotional depth shine, the multiple storylines and time periods can be confusing, causing the strong opening to lose momentum. Despite its challenges, I learned a lot. 3 stars.

** I voluntarily reviewed a comp of this book. The opinions are my own.

The Last Russian Doll is a dual-timeline story. One timeline is in the 1991 and the other starts in 1915.

Rosie/Raisa wants to understand the devasting event that changed her life. As a graduate student at Oxford, she finds a job advertisement that would allow her to return to Russia. Little does she know that her life is intertwined with the assignment.

In 1917, Tonya is barely an adult and married to an aristocrat in the Czar's family. But upon meeting a revolutionary, her life is forever changed.

As the reader learns of Tonya's life, we are treated to the backdrop of Russian history - the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917. the rise of communism, the siege of Leningard during WWII, Stalin and his purges and fall of the Soviet Union. The historical events are the setting but we get a feeling of the events through the personal lives of the characters. This is very much a character-driven story.

I read historical fiction because I like the intimate, personal view of history and Loesch does a wonderful job of interweaving a captivating story through the turbulent history of Russia.

The Last Russian Doll is Loesch's debut novel and I'm hoping she will be writing more as I think she ranks right up there with Kristin Hannah and Kate Quinn with her ability to tell a compelling story with wonderful characters.

My review will be published at Girl Who Reads on Friday - https://www.girl-who-reads.com/2024/05/go-back-in-time-with-these-2-books-of.html

I really enjoyed this historical novel and I was honestly surprised with how much I liked it. This book takes place between a few different timelines, but follows a family through the decades of the Soviet Union. In the 1990s, Rosie discovers a mysterious past after he mother passes away and tries to uncover the truth of the events. At times, the jumping between timelines got a bit confusing but overall I really enjoyed Rosie's story of uncovering family secrets.

A very intriguing historical fiction book. Love how the two stories were interwoven and brought together.

The Last Russian Doll is a sweeping historical fiction novel, with two equally compelling, engaging and entertaining storylines that blend past and present that interweave to build up a sense of mystery. Starting in Russia in 1915, Tonya's story spans decades encompassing the Revolution of October 1917, Russian Civil War, Stalinist purges of the 1930s, siege of Leningrad during World War 2 and beyond. All of these events affect Tonya and those close to her in dramatic ways, forcing her to make impossible choices to protect herself and those dear to her. Rosie's story takes place in 1991, an equally pivotal time in Russian history. Hers is the era of perestroika and glasnost that would ultimately result in the collapse of the Soviet Union, but a new regime does not mean that old wounds can be forgotten. These turbulent events in the country of Rosie's birth reflect her own life, where she continues to be haunted by memories and unanswered questions of her earlier life. A treat to read!

I was really excited for this book because it was focused on Russian history that did not have anything to do with Romanovs. However, I found it hard to get into because of the massive time jumps and the switching of the point of views from the characters. I think it would have been better if the story was more linear. Nevertheless, I recommend this for fans of Kate Morton!

The Last Russian Doll is an epic, set both during the 1917 Russian Revolution, and the more recent revolution – the one that abolished the Soviet Union in 1991. The more present day heroine, Rosie or Raisa, her actual name, is a British grad student who fled from Russia with her mother to the UK after the murders of her father and sister. Her mother is now an ancient drunk who rarely gets out of her bed; as the book opens, she dies, but Rosie is headed back to Russia as an assistant to a famous writer (he brings to mind Alexander Solzhenitsyn). She will be there to help with research, but what she really wants is to solve the mystery of her father’s and sister’s deaths.

In the past, we meet beautiful Tonya, the young, pampered wife of an industrialist. She is bored with her life – she feels like a captive and one day she encounters a man, a Bolshevist, making an incendiary speech. The man works for her husband and the two are magnetically drawn to one another. While the author refers to Tolstoy in her afterword, this book had far more of a Dr. Zhivago feel, Pasternak’s story of revolution and forbidden love finding an echo here.

Loesch beautifully illustrates the revolution itself as it happens, with the upper classes refusing to believe it will happen, and the revolutionaries amazed that it has happened. The violence and uncertainty of those times is conveyed in an indelible way, and your heart is in your throat every time Tonya steps out of her safe and protected home. Few escaped disaster and heartbreak at that time, and Tonya and her beloved – as well as Tonya’s husband – are no exception.

