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oliviaalbion's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I read this book in just over a week and was entranced by it. I possibly would have finished it sooner, but occasionally needed mental breaks from the very detailed gruesome and violent scenes. I'm finding it difficult to rate as, although fast-paced, that wasn't always a good thing. The structure of the book seemed to jump around a bit, and although somewhat chronological, it didn't always make sense or seem relevant to the current chapter. It seemed overly long, and there were times I felt like I had read a lot because of how much had happened, but really, I hadn't read many pages. The cross between fiction and historical reality has been cleverly manipulated to show the life of the Tsarina. The highs and lows of her life as a female in Russia during the early 1700s have been well portrayed, and I appreciated that the dark history of this time was not glossed over. I don't doubt the historical accuracy of the research, but I do have an issue with some of the portrayals and doubt the primary sources (political/historical bias?). Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed learning more about Russia's history and especially seeing the female pov of the Tsarina. I'm glad I ticked this book off my list but would not read it again.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Drug use, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Alcoholism, Body horror, Child death, Death, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Slavery, Violence, Vomit, Antisemitism, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
This is not a bedtime story! Potentially a book to read when you're mentally ready for a lot of the topics that come with Russian history.