Daughters of a Dead Empire
CAROLYN TARA O'NEIL
Synopsis:
Seventeen-year-old Anna is running for her life. She barely escaped the massacre that killed her family, and now a relentless Red commander is after her to finish the job. If she can just reach the Tsarist army, she’ll be safe. But first she must convince a peasant girl to smuggle her across communist territory. And when the peasant turns out to be a communist herself, Anna must hide her true identity at all costs.
Sixteen-year-old Evgenia is poor and pissed off about it. Her Red soldier brother badly needs a doctor. Evgenia will do anything to raise the money – even selling a wagon ride to a spoiled bourgeois girl. Only it’s the worst mistake Evgenia’s ever made. A rogue commander is following them, and he’s out to kill the wealthy girl and anyone who helps her.
As the girls flee across the war-torn Russian countryside, they find that they have more in common than their prejudices led them to expect. To survive, Anna must trust a revolutionary who wants to destroy her world. And Evgenia must decide whether the life of her new friend is worth more than the change she so passionately believes in.
Content:
Language: There is actually a very limited amount of swearing, but when they do swear, it is usually "f." There are a few uses of "d" and "h," as well as "s."
Violence: The book centers on war and the Russian Bolshevik Revolution, so there are descriptions of wounded soldiers, murder, torture, gunshot wounds, and bloody beatings. There is also some discussion of the brutal execution of the tsar family, as well as violence against the upper classes (including killings, burning alive, and arson). The violence can be quite graphic and the author does not shy away from the brutality of the time.
Sex: A few allusions to sex and a small potentially romantic interest forms at the very end.
LGBTQ: Not present.
My Review: This was a fairly quick and interesting read, but I had trouble connecting with the characters and it took me a while to get into the story. I liked how their friendship grew, but I didn't really feel anything for either of them. There were several scenes that were supposed to be suspenseful and concerning for the girls, but I found that I wasn't worried about them.
The setting and atmosphere of the book were very well done, though, and I was very interested in the history side of the novel.