Rosie’s clue to her past is found inside the head of a Russian doll that her mother kept close by her throughout her life. The tiny penciled words inside the doll’s head help her begin to make sense of her family roots and her connection to Tonya. Of course, there’s a connection, but the mystery of the novel is just what the connection might be. She’s followed on her journeys through Moscow and to other parts of Russia by a bodyguard, Lev. Her boss knows her family history and is attempting to protect her. Lev, silent and watchful, with ties to the secret police, is her enigmatic and ultimately helpful guide. He can actually read the script from the doll’s head, for example.

The author ties the book together with short fairy tales that relate back to the action in the novel, though they are opaque and you have to do some work, as a reader, to decipher them. This book broke my heart several times, but the most powerful sequence is set during the siege of Leningrad by the Germans that lasted from 1941 to 1944. The residents of Moscow who didn’t get out were stuck in a city with no heat and no food, many of them so starving they resorted to cannibalism. The heartbreak endured by Tonya and her family is almost too much to bear, and yet, millions of Russians suffered during the war as Tonya and her family did.

The two story threads and the relationship between the two women draws closer and closer as the book draws to an end. I loved these two women, though Tonya is the better drawn of the two, Rosie is an interesting character living through an interesting and historic moment in Russia’s history – just as Tonya did. The cliched curse, of course, is may you live in interesting times. These are interesting times to read about, but I’m sure they were painful to live through. The one weak spot in this novel was the actual reason for the deaths of Rosie’s family members. But I could overlook it as the rest of the story was so compelling and hard to look away from. This is a wonderful read.

I am a huge fan of historical fiction and this did not disappoint. I love a story steeped in history and multiple timelines and this has both. It followed three generations of women from the 1917 Russian Revolution to the end of the Soviet Union. It was fascinating watching these stories play out and discovering how they are all connected. If historical fiction is your jam definitely check this one out!

Huge thank you to @berkleypub @berittalksbooks @thephdivabooks @dg_reads and @netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I loved The Last Russian Doll and the story completely captivated me! It is hard to find historical fiction that isn't centered around WWII. When I saw the synopsis for The Last Russian Doll I knew that I had to read it. As someone who is fascinated by the Romanovs, I never really knew about those on the other side or those that took part in the revolution. Loesch did an incredible job giving the revolutionaries a voice and telling their stories. Each character pulled at my heart for different reasons. Their suffering and limited choices left me heartbroken and totally invested in their storylines.

I did feel that there were some plot points that were left unresolved. Namely, why the dad and sister were killed. I do not believe that we ever got an explanation for this and I felt it was a plot hole.

The Last Russian Doll is a family drama that spans generations from the Revolution to the siege of Leningrad through the purges to the fall of the USSR with a family murder mystery and some love story thrown in - phew! I found it a little hard to keep the timelines and people straight when I had to pick up and put down the book, but I did like the use of fairy tales to tie the family history together with everything else going on, even when the fairy tales have a bit of darkness to them. I recommend this title for family drama and mystery, especially if you have an interest in Russian history. Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for the early access in exchange for my honest opinion. 3.5 stars

The Last Russian Doll is historical fiction that takes you through Russia - the author uses her own traditional Russian fairy tales to preface each section, bringing a very atmospheric spin to the story. The story begins with Rosie - a young woman that lives with her mother, a former Russian ballerina, in England - where Rosie is finishing her studies at Oxford. When her mother dies of alcoholism, Rosie decides to go back to Russia to try and find the man that killed her father and her sister. Her family history goes back to 1917, where we learn the story of Tonya, who married a Russian aristocrat, but fell in love with a Revolutionary orator named Valentin. We learn of war, flu, lost children, prisons, and the love that lasted generations. The secrets of the family and the tragedies are all intertwined. Rosie went to Russia to find the answers to her questions about her mother, but ended up finding herself. One of the best historical novels I've read this year.

This story is what I dream all historical fiction novels to be. A sweeping family saga, rich in atmosphere, a hint of mystery, and memorable characters. I read this back in March and I still think about it often.

