The White Pearl by Kate Furnivall

Title: The White Pearl

Author: Kate Furnivall

Publisher: Berkley 2012

Genre: Historical fiction (WWII)

Pages: 433

Rating: 4 / 5 stars

Reading Challenges: Historical Fiction; Fall into Reading; Mount TBR; Color Coded -- White

How I Got It: I own it!

Malaya, 1941. Connie Thornton plays her role as a dutiful wife and mother without complaint. She is among the fortunate after all-the British rubber plantation owners reaping the benefits of the colonial life. But Connie feels as though she is oppressed, crippled by boredom, sweltering heat, a loveless marriage. . .
Then, in December, the Japanese invade. Connie and her family flee, sailing south on their yacht toward Singapore, where the British are certain to stand firm against the Japanese. En route, in the company of friends, they learn that Singapore is already under siege. Tensions mount, tempers flare, and the yacht's inhabitants are driven by fear.
Increasingly desperate and short of food, they are taken over by a pirate craft and its Malayan crew making their perilous way from island to island. When a fighter plane crashes into the sea, they rescue its Japanese pilot. For Connie, that's when everything changes. In the suffocating confines of the boat with her life upended, Connie discovers a new kind of freedom and a new, dangerous, exhilarating love.

Hmmm... First off, I have to say that I liked The Russian Concubine trilogy much more than this stand alone novel. I loved the setting in Malaya and the Pacific. I liked the backdrop of WWII. I liked many of the side characters. I just couldn't stand Connie. Sure she was stuck in a bad marriage. But did that mean she had to treat everyone else like she was the center of the universe? I felt no sympathy for her. And it made me want to throw the book down a few times. Don't get me wrong, the story's great. My annoyance at one character made my reading of the book feel like more of a struggle than an enjoyment.

The Jewel of St. Petersburg by Kate Furnivall

Title: The Jewel of St. Petersburg (Russian Concubine #3)

Author: Kate Furnivall

Publisher: Berkley Trade 2010

Genre: Historical Fiction

Pages: 432

Rating: 5 / 5 stars

Reading Challenges: Historical Fiction; Mount TBR; Fall into Reading

How I Got It: I own it!

Russia, 1910. Valentina Ivanova is the darling of St. Petersburg's elite aristocracy-until her romance with a Danish engineer creates a terrible scandal and her parents push her into a loveless engagement with a Russian count.
Meanwhile, Russia itself is bound for rebellion. With the Tsar and the Duma at each other's throats, and the Bolsheviks drawing their battle lines, the elegance and opulence of Tsarist rule are in their last days. And Valentina will be forced to make a choice that will change not only her own life, but the lives of those around her forever...

I finally completed the Russian Concubine trilogy. It had been on my radar for a very long time, the volumes sat gathering dust in a box, and yet I bypassed them for other reads. I forced myself to start the book and I'm glad I did. I enjoyed this novel much more than any of my recent reads. I even liked this one more than The Girl from Junchow. Somehow I grew to love Valentina much more than I loved Lydia. Valentina's struggles to survive and thrive in revolutionary Russia struck my heart more than Lydia's struggles in China. While the previous book was gray, gray, and more gray, this one has pops of color. The mood wasn't always desperate. I knew what was coming but still there was hope in the story. I loved seeing Alexei and Liev and Jens younger and full of life. Plus, the actual historical elements of the Russian Revolution wove seamlessly throughout the story. I definite recommendation for lovers of historical fiction and great stories.

Russian Concubine

#1 The Russian Concubine
#2 The Girl from Junchow
#3 The Jewel of St. Petersburg

The Girl from Jungchow by Kate Furnivall

Title: The Girl from Jungchow (Russian Concubine #2)

Author: Kate Furnivall

Publisher: Berkley Trade 2009

Genre: Historical Fiction

Pages: 500

Rating: 4 / 5 stars

Reading Challenges: Historical Fiction; Mount TBR; Fall into Reading

How I Got It: I own it!

China, 1929. For years Lydia Ivanova believed her father was killed by the Bolsheviks. But when she learns he is imprisoned in Stalin-controlled Russia, the fiery girl is willing to leave everything behind- even her Chinese lover, Chang An Lo.
Lydia begins a dangerous search, journeying to Moscow with her half-brother Alexei. But when Alexei abruptly disappears, Lydia is left alone, penniless in Soviet Russia.
All seems lost, but Chang An Lo has not forgotten Lydia. He knows things about her father that she does not. And while he races to protect her, she is prepared to risk treacherous consequences to discover the truth.

A slow start, but ultimately a good historical fiction read. I admit that Lydia isn't my favorite literary character. It's the other characters that roped me into the book. Liev's stubbornness, Alexei's mystery, Elena's hardness, Antonina's fragile nature, Edik's need for a place, even Chang's honor. Those characters kept me reading each chapter, wanting to see where life took them. The contrast is setting also grabbed my attention. While The Russian Concubine was set in China, the second book is set squarely in Stalin's Russia. Like Lydia, I yearned for the colorful warm China. Russia is gray, gray, and more gray. I did appreciate the descriptions of settings and building. Overall I didn't like is more than The Russian Concubine, but it definitely kept my attention for the third book.

Russian Concubine

#1 The Russian Concubine
#2 The Girl from Junchow
#3 The Jewel of St. Petersburg

The Russian Concubine by Kate Furnivall

Title: The Russian Concubine (Russian Concubine #1)

Author: Kate Furnivall

Publisher: Berkley Trade 2007

Genre: Historical Fiction

Pages: 517

Rating: 5 / 5 stars

Reading Challenges: Historical Fiction; 2011 - Will Power? What Will Power?

How I Got It: I own it!

A sweeping novel set in war-torn 1928 China, with a star-crossed love story at its center.
In a city full of thieves and Communists, danger and death, spirited young Lydia Ivanova has lived a hard life. Always looking over her shoulder, the sixteen-year-old must steal to feed herself and her mother, Valentina, who numbered among the Russian elite until Bolsheviks murdered most of them, including her husband. As exiles, Lydia and Valentina have learned to survive in a foreign land.
Often, Lydia steals away to meet with the handsome young freedom fighter Chang An Lo. But they face danger: Chiang Kai Shek's troops are headed toward Junchow to kill Reds like Chang, who has in his possession the jewels of a tsarina, meant as a gift for the despot's wife. The young pair's all-consuming love can only bring shame and peril upon them, from both sides. Those in power will do anything to quell it. But Lydia and Chang are powerless to end it.

To say that this is a love story is selling the book short. It is so much more than a love story. The story takes place in a short amount of time but includes so many actions and events it seems so long. Rereading that sentence, it seems like I felt the novel was long and drawn out, but it was just the opposite. The action flew through the storyline. I love the fierce nature of Lydia, the determination of Chang, and the mystery and intrigue surrounding the other characters. The characters made the story. I loved all the twists and turns. A beautiful epic novel. And it's the first novel in a trilogy. I am dying to read the second and third. I want to find out what happens to Lydia, Alexei, Liev, and Chang. I can't wait!

Russian Concubine

#1 The Russian Concubine
#2 The Girl from Junchow
#3 The Jewel of St. Petersburg