Inside the Heart and Mind of a Great Monarch
This is the story of Catherine the Great of Russia and how she became great.  She was born as Sophie Fredericka Augusta on April 29, 1729 in the impoverished Duchy of Anhalt-Zerbst.  At the age of 14 the German princess was brought to Russia by her mother, to marry Grand Duke Peter.  The future successor of the Russian throne.  She was then given the name of Catherine.

The marriage between Catherine and Peter was loveless, to say the least and it wasn’t until 1754 that their first son, Paul was born.  The Empress at the time, Elizabeth took Paul from Catherine and raised him herself.  

When Empress Elizabeth died, Grand Duke Peter became Peter III on December 25, 1761.  However. he was a downright mean monarch and on June 28, 1762 Catherine was able to overthrown Peter III and became Empress Catherine.

When she took over, the coffers were almost empty.  However she was able to turn that around and write legislation to make it easier for the average citizen to live.  She was eventually know as Great.  There is great detail of her own inner workings both as a monarch and a lover.  She had many men in her life who she was romantically involved with.  When one favourite fell out of her favour, there was another to replace him.

This was a very long ebook, of 853 pages.  I was very thankful that it was given to me as an ebook for that reason.  This is a detailed historical fiction novel of Catherine from birth to death.  I really enjoyed it for the most part but found myself taking on the role of editor as I read it.  In my opinion it could have been cut down by 200 pages or more and have been a better book for it. 

That said, this was a very touching account of Catherine the Great.  When I started the book I knew very little about her but as I turned the pages I began to empathise with her and care what happened to her.  This would be a great book for those who are interested in Russian history and Catherine the Great. 

This is Book one of a trilogy titled The Volga Flows Forever.

3.5/5

Thanks to MediaGuests for this ebook and inviting me to be part of the tour.
The Tour Stops:
Nov. 2 – She Reads – She Blogs, review
Nov. 3 – Carabosse’s Library, review
Nov. 5 – Musings From Inside the Hobbit Door, review
Nov. 7 – In the Pages…, review
Nov. 8 – My Sea of Books, feature and giveaway
Nov. 10 – The Book Connection, interview
Nov. 11 – This That and the Other Thing, review
Nov. 14 – Wyn is Reading Books, review
Nov. 15 – A Good Day To Read , review
Nov. 17 – Sunflower Faith, review
Nov. 26 – Curling Up by the Fire, guest post
Nov. 27 – Curling Up by the Fire, review
Nov. 28 – The True Book Addict, review, guest post,

Now for the giveaway:  Thanks to Cheryl Christensen of Media Guest, I am giving away one ebook copy.
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That’s 46 or more possible entries!  Tthis giveaway is open Internationally.
The winner’s mailing address: No P.O. Boxes
Only one entry per household/IP address
Winners will be subject to the one copy per household rule, which means that if you win the same title in two or more contests, you will receive only one copy of the book.
This giveaway will end on Tuesday, December 13th, 11:59 P.M. E.S.T. The winners will be notified by email. Winners must respond within TWO days or will be disqualified.
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