With the Russian Revolution as a backdrop, the characters capture your heart and take us on a decades long search for truth, lost love, missed opportunities, heartbreak, and redemption.

This book will easily be in my Top 5 of the year. I think every fan of HF should read this novel.

Dual timeline format. Well researched and well written. Characters well developed. I preferred the 1990s storyline. The WWII storyline was painful to read. The author spared no detail of the suffering people endured in Russia during WWII. It was very heavy. I needed to take a break, but I think that was the point. I did not expect a book set in WWII Russia to be upbeat. You have to be in the mood for this one.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I devoured this book! Told in alternate viewpoints of Tonya, Valentin (from the early 20th century) and Rosie (from 1991), Loesch tells a story of Russian history, intrigue, love and heartbreak spanning a century. In 1991, following the death of her mother, Rosie realizes she needs to return to Russia from England to discover the truth of her family. In the past, Tonya and Valentin are from opposite sides of the political spectrum but cannot deny their attraction for each other - but this attraction is a terribly dangerous thing for them both. What ties the 2 stories together are the porcelain dolls that Rosie’s mother collected and that Tonya was gifted by her husband. But is there more of a connection?

This was fascinating and I learned a great deal. The only qualm I have with the work was the dolls themselves and the story that coincided with them - I felt it was a little slapdash and irrelevant to the true plot. Overall, a recommended read.

This isn’t the type of book I generally read – but I really enjoyed this one! To say that I don’t read mysteries would be completely true, but when you think about it, doesn’t all great fiction have hints of mystery in it: unsolved emotions, hidden agendas, unanswered questions – mysteries in their own rights that keep us flipping pages? Indeed.

And, while this story has a mystery at its heart – and a character on a journey in search of unveiling a great family secret – the novel is also steeped in fairytale, Slavic folktales and allegory. The first few chapters read like literary fiction, and I was immediately hooked. Plus… creepy dolls! Who isn’t fascinated by that? But more than that, this book offers a chance to learn about Russian political history (apropos as we watch the horrors continuing to unfold with Russia in the Ukraine).

It’s a story about coming into one’s own after trauma, shedding the trappings of the past, and living in the moment – making the tough decisions that allow one to truly move forward with presence and intention. It's a mother-daughter story in many ways. It’s also a love story, and apparently I was in need of that tenderness as well. The ending will satisfy readers who like closure, I think. This is a page-turning debut with lots of commercial appeal, but some impressive beneath-the-surface complexity, by a historian/scholar. Hold on for twists and turns you won’t see coming (at least I didn’t!)

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

This was a hard one to get into, but the overall story was well done. I enjoy historical fiction and had not read much on the Russian Revolution, and I now think I know why. It doesn’t interest me much unfortunately. However, the author did do a good job developing the characters so that I wanted to know what happened to them.

This was easier to listen to on audiobook, so I thank the narration crew for that. I do think lots of other readers will enjoy this novel more than I did, especially if they enjoy stories about Russian history.

I really struggled with how the book bounced around in time. Additionally, this was more of a romance that took place in a historical setting that sold itself as historical fiction rather than a historical romance, if that makes sense.

Thank you very much to Berkeley Publishing Group and NetGalley for the e-ARC!

A combination of historical fiction and a family saga, this book was full of unexpected twists and turns that resulted in a surprise ending!

After escaping Russia as a teenager, Rosie is living in London and attending Oxford in 1991 but she can't quite seem to escape the ghosts that she left behind. When she receives an opportunity to travel back to Russia as an assistant to the acclaimed author, Alexey Ivanov, she ends up beginning a quest that will force her to not only come to terms with her past ghosts but also to reconsider her entire future.

Flashing back to pre-revolution Russia in 1915, Tonya and Valentin begin their own quests. Tonya is trapped in a loveless marriage that she was forced into and Valentin is becoming a prominent voice in the beginning stages of the Bolshevik revolution. When their paths cross, it alters the course of both of their lives forever.

Moving back and forth between 1915 and 1991 over the course of the book, Loesch weaves an interesting and enthralling story that is full of romance, tragedy and the struggle to survive both physically and mentally. Her historical research of the times was impressive and I loved how she brought the story full circle. I always say I love when a historical fiction book teaches me something new and this definitely did not disappoint!