The maid who loved a soldier.The soldier who defied a Tsar.The Tsar who doomed a nation… Would you stand up to the most murderous Tsar in history…for love?Russia, 1550. Inga is lucky to live the sheltered life of a maid in the Kremlin palace. Or would be, if not for the wrath of Tsar Ivan IV, who tends to slaughter those who displease him.When an English soldier comes to court, asking … those who displease him.
When an English soldier comes to court, asking questions about his mother’s mysterious death, he offers Inga sweetness, vulnerability and passion.
But Taras asks too many dangerous questions. His fearlessness frightens Inga. In Russia’s Imperial court, courage gets people killed.
After lonely childhoods, can Inga and Taras’s love survive the wars of Tsars and Khans, in a time period the world has forgotten?
If you love sweeping historical epics and a visceral fight for true love, this trilogy is for you! Because love in the time of Ivan the Terrible is unforgettable….
more
After listening to this book about Tsar Ivan the Terrible. This book was based in Russia in the year 1550, It made me feel like I was back in that time. The author described the characters so well, You love or hate them. I do love history this book was up my alley.
An interesting book to be sure, so I will give it four stars. The added romance line to this book was a bonus. The only part that made it hard to listen to the audiobook is the music in between scene changes. It took me right out of the book and though I think it was put in to make it unique and give the listener an idea of a change coming, it took me right out of the story each time.
I enjoyed this story from the beginning to the end. The visuals created with her story telling were excellent. It was easy to imagine all the splendor, the war or the ordinary daily life which went on. It kept my attention throughout. The characters were interesting and complex and story detail was awesome! I definitely would recommend this book to all historical romance fans!
I received a free audiobook from StoryOrigin and am voluntarily leaving my honest review.
I enjoyed this audible from beginning to end. The visuals created with her story telling were excellent. I could imagine all the splendor, the war or the ordinary daily life which went on. It got and kept my attention throughout. I definitely would recommend this audible book highly. The characters were interesting & you’re ready to start the second audible immediately; just to continue the adventure with them. Very well done; thank you!
I enjoyed this book a lot. I wanted so many times to ask my coworker that grew up in Russia about what they had been taught of this history while growing up. I find everyone has their own interpretation of things, and am very curious what the Russian government’s interpretation is for this time period. I loved learning about some of the customs. I found myself researching some more about this time frame because it piqued my interest so much. The story and interaction between characters is wonderful. The narrator did a good job, although I did notice some inconsistencies in the way she pronounced a few names (this was very minor and did not cause any confusion as to what character was being referred to). I admire they way the author was able to make such realistic characters and show their feelings, strengths, and weaknesses. I want more.
Wow! Really awesome, I mean really. I was annoyed at the start because all the stuff they put in the front of the book. I almost said the heck with it, but decided to keep going. I am glad I did. The story was outstanding and the narrator put in a bunch of bells and whistles. I have not heard a book done in this way; I am looking forward to the next book in the series. The time of the book is prior to communism in Russia, but it is also a time when women are treated worse than animals. The story covers many years of rule under the young Tsar who is slowly going insane. I want to say again the author and narrator did an outstanding job.
I received a free copy of this audiobook from StoryOrigin for an honest review.
Great historical fiction! I love the diversity of characters and the love story. I don’t know much Russian history so enjoyed learning some of that. The narration was great. I enjoyed the music and sound effects. There were a couple instances I didn’t care for the sound choice but overall, a great job! I received a free copy in exchange for review.
Loved it. Definitely a must get. Storyline kept me intrigued from beginning to the end.
I enjoyed Citadels of Fire. I was given a free copy of this audiobook at my request in exchange for an honest review. I enjoyed Citadels of Fire. It was nice to learn some of the past history of Russia. I thought the narrator was very good. I did not care so much for the sound effects, they felt a bit intrusive during the story telling. I liked learning about Taras and Inga and I can’t wait to see what happens in book 2. I recommend this story.
