Honestly, I read this book years ago but it still lingers in my brain. WWII is generally an oversaturated market for historical fiction, but something about this story feels so visceral and real that it stands out. I really love how the romance was handled, I think the hardships were shown to be accurately brutal, and I especially appreciated the ending. There were some war scenes that went on a bit too long for my taste, but overall a great read!

I was finally in the mood for historical fiction but this story fell short for me. I didn't connect with the characters and the writing was just ok. I kept drifting off and wasn't able to get engaged with the story.

2.5 but I’m feeling generous and acknowledge there was some historical accuracy and research.

I do not know much about the Russian front in WWII so I was very interested to read about the siege of Leningrad. I’m still interested in reading more because this book just didn’t satisfy my curiosity.

The story is told from he alternating perspectives of Karen, Bobby, and Petr. Karen is a teenaged American cellist who finds herself orphaned and trapped in Leningrad as the result of a creative (and downright irresponsible father). Bobby is her slightly older fighter pilot fiancé (whom she agreed to marry when she was 15 and he 17 - big red flag for me), still sending her letters and determined to reunite someday with her. Petr is the Russian soldier who crosses paths with Karen after his platoon is decimated due to military ineptitude and she is attempting to escape east away from German troops and towards America. There is an appearance by some female Russian pilots which was a nice throwback to The Huntress for me (though that is a far superior book).

There is a love triangle, there is some drama and there is an ending that left me rolling my eyes and calling characters idiots. I never felt emotionally invested in this story or the characters aside from Duck the dog. I also had a very hard time connecting to the desperate situation in Leningrad and Russia as a wholesale the language never pulled me in and the big shocker in the summary of cannibalism was just mentioned in passing as an “oh yeah, people we’re hungry so this happened.” There should have been an epilogue to this book. Since there was not, I fear there will be a sequel. The concept of this was great but the execution was not.

Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for providing me with this digital book, sorry it fell flat for me.

The Undesirables

by Chad Thumann

Lake Union Publishing

Historical Fiction , Women's Fiction


Pub Date 18 Oct 2016


I am reviewing a copy of The Undesirables through Lake Union Publishing and Netgalley:


It is the winter of 1941-1942 Leningrad is under siege, and Karen Hamilton, a seventeen year old American musician, who finds herself trapped and struggling to survive. All through the city, people are starving to death or frostbite and Karen knows she will die herself is she does not escape herself. If she has any hope of leaving Russia and Reuniting with her fiancé Bobby who was in New York, she must cross the enemy lines.


On this dangerous journey, Karen meets Petr, a young conscripted Russian Soldier. She isn’t certain she can trust him and he is wary of trusting her. But soon they join forces to stay alive, an unexpected romance begins to grow.


As the reality of escape gets closer Karen must decide If she and Petr will stay in worn torn Russia, or will she return to a safe life in America.


I give The Undesirables five out of five stars!


Happy Reading!

In “The Undesirables” by Chad Thumann we are transported back to the winter of 1941-1942 during the siege of Leningrad by the Nazis. Karen Hamilton’s father, a musician, and conductor is enamored by the Russian composer Shostakovich. In 1939, Shostakovich saw Karen’s father conduct his Fifth Symphony in America and invited him to join the orchestra in Leningrad, also offering the opportunity to study with him at the Leningrad Conservatory. Karen does not want to go. She has a boyfriend in New York and does not want to leave him. She was fifteen when she left America with her father to travel to Russia. It had been a year and a half ago but now seemed a lifetime. Shostakovich was the reason Karen and her father did not leave When the Germans invaded. In the meantime, Karen’s boyfriend Bobby joins the United States Army.

Karen decided that her only hope to return to Bobby and New York saw to was to flee the city and try to find her way across enemy lines. She meets Petr, a conscripted Red Army soldier. They join forces to make their way with starvation and freezing weather their companions. Miraculously they meet up with Bobby and Karen has the opportunity to return to the United States. However much has happened since 1939 when she was fifteen and her loyalties have changed. What will be her choice?

This novel depicts the horrendous conditions in Leningrad during the Nazi blockade. The freezing cold was bad enough, but the Nazis were starving the people of Leningrad, preventing all food and goods to get through the lines. I read this novel but found it very depressing. I know the conditions were extremely horrible during that time in Russia, but knowing it happened and reading about the realities are two different things.

I was granted a download of this novel by NetGalley.com in return for my honest review.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to preview this ARC of The Undesirables by Chad Thumann.

Karen, an American cellist, is trapped in Russia after her father passes away. The year is 1941 and Leningrad is in dire condition. If you weren't freezing to death, you were starving. Karen knows that she has to cross enemy lines if she wants to survive and see be with her American fiancee Bobby again.

