Friday Reads Book Rec: Lost Roses

I'm behind with my #reading and reviews (when am I not really?!) thanks to round one of the crud. So before round two takes me out, I wanted to share my thoughts on this 5 Star read, #LostRoses by @marthahallkelly (author of #LilacGirls also a 5 Star read).

Synopsis from NetGalley:

"The million-copy bestseller Lilac Girls introduced the real-life heroine Caroline Ferriday. Now Lost Roses, 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 is 1914, and the world has been on the brink of war so often, many New Yorkers treat the subject with only passing interest. Eliza Ferriday is thrilled to be traveling to St. Petersburg with Sofya Streshnayva, a cousin of the Romanovs. The two met years ago one summer in Paris and became close confidantes. Now Eliza embarks on the trip of a lifetime, home with Sofya to see the splendors of Russia: the church with the interior covered in jeweled mosaics, the Rembrandts at the tsar’s Winter Palace, the famous ballet. But when Austria declares war on Serbia 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 fortune-teller’s daughter, Varinka, unknowingly bringing intense danger into their household. On the other side of the Atlantic, Eliza is doing her part to help the White Russian families find safety as they escape the revolution. But when Sofya’s letters suddenly stop coming, she fears the worst for her best friend. From the turbulent streets of St. Petersburg and aristocratic countryside estates to the avenues of Paris where a society of fallen Russian émigrés live to the mansions of Long Island, the lives of Eliza, Sofya, and Varinka will intersect in profound ways. In her newest powerful tale told through female-driven perspectives, Martha Hall Kelly celebrates the unbreakable bonds of women’s friendship, especially during the darkest days of history."

My (spoiler free) thoughts:

WWII #historicalfiction is one of my favorites, and now the setting of WWI is becoming a favorite as well. This is a beautifully written novel which transported me on an emotional journey with Eliza, Sofya, and Varinka. These women are given genuine voices for their stories, the settings vivid in my mind as I read, and I found this book to be "unputdownable." While technically a prequel to Lilac Girls, you can read either as a stand alone, or in whichever order you suits you. (I would still start with Lilac Girls - after reading it I think you'd be that much more interested in Caroline's mother Eliza's story but that's my humble opinion - to each reader their own).

Lost Roses comes out in April. Have you added it to your TBR yet?

#ThankYou to @randomhouse #BallantineNooks and #NetGalley for this e-ARC!