I enjoyed Citadels of Fire. It’s interesting to hear about the history of a country I know very little about. The characters are interesting. But, hopefully in the next book we will have a little more character development. The narrator was good. I listen to a lot of audio books and have to say the music between each chapter and the few random sound effects pulled me out of the story. Overall it was a good story. I am looking forward to the next book.
I do not know much about Russian History and this writer did a lot of research on it and tried to stay as true to actual Historical history while writing a Fictional story. It is extremely interesting but Russia seems so contrary between their social beliefs and the religious beliefs.
I received a free review copy of the audio version of this book in exchange for an honest review. This was a difficult book to rate, because it is an excellent book, but it was presented in a very unfortunate way in audio format, and I struggled between three and four stars. As a written work, this would receive five stars from me. The book is interrupted throughout with needless sound effects, and every time there is a chapter break, or scene change, you have to wait for a musical interlude before the story continues. This really disrupts the flow of the story, and makes it harder to keep the listeners interest. It irritated me immensely. I would highly recommend reading this book. I would not recommend listening to it.
You know it’s a good book when you decide to finish a chapter before bed and end up finishing the book. I was awed at the historicity and detail in this book. It was so amazingly integrated and powerful, bringing to life this time in Russian history. The characters were amazing. The best and the worst and everywhere in between. The humanity given to Ivan was humbling.
So I came across this series and decided to take a chance on it without really reading the blurb or doing any further research into it. I also believe this is the first of this author that I have read/listened to. I am so glad I took that chance. I love both the characters, Inga and Taras. They are very well written and well developed. I love that Inga is able to overcome her harsh childhood, that she doesn’t let that define her. She tries her best and looks for the good in every day, even if she is but a servant. Taras, on the other hand, is born to status and upper class yet because of things that happens, he grows up quite humble. Unlike many in the upper class who feel they can take whatever they want from whomever, Taras is one who shows respect for everyone in every walk of life.
This is such a wonderful book full of Russian history. I am always intrigue with history but didn’t know much about this time period covered in this book, which got me looking up more information on certain side characters based on living people during the time frame. It’s been quite interesting. I cannot wait to start the next book in this series!
I am voluntarily leaving an honest review. All thoughts and opinion expressed are my own.
As a woman this story was difficult to read since many of the men only see women as objects to be used, abused & only in life for their pleasure. Fortunately Taras does not hold that opinion & takes Inga under his wing. There is hardship, war, difficulities in Russia. It takes 2 more books to get the full picture of Ivan the Terrible rule & what happens to Taras & Inga. I received a free copy by joining the authors newsletter. This is my voluntary review.
This was a rather lengthy and involved book which I considered well worth my time. It dealt with many different stages of Russian history during the time of Ivan the Great and Terrible. The two POVs are Inga, a young girl adopted as a kitchen servant by the head kitchen maid, and also Taras, the son of a council member to the Tzar, Ivan’s father. Tara’s and Inga briefly met early on but Taras’ and his Father fled Russia after the murder of his mother. It wasn’t until fifteen years later, Taras’ circumstances changed such that he ended up returning to Russia and joined the Russian army. It was there that Taras made a name for himself as a junior general and was recognized by Tsar Ivan for his accomplishments. He also became reacquainted with Inga and became smitten. With lots of patience and kindness, Taras won her over. This was one of my favorite parts of this story as who doesn’t love a little romance brewing amongst times of war. I especially appreciated that their romantic relationship was kept clean in the book. The ending of the book left us with many unanswered questions that laid the setting for book two which I’m very anxious to get my hands on.
This story is based on true events. I got about a quarter of the way through and had to stop reading. Not that it was not interesting, it’s just that some of the topics were too heavy and serious for me to read. It describes the fear of just existing. The stark and dark discrepancy between the working class and the ruling class. There is palace intrigue, murder, beatings, rape and other painful topics. For example, the beatings to a six-year-old and not just the strap but kicking and punching, the rape of a girl under 14. This is just too dark for me. I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.