Citadels of Fire, Kremlin I by L.K.Hill Review and Giveaway!

Product Details Series: Kremlins Paperback: 368 pages Publisher: Jolly Fish Press (May 27, 2014) Language: English ISBN-10: 1939967163 ISBN-13: 978-1939967169

In a world where danger hides in plain sight and no one aspires to more than what they were born to, Inga must find the courage to break the oppressive chains she’s been bound with since birth. 

As a maid in the infamous Kremlin, life in 16th-century Russia is bleak and treacherous. That is, until Taras arrives. Convinced that his mother’s death when he was a boy was no mere accident, he returned from England to discover what really happened. While there, he gains favor from the Tsar later known as Ivan the Terrible, the most brutal and notorious ruler ever to sit upon the throne of Russia. Ivan allows him to take a servant, and to save Inga from a brutal boyar intent on raping her, Taras requests Inga to stay in his chambers. 

Up against the social confines of the time, the shadowy conspiracies that cloak their history, and the sexual politics of the Russian Imperial court, Inga and Taras must discover their past, plan for their future, and survive the brutality that permeates life within the four walls that tower over them all, or they may end up like so many citizens of ancient Russia: nothing but flesh and bone mortar for the stones of the Kremlin wall.

About this author

L.K. Hill is a novelist who writes across three genres. Her crime and historical fiction are written under her initials, L.K., while her scifi/fantasy and dystopian are written under her full name, Liesel K. Hill. She lives in northern Utah and comes from a large, tight-knit family. She plans to keep writing until they nail her coffin shut. Or the Second Coming happens. You know, whichever happens first. 

You can find L.K. Hill online here:

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Website: www.lkhill.blogspot.com

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My Review
Citadel of Fire was a totally different type of historical fiction for my, same era I enjoy 1600's, but this one was about Russian history. This story depicted life in the Russian court and how very difficult life of a life it was for lowly born people. The weather was harsh and there seemed to always be fighting going on. When Inga was a small child she is taken in by a maid, Yehvah, to be trained as a maid and to live in the palace of the Tsar. Life is hard in the palace but Inga adapts. She meets Taras when she is young and then again when when she is a teenager. Taras has come back to Russia to find out how his mother died. He remembers the event but he was a child also. There relationship grows and in time Inga becomes his mistress.

This is the time in Russian history that Ivan the Terrible is on the throne, the reader meets him when he is a small child after the death of his father. He was named Grand Prince of Moscow and his mother acted as regent. When he was eight his mother died and the Boyars acted in his place in the government. These men were cruel to Ivan and his brother Yuri but when Ivan turned 16 he was crowned Tsar of all Russias. 

This is a fast paced story that I found very enjoyable. It is about the personal relationship between Inga and Taras, and  life in the palace under Ivan. The story also tells of the Great Fire of 1547 that virtually wiped out Moscow and surrounding areas. Of course this novel is only the first in the trilogy so I imagine we learn more about Inga and Taras and the Tsar of Russia. My hubby also read this book, this is not the period or country in history that he typically enjoys but he liked the book, and we both look forward to reading the next two books in the series.

I received a copy of this book for review and was not monetarily compensated for my review.

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