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Kelly's prequel to her hugely successful Lilac Girls again tells the story of three women tested by dramatic historical events. This time the chaos of the Russian Revolution takes center stage as Sofya, a Russian aristocrat, fights to survive and to recover her missing child while her friend Eliza Ferriday (mother of Lilac Girls' Caroline) strives to discover Sofya's fate while welcoming other desperate Russian refugees to the United States. Meanwhile, peasant girl Varinka is closely connected to those committing terrible deeds in the name of revolution. Sofya has by far the most compelling story line, and some readers may get restless when reading about Eliza's relatively low-stakes activities. Varinka's tale largely feels like a missed opportunity for a more nuanced exploration of the forces behind the 1917 uprising, as the revolutionaries we get to know best through her are unquestionably irredeemable creeps. VERDICT Overall, this novel builds to an emotionally satisfying conclusion, and readers who loved Lilac Girls will likely be keen to learn more about the Ferridays. Also suggest to fans of recent Russian historical fiction hits such as Amor Towles's A Gentleman in Moscow and C.W. Gortner's The Romanov Empress. [See Prepub Alert, 10/29/18; an editor's pick, LJ 2/19.]—Mara Bandy Fass, Champaign P.L., IL

How Caroline Ferriday, the real-life character featured in Kelly's Lilac Girls, was inspired to become an advocate for Polish refugees who survived WWII comes to light in this lively, well-researched prequel in which she appears as a child. Here the story focuses on her mother, Eliza, who set an example for her daughter by being a champion for Russian nobility brutalized during WWI. Just as the author focused on three strong women surviving a war in her previous novel, she does the same here: in addition to Eliza, there is her aristocrat friend Sofya Streshnayva (cousin to the tsar) and a Russian peasant girl, Varinka. The author follows the trajectory of their lives from 1914 through WWI and then the Russian Revolution and its aftermath with page-tuning brio. Interweaving three story lines (Varinka ends up working for the Streshnayva household) where all three are emotionally and physically put to the test, the author depicts Eliza's upper-class life in America and how, despite personal loss, she throws herself into helping Russian emigres; Sofya's tragic circumstances when a rowdy, dangerous mob takes over the family's country home; and Varinka's struggles as a peasant girl at the mercy of a man who is both abusive and protective toward her. Some story lines strain credibility (coincidences and melodramatic cliffhangers abound) or are questionable (the prurient element involved with Varinka's protector/abuser falls flat). Nevertheless, Kelly memorably portrays three indomitable women who triumph over hardships and successfully brings a complex and turbulent time in history to life. (Apr.)