A young girl was sitting on a bench in the train station and she caught my attention immediately. She was reading a book with a gorgeous cover. After asking what book it was I searched for it and found the following.
Look at that pretty cover. I would love to wear a dress like that for once in my life and that is saying something cause I am very much a jeans type of woman. After reading the synopsis I was sold and added the book to my shelves. I love historical fiction and court intrigues. The reviews are all over the place though so I am curious what to find when I finally get to read this book.Her name is Barbara—in Russian, Varvara. Nimble-witted and attentive, she’s allowed into the employ of the Empress Elizabeth, amid the glitter and cruelty of the world’s most eminent court. Under the tutelage of Count Bestuzhev, Chancellor and spymaster, Varvara will be educated in skills from lock picking to lovemaking, learning above all else to listen—and to wait for opportunity. That opportunity arrives in a slender young princess from Zerbst named Sophie, a playful teenager destined to become the indomitable Catherine the Great. Sophie’s destiny at court is to marry the Empress’s nephew, but she has other, loftier, more dangerous ambitions, and she proves to be more guileful than she first appears.
What Sophie needs is an insider at court, a loyal pair of eyes and ears who knows the traps, the conspiracies, and the treacheries that surround her. Varvara will become Sophie’s confidante—and together the two young women will rise to the pinnacle of absolute power.
Did you read it and what are your thoughts? Feel free to link up your review or leave a message in the comments.
ConversionConversion EmoticonEmoticon