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 keeping up without first reading the first book. With that being said, I have not read the Jewel from St. Petersburg which was written third but is a prequel to the Russian Concubine. I decided to go in the same order that the author did so that brings me to the Girl from Junchow.The stories starts right where the last left off. Lydia is traveling with her brother and her devoted burly bodyguard of sorts. They all met while living in China, but are going back to communist Russia in order to find their father who has been in a labor camp for most of Lydia's life. This is a very entertaining story, but I think it lacks plausibility. Many of the things that happened in this book would have lead to a shot in the head during this time period rather than them getting away with at most a scrape or two. I think the most interesting part was the portrayal of Russia during the peak of communism. It is almost like another world. Nothing was as it would seem and it was easier to be killed than live your life. Anything you received was at the government's will which was usually motivated by money and/or favors. From what I understand this is unfortunately an accurate image. Life was not easy during this time period and Lydia finds that out all too easily. In the end, I enjoyed the book and have every intention of reading the prequel. I think I might enjoy the fall of Russia more than its aftermath. **Warning Spoilers Ahead**Towards the end, the story was all over the place. Things did not make sense that if you read the first book, you would just wonder what is the author talking about. Lydia as a hero degrades down to the end when you realize that she was on a fool's quest and endangered everyone in her party. She went to Russia on false premises and a lot of people in her party nearly died because of her. I ended up admiring Alexei more than Lydia. I have no idea why they would portray him as a bad person when in the end he was there to find their father and Lydia turned out to be false. She was never really there to find her father, even though in both books, she is always talking about him. I was so excited for the second book but become so disappointed in the end.
What do You think about Russische Kamille (2000)?
This is the second book in the Russian Concubine Trilogy.
—Miiriiam2016
This book is also known as "The Concubine's Secret"
—Tami
