This book did not work for me.Since there are many reviews detailing the synopsis of the story line I'll focus on what I consider the book's strengths & weaknesses.
The writing, at times, was enjoyable informative with descriptions of people, places, ideas well thought
…more out. The idea of writing a story involving Russian history was fascinating & intriguing. Using two time period main characters to carry the story gives interest & is a form of writing I admire.
The first part of the story was slow - it took awhile to hold my attention, but I wanted to give it time to develop. The middle part of the story held the most interest to me with the main characters "becoming real" and clearly moving the story in an interesting way. From about 2/3 to the end, the book declined & I could not wait until the last page. The story jumped back & forth so quickly, bringing more & more threads & crossovers. The story seemed forced & lost its impact.
A book is what it is & I rarely say "if only" the author had done this or that - it's written as the author wanted it. That being said I would have certainly enjoyed more details of the various periods, the wars, the revolutions, how these all impacted the people and most definitely more on the dolls. The tangle of people overwhelmed the "historical fiction" that I wished for in this book. At one point in the story, I was considering a re-read just for the history so I could research it, but that part of interest soon was lost. (less)