The prequel to The Russian Concubine, this book tells the story of Lydia's mother Valentina and their eventual escape from Russia during the revolution. Probably an even better story than the first, the setting and storytelling are first rate, however I almost wish I had read this book first bec...
I read "The Russian Concubine" first and found it quite enjoyable but I was fascinated with Valentina's character from the beginning and when I found this book was about her I was extremely pleased. On occasion I felt there was poor writing in this novel but otherwise the plot was fairly well wri...
The third and final book of this series agin managed to continue the saga without missing a beat! I was surprised to see the author do such a marvelous job of connecting the three tales. Very well developed story with plenty of suspense and excitement. The girl goes in search for her father whom ...
A satisfying end to the series. As with the previous two books I had trouble getting into the book at first but after a couple of chapters you find yourself getting to know the characters and wanting to know what happens to them. I think that's what kept me coming back to read the whole series. K...
When reading books that belong in a series I always try to start at the beginning. I would highly recommend this for this series. If you have not read the Russian Concubine yet, then stop and go read it before starting the Girl from Junchow. This is a complicated storyline and I cannot imagine ke...
I think I gave the first one, The Russian Concubine, the same rating because they seemed on equal footing to me. Lydia's plight to save her father Jens Friis from the Russian labor camps is probably the most intriguing aspect of the book. This would be why I wanted to read it because if you've re...
I had heard rave reviews about Kate Furnivall's books by some friends, so did not hesitate when I saw this book was offered as a freebie. And second bonus, the story took place in Malaya and the surrounding area during WW2, close to where I now live.I should have looked at some reviews before jum...
The Russian Concubine
This was a guy who didn’t like to get his nice clean cuffs dirty and sorted out his problems by using muscle like the two meatheads who had attacked Dodie. For that alone Spencer was lucky not to find his arms bending in the wrong directions, but right now Flynn needed this guy. He was the bridge...
What kind of fool name is that? Hatti Hoot glared down at her own signature. Each letter of it shot away in different directions as if trying to scuttle off the form in front of her. Sometimes she practiced other signatures, made up better names for herself, names that sou...
I am winning. I always win. ‘Why?’ I ask. ‘Because you don’t have to do maths homework.’ ‘What is wrong with maths homework?’ ‘It’s like chewing on broken bottles.’ ‘What?’ ‘Just an expression. Ignore me.’ ‘You are lazy today.’ But I never ignore you. ‘Show me how to do your maths.’ I take your q...
To batter the door down. To leave this room. She could see in his dead eyes that she had already been tried and condemned in his mind. This was a formality, that was all. He was seated behind a metal desk in a chilly room, a poster on the wall of Il Duce on the famous balcony of the Venezia Palac...
She was still taking on too much water, limping against a headwind. The rain didn’t help. It lashed down on the deck, hammering at the timber planks as if intent on robbing Madoc of his prize. Nothing was visible. The solid sheets of rain swallowed ...
She couldn’t bear it inside this hothouse of lies and paranoia a moment longer. All the promises of quotas impossible to achieve, and the incessant ranting against wreckers and saboteurs – it set off a griping pain in her stomach, as though rats were chewing in there. Alanya Sirova’s expression w...