But Karen, moving under a false identity, finds an unlikely ally in Petr, and his loyal dog Duck. They are also working to escape and it doesn't take long until they find feelings for each other.

How will the wretchedness of war, as well as Karen's first love, interfere with this budding romance. But more importantly, will they survive?

This book reminded me a lot of The Bronze Horseman without being so drawn out. It was a strange dichotomy between death defying weather and living conditions, with the "silliness" of young love and infatuation. I enjoyed it up until the end, which I found to be really rushed and surprisingly cheesy.

I really enjoyed this novel. The main character, Karen Hamilton, is a girl/woman of incredible strength. Learning about the seige of Leningrad was an eye-opener. The ending was unexpected.

Loved it! As much as I love WWII stories, I was hesitant with this one because most realistic novels set in Russia tend to be by Russian authors whose lengthy prose really makes it difficult for me to get into the story. This novel, however, was so well-written and interesting that I couldn't help but be pulled in to each of the character's storylines and have already recommended it to my friends and family!

I was immediately swept into this story...have shared it w/ many. Including my library.

This book was pure boredom. Boring boring boredom. So full of it that I think it was not built of words, but boring bricks of boredom.

I like the sound of that. Let's go over it brick by brick:

- I'm sure there's nothing wrong with the writing. If this was a non-fiction book. I can't point out anything wrong in particular! Except that it was supposed to be emotional and gripping,and yet it found me yawning.

- the romance was utter killing boredom. How do you even make romance that dull, I mean?

So maybe it's just me, but meh. If you want a dull book, read this.

P.S. If I'm honest, I would say that most of the historical research was done well. Apart from some little things. For example, I'm pretty sure there was no such thing as creamed corn in Soviet Russia. My country was in the Soviet Union and the first time I heard about creamed corn was like 25 years after its fall. I still had to Google what it even is. We just don't have that thing in these regions.
For that matter, I don't think crackers were a thing either. I only found out about those like 10 years after our country left the Union.

P.P.S. The part when Karen says "My name is Inna Kerensky". Yeah, maybe if you're transgender it is. Kerensky is a strictly male version of the surname (the female version is Kerenskaya). I mean, if you're hiding the fact that you're American in wartime Russia, maybe, just MAYBE introducing yourself with a mistake in your surname is just not the way to go..? Lack of research, I guess.

This is a well researched and worthy piece of historical fiction which might occasionally strain credulity vis a vis certain things with Karen and Bobby and Karen and Bobby but which never loses sight of the horrors of the siege of Leningrad. There have been other recent novels of Americans stuck in the USSR; this one stands square among them. The characters, especially Karen, are nicely written and while more emotion might have elevated it, the book is fine as it is. THanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Try this one if you like this genre.

This WWII novel takes place in the winter of 1941-42 around the Nazi siege of Leningrad. It is a story of love, endurance and desperation under the extreme conditions of war.
Karen must leave America to accompany her father to Leningrad where he is to collaborate with a Russian composer. She leaves behind her fiancé Bobby. Karen and her father have an opportunity to flee Leningrad before the Nazis arrive, but her father refuses. He is immersed in his music and is blind to the events taking place. The Nazis surround Leningrad and cut off all food, supplies, and communications entering and leaving the city. Letters between Karen and Bobby are cut off. As food becomes scarcer, people throughout the city die and many are left frozen on the streets. Soon, the desperate even begin cannibalizing the dead. Karen’s father dies and she is left to her own resources and tenacity to survive and escape Leningrad. On her own in the vast, frozen countryside, she meets Petr and his military-trained dog, Duck. Petr is a Russian soldier whose unit has been destroyed. They make a treacherous journey together - Karen to make her way to the city then home to American and Bobby, Petr to be reassigned to another unit. The three form a strong bond of trust and love while facing extreme danger and many obstacles. Eventually Karen must make the very difficult choice between Bobby and Petr, between America or Russia, between certain life or possible death.
The author’s research of this time and place as well as descriptions of military tactics is impressive. I felt the suffering of the Leningrad residents and appreciated the strength and ingenuity Thumann built into the characters of Karen and Petr. The pacing was spot-on and kept me turning pages. Most endearing was the dog Duck with his intelligence and bravery. This is a worthwhile and recommended read for its characters, historic detail of a city under siege, and a people’s will to survive.
Historical Novels Review, February 2017

I usually don't read books set in Russia for reasons I won't get into in the review (I'm happy to answer if you message me, though), but this story made me curious enough to give it a try. I didn't love the writing, and I did think there were too many narrators, but the story sucked me in. The first 10 percent was a little slow, but once it got going, I didn't want to stop reading it. Overall, I thought it was an interesting (and fair) overview of what World War II was like for Russians in Leningrad and soldiers fighting the Eastern Front.

Amazing book, not at all what I was expecting but it was so well written and filled with suspense I couldn't put it down.