Russian Treasures

With its cloak-and-dagger intrigue, this first book of the Russian Treasures series reveals the woes of bourgeois lovers who are thrust into poverty, chaos, and despair during the Bolshevik revolution in 1917 Russia. Klim Rogov, 29, an Argentinian journalist and scion of a Russian noble family, returns home to claim his inheritance. He intends to return to Buenos Aires and avoid the political unrest between Tsar Nicholas II and the Bolsheviks—until he falls in love with the young, captivating widow Countess Nina Odintzova. The civil war brings turmoil; Klim and Nina face violence and a constant struggle for food, shelter, and safety. Amid fighting between the White Army and the Red Army, a typhoid outbreak, crumbling social conventions, and betrayal, Klim and Nina survive: Klim as an interpreter and gambler and Nina as a flax mill owner, until private property is banned. They live for a while in the home of Klim’s controlling cousin, Lubochva, and her Bolshevik lover, until Klim and Nina attempt a daring escape to China. Fans of historical fiction, particularly that set amid the Russian Revolution, will be rewarded with highly dramatic prose and excellent period details. Baryakina provides surprising twists and turns and a cliffhanger that will leave readers eager for the next book. (BookLife)