lainibop's review
3.0
This is the sequel to The Russian Concubine, where Lydia, and her new found brother Alexei travel from China to Russia in search of her father, captured after the Bolshevik Revolution and until recently was thought to be dead.
I much preferred this sequel to the first book. Perhaps it was because I knew the characters better and as I had said in the previous review, it took a while for me to grow to like Lydia. Perhaps it was also because of the faster pace, travelling through Bolshevik Russia was dangerous and the fact that they were enquiring about someone in a labour camp would not have helped. There were a lot of edge of the seat moments, and I enjoyed the way the relationship between Lydia and her brother developed throughout.
I have just discovered that there is a book set in Russia before Valentina married Lydia's father, and normally, I would always suggest reading the original before sequels, but in this case, I would skip The Russian Concubine and move straight to this, it gives enough back story through flashbacks that it will be very easy to catch up.
I much preferred this sequel to the first book. Perhaps it was because I knew the characters better and as I had said in the previous review, it took a while for me to grow to like Lydia. Perhaps it was also because of the faster pace, travelling through Bolshevik Russia was dangerous and the fact that they were enquiring about someone in a labour camp would not have helped. There were a lot of edge of the seat moments, and I enjoyed the way the relationship between Lydia and her brother developed throughout.
I have just discovered that there is a book set in Russia before Valentina married Lydia's father, and normally, I would always suggest reading the original before sequels, but in this case, I would skip The Russian Concubine and move straight to this, it gives enough back story through flashbacks that it will be very easy to catch up.
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