Beep! Beep! It’s our stop 🛑 on the blog tour.

I’m thrilled to be joining Suzy Approved Book Tours for the LOST ROSES blog tour. Ever since reading The Lilac Girls, and hearing Martha Hall Kelly speak at Literary Orange 2017, I knew her next book would be just as wonderful.

Genre: Historical Fiction

Published: April 9, 2019

Pages: 448

🍊🍊🍊🍊/5

Buy Link https://bit.ly/2C8CXxa

My Review:

I was so excited to hear that Martha Hall Kelly was writing a prequel to The Lilac Girls which I loved! I still think about Caroline Ferriday and the heartbreak of that particular story.

This prequel certainly did not disappoint. I loved the characters and the three women portrayed were so strong and resilient. I learned so much about The Russian Revolution and the tragedies and horrors that were experienced.

The determination of these women and their will to survive against the odds was truly inspiring.

Martha’s writing style is so eloquent. Here is just one of the many quotes I saved:

“I stood, heart pounding, freedom on the other side of that door. I brushed the dust from my pants and smoothed my hair. Would the tsarina recognize me in such a state? My whole body pulsed with something I hadn’t felt in so long. Hope.”

Goodreads | Amazon

Book Summary:

The runaway bestseller Lilac Girls introduced the real-life heroine Caroline Ferriday. This sweeping new novel, set a generation earlier and also inspired by true events, features Caroline’s mother, Eliza, and follows three equally indomitable women from St. Petersburg to Paris under the shadow of World War I.

It’s 1914 and Eliza Ferriday is thrilled to travel to St. Petersburg with her best friend Sofya Streshnayva, a cousin of the Romanovs. But when war looms and Russia’s Imperial dynasty begins to fall, Eliza escapes back to America, while Sofya and her family flee to their country estate. In need of domestic help, they hire the local fortuneteller’s daughter, Varinka, unknowingly bringing unspeakable danger into their home. On the other side of the Atlantic, Eliza helps the destitute White Russian families find safety as they escape the revolution. But when Sofya’s letters suddenly stop coming she fears her friend has come to a terrible end.

From the Tsar’s palaces of St. Petersburg to the long-lost Russian neighborhoods of Paris to the glorious estates of Southampton, New York, the lives of Eliza, Sofya, and Varinka intersect in profound ways, taking readers on a breathtaking ride through a fascinating time in history.

About the Author:

Martha grew up in Massachusetts and now splits her time between Connecticut, New York City, and Martha’s Vineyard. She worked as an advertising copywriter for many years and raised three splendid children while researching and writing Lilac Girls, her first novel. She is excited to share the prequel, Lost Roses, coming this April and is thrilled she doesn’t have to say good-bye to Caroline and Eliza. You’ll find more info about the incredible, true stories behind both books at her website and clues about the prequel Lost Roses on her ever-changing Pinterest page.

QOTD: Did you read The Lilac Girls? What is your favorite time period to read about?

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