Tag: bloomsburypublishing

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The Tsarina’s Daughter by Ellen Alpsten – Blog Tour

Thank you so much Becky Hunter for gifting me this wonderful historical novel and having me on the tour!

–Synopsis–

Ellen Alpsten’s stunning new novel, The Tsarina’s Daughter, is the dramatic story of Elizabeth, daughter of Catherine I and Peter the Great, who ruled Russia during an extraordinary life marked by love, danger, passion and scandal.

Born into the House of Romanov to the all-powerful Peter the Great and his wife, Catherine, a former serf, beautiful Tsarevna Elizabeth is the envy of the Russian empire. She is insulated by luxury and spoiled by her father, who dreams for her to marry King Louis XV of France and rule in Versailles. But when a woodland creature gives her a Delphic prophecy, her life is turned upside down. Her volatile father suddenly dies, her only brother has been executed and her mother takes the throne of Russia.

As friends turn to foes in the dangerous atmosphere of the Court, the princess must fear for her freedom and her life. Fate deals her blow after blow, and even loving her becomes a crime that warrants cruel torture and capital punishment: Elizabeth matures from suffering victim to strong and savvy survivor. But only her true love and their burning passion finally help her become who she is. When the Imperial Crown is left to an infant Tsarevich, Elizabeth finds herself in mortal danger and must confront a terrible dilemma–seize the reins of power and harm an innocent child, or find herself following in the footsteps of her murdered brother.

Hidden behind a gorgeous, wildly decadent façade, the Russian Imperial Court is a viper’s den of intrigue and ambition. Only a woman possessed of boundless courage and cunning can prove herself worthy to sit on the throne of Peter the Great.

–Review–

With yet another gripping prologue, you get engulfed in the epic story of Elizabeth Petrovna Romanova, daughter of Peter the Great and Catherine I of All the Russias.

What a fantastic book!

Enter, if you dare, the Russian court and all of its marvels. Thanks to Ellen’s divine and poetic writing, you get to experience, taste, smell, feel, touch it all to perfection. 

In this next installment of the unforgiving race for the throne of the Russian Empire, journey with Elizabeth through all the hurdles she had to overcome and her incredible destiny.

With all the scheming forces at work, this fierce woman had to show much resilience to survive. First promised to the King Louis XV of France, fate had other plans for her. 

Stakes are high and the price to pay even greater… Having lost both her father and her mother in the span of 2 years, the games became more dangerous than ever, the enemies lurking in the shadows. 

Wading through all the humiliations, the loss of her sister with whom she had once the strongest of bonds, the death of her fiancé and torture of her lover, only her eternal devotion to Russia and its people, the assistance of Lestocq, Schwartz and Alexis, the love of her life, kept her going.

I can only recommend you pick up a copy of this wondrous story of courage, resilience and tenacity, and witness Elizabeth’s fascinating transformation whilst facing adversity with bravery and humility.

And if you haven’t done so already, pick up a copy of Tsarina by the same author.

With Love
AGJ

Out 8 July with Bloomsbury Publishing
TW: torture, death, violence, sex

Don’t forget to check out what my fellow bloggers are saying!

–About the Author – Ellen Alpsten–

Novelist and journalist

Ellen Alpsten was born and raised in the Kenyan highlands, before attending L’Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris. Whilst studying for her Msc in PPE she won the Grande École short story competition with her novella Meeting Mr. Gandhi and was encouraged to continue writing.

Upon graduating, she worked as a producer and presenter for Bloomberg TV in London: knowing no-one and working gruesome night shifts on breakfast TV, she started to write in earnest, every day, after work and a nap. Tsarina, the first and only account of the incredible rise of Catherine I of Russia from serf to Empress, is her debut novel. 

Today, Ellen works as an author and as a journalist for international publications such as  Vogue, Standpoint and CN Traveller. She lives in London with her husband, three children and a chubby, moody fox-red Labrador.

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TSARINA by Ellen Alpsten

An absolute masterpiece! Thank you so much to Becky Hunter for gifting me this wonderful book! I cannot wait to finish the sequel “The Tsarina’s Daughter” for my spot on the upcoming blog tour.

–Synopsis–

Lover, mother, murderer, Tsarina

1699: Illegitimate, destitute and strikingly beautiful, Marta is sold into labour at the age of fifteen – where in desperation she commits a crime that will force her to go on the run.

Cheating death at every turn, she is swept into the current of the Great Northern War. Working as a washer woman at a battle camp, she catches the eye of none other than Peter the Great. Passionate and iron-willed, Peter has a vision for transforming the traditionalist Tsardom of Russia into a modern, Western empire.

With nothing but wits, courage and formidable ambition, Marta will rise from nothing to become Catherine I of Russia. But it comes at a steep price and is tied to the destiny of Russia itself.

–Review–

Ellen Alpsten is such a talented writer and storyteller. She has expertly crafted an historical novel into an addictive page turner.

1725, INTERREGNUM, Peter the Great is dead, and Catherine (formerly known as Marta) only has a few hours to make or break her destiny.

Whilst she waits for the Council to arrive, she thinks back on her life… and what a life she has led!

Her story is one of bravery, love, resilience, strength, courage, dedication. Her journey through the world is simply breathtaking. Catherine went through so much, had to endure so much, however she had but one motto: show no fear.

