Review Detail

The Secret Daughter of the Tsar is a carefully woven tale of three lives, converging in a powerful ending that will leave the reader eager for the sequel.

Historical fiction fans and Contemporary romance fans will enjoy the Secret Daughter of the Tsar—a wonderful blend of two genres with a great deal of fact and little bit of exciting alternate history, leaving you to ponder, what if?
Within the first few pages, the reader is transported back to the days of the Aristocracy of Imperial Russia and the astounding question of a fifth daughter who may have survived the slaughter of the Romanov line, living on to possibly bear an heir of her own. Just when the reader becomes deeply engrossed in the past, the perspective changes and we’re brought back to the present day story of Veronica Herrera and her budding relationship with the mysterious Michael Karstadt, a man with a direct link to the dark past of the Romanovs. Then the perspective changes again, leading to a further unraveling of the stories of Lena, Charlotte and finally Veronica.
The tale is beautifully told, but for the one aspect that was a disappointment. The much too obvious hint the author left in the chapter quotes ruined the plot twist. Unfortunately, that one detail just really gave it all away and made the storyline much more predictable than it would have been otherwise. I would have preferred to be taken by surprise with this particular plot twist.
Nevertheless, the story of Veronica, The Reluctant Romanov, came to a beautiful and still satisfying end for this first book, leaving me eager to pick up the next book, The Tsarina’s Legacy.

Recommended for an older YA audience with a passion for history.

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