Lost Roses(Lilac Girls,#2)

☆☆☆☆☆

Lost Roses.

Lilac Girls, #2
 martha hall kelly.

Publisher  Ballantine Books.

Publication Date: April 9,2019

Genre: Historical Fiction.
 Format|Pages: Hardcover|448.

 Source:  Goodreads|Library.

CONTAINS SPOILERS

It is 1914 and the world has been on the brink of war so many times, 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 Romanov's. 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. 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 fortuneteller'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 to the avenues of Paris and the society of fallen Russian emigre's who live there, the lives of Eliza, Sofya, and Varinka will intersect in profound ways, taking readers on a breathtaking ride through a momentous time in history. 

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A beautiful story about love, family, friendship, hope and courage.



I read LILAC GIRLS few months earlier and fell in love with the story. I loved Caroline and was excited to read about her mother, Eliza. I was not disappointed, and even though I loved LILAC GIRLS , I fell in love with LOST ROSES . First, don’t you love that title? Since it is prequel to LILAC GIRLS, it can be read as stand-alone. From a moment that I started to read it I knew that I was going to love this book, however I did not realize how much I would enjoy it. A book that I found myself thinking about when I wasn’t reading it. The emotions in LOST ROSES were all over the place, and there were quite few parts that were hard to ready. All of the emotions that were described in the book were vivid that I felt that I could feel them all, along with all of the characters. I felt as I was experiencing everything that Eliza, Sofya and Varinka were. It was real.
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Eliza and Sofya were my favorite and I don’t think that I would be able to pick between the two of them. Both of them are the type of characters that I would love to be friend with. The two of them were through so much, and yet not once did they give up. What Sofya went through, I cannot even begin to imagine going through what she had face, especially with someone that she trusted. All through the book, I hoped that she would be able to locate her son and get him back. I cannot imagine being away from your child as long as Sofya was. I did wonder if Max would recognize her and hoped that he would. Varnika, I had mixed feelings about her, there was part of me that liked her and felt sorry for her, considering what she had deal with. Yet, another part of me wasn’t happy how she took Max and then refused to give him back. He was not hers to keep. I was kind of hoping that she would come to her senses and return Max where he belonged. I feel that she would not, if she wasn’t caught. I do wonder what happened to her afterwards.



I love the friendship between Eliza and Sofya, what the two of them had is a friendship that would last for years to come. The way Eliza tried to see what happened to Sofya after her letters stopped coming, and helping her get Max back. Their friendship reminded me a lot of my best friend. Of course I loved that the parts of it took place in Russia since I am from there. I loved reading a book that took place in my country. I could tell how much research was put into this book. Now that I read LOST ROSES , I am eager for her next book to come out. MARTHA HALL KELLY is an remarkable author and has already became one of my favorites. I would highly recommend this book to everyone. LOST ROSES will keep you on edge of your seat from beginning to end. A story that will stay with you.