Amidst the wars, feasts and famines, social pressures to abide by, such as the dreaded “obligation” to produce sons, Ellen very skillfully depicts what it was like to be a woman in this men’s world. 

Despite it all, Catherine had a very singular relationship with Peter. He chose her (makta), and she chose him (tsarik). She stood by him through all the storms, through his obsessions and ambitions, she accompanied him to almost all the battle camps during the Wars against Sweden or Persia, she nursed him through is long lasting disease (syphilis). 

Peter’s relationship with people, and especially his own son from his previous marriage, were quite tumultuous and she always acted in the background to try and appease things. Catherine was good, kind and lenient. She saved many people from his wraths and managed to secure long lasting friendships and loyalty amongst his closest. Her influence in the background was key, but too often forgotten by historians.

Peter’s reign was one of major changes, new territories, new laws (many, many of them), new capital erected from the ground up (St Petersburg), constitution of a Senate, and much more. Peter was desperate to shake things up and tear apart the old customs, build a new world. In the shadows she played such an important role in this tumultuous period which reshaped Russia, and it simply is a delight to ready this beauty of a book, giving her back the credit that she duly deserved.

Through hell and back, from poverty to wealth, from washerwoman to Empress, Catherine’ story is an inspiration and I am truly grateful to Ellen for sharing her extraordinarily detailed amount of research with the world to bring us this book. 

I personally adored the descriptions of all the jewels… As a qualified gemologist I was pleased to see Ellen’s depictions matching my own (limited) knowledge in this respect!

Ellen’s writing is spectacular, I was completely hooked from the start and couldn’t put it down. Even if I had vague notions of this part of Russian history, reading this incredible destiny greatly enhanced my knowledge and desire to know more. It is a book that everyone should read (although a word of caution, this is not a story for the fainthearted!)

Ellen, if not done so already, it has to be translated in French, I know a few people who will absolutely love this!

With Love
AGJ

TW: rape, adultery, sex, abuse, death, violence, still birth
Out now and available in hardback, paperback, e-format and audio – Published by Bloomsbury Publishing

–About the Author – Ellen Alpsten–

Novelist and journalist

Ellen Alpsten was born and raised in the Kenyan highlands, before attending L’Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris. Whilst studying for her Msc in PPE she won the Grande École short story competition with her novella Meeting Mr. Gandhi and was encouraged to continue writing.

Upon graduating, she worked as a producer and presenter for Bloomberg TV in London: knowing no-one and working gruesome night shifts on breakfast TV, she started to write in earnest, every day, after work and a nap. Tsarina, the first and only account of the incredible rise of Catherine I of Russia from serf to Empress, is her debut novel. 

Today, Ellen works as an author and as a journalist for international publications such as  Vogue, Standpoint and CN Traveller. She lives in London with her husband, three children and a chubby, moody fox-red Labrador.

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“WE ARE BELLINGCAT – An intelligence agency for the People” by Eliot Higgins

Happy Publication Day !!

Synopsis: « We Are Bellingcat tells the story of how a school dropout created a whole new category of information-gathering and galvanised citizen journalists to solve some of the biggest stories of our time, using just their computer screens. It charts the tools that have developed for analysing data since the 1990s, from geo-location software that can pinpoint a precise place, to an app that can identify to the half hour the time of day when a photograph was taken. And it digs deep into some of Bellingcat’s most successful investigations – the truth about the downing of Malaysia Flight 17 over the Ukraine, the sourcing of weapons in the Syrian Civil War, scoops into journalistic phone hacking – with the drama and detail of a crime novel. »

“Identify, Verify, Amplify” – and this is how Bellingcat’ story goes. 

From a “one-man band” gathering data and posting on message boards during the Arab Spring to a full independent enterprise capable of identifying Russian killers, Eliot Higgins has grown a great deal. Through these pages, you get to discover the fascinating “behind the scenes” of open-source investigation and how it all began.

You get to immerse yourself in Eliot’s journey from his blog relying on crowdfunding to the company employing many, that is Bellingcat today. The author takes us through a very detailed account of the techniques used by the Bellingcat “sleuths” during the biggest stories they have covered: war in Syria, Salisbury attack, downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight “MH1”. All of this ensuring that all data provided and shared can be verified by whoever accesses it. 

Using many different tools, ranging from the simplest to more advanced (such as geolocalisation via the analysis of the sun’ shadows, Google Maps / Earth, image reversing, analysing hours of footage, scouring social media accounts and so much more), Bellingcat has uncovered so much evidence regarding some of the worst acts of our time, sometimes even shaming the governments’ data gathering capabilities, and this only by analysing what was all along in front of our eyes and for all to see (if one knows where to look).

The only criticism that I can make is that we sometimes get lost in a vast amount of details and the transition from one case or one idea to the next, does not always makes sense. Even though I thoroughly enjoyed it, it isn’t an easy read for everyone – if you, like me, enjoy investigative reports or scientific journals, then you should definitely try and read it. 

What is truly incredible is that everyone could do it, if one is ready to spare some time. Behind the technicalities of it all, Eliot also demonstrates that we are stronger when working together. One person can start something wonderful but only with the help of others can it achieve its true potential, grow and strive. 

A truly informative book, and if you would like to investigate further, you can also check out their website: https://www.bellingcat.com.

Thank you NetGalley and Bloomsbury Publishing for the advance e-copy. 

Book published on 4 February 2021 by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

Opinions are my own

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