I received this book from the publishers via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

When Marta, a lowly peasant girl, flees from her abusive master and finds solace in the home of a Lutheran priest, she has no idea that the next steps she takes will end up in her becoming the mistress of Peter - the Tsar of all Russia. Over the next twenty years, Marta will become Catherine, Tsarina and Empress of Russia and be at Peter's side, bearing his children and watching his terrible deeds until she becomes the first female Empress after his death.

This was a very interesting historical fiction that spanned a time and place in history I know very little about. It was truly fascinating learning about the decades of Peter and Catherine's rule - the debauchery, the war mongery as well as the attempts at growing a new city (St Petersburg) and the ever terrible weight of producing a healthy son for an heir.

The style of this book was in one I really enjoy when it comes to historical fiction - a very detailed description of Marta's life and her rise to power, with the ever looming threat with every dead son or pretty mistress, that could spell her end. Marta as a character was one you could easily like, a gentle, intelligent person who happened to be connected to a malicious, weak man, and what she could have done if she lived in a time when women were truly free and educated. That's not to say she didn't have her flaws and there were moments in this that highlighted simple cruelty towards other humans as well as animals that were uncomfortable and unpleasant to read about.

While I enjoyed this book, just over halfway through it became a bit of slog to read as I felt like a lot of the story was very much the same (Peter being an arse about something, going to war and Catherine becoming pregnant). There are parts of the story I think that could have been skipped and others that would have benefited from more time. I definitely preferred reading about Marta's early life and her earlier time with Peter as his mistress.