Lilac Girls was one of my favorite books I've read this year so when I heard about Lost Roses, the prequel, I knew I had to read it. When it comes to historical fiction, I generally stay with WWII novels so was intrigued to read a book about WWI. I loved Caroline Ferriday in Lilac Girls, and really liked the Lost Roses was the story of her mother, Eliza.

This book, like Lilac Girls, is told from three different perspectives, Eliza, her friend Sofya, a cousin of the Romanov's, and Varinka, a peasant who is hired to take care of Sofya's son. The way their lives intertwined throughout the book was great. I was intrigued the entire time and was definitely routing for Sofya.

I honestly did not know much about WWI especially about the Romanov's and Bolshevik's. I felt that Martha Hall Kelly did a fantastic job with her research on this subject matter. I learned a lot while reading this book. I did find the beginning a bit confusing which is why I rated this 4 out of 5 stars.