A Waltz with Traitors by A.L. Sowards

A Waltz with Traitors
by A.L. Sowards

ISBN-13: 9781524421120
Paperback: 328 pages
Publisher: Covenant Communications
Released: March 1, 2023

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
The Former Russian Empire, 1918. Czech soldier Filip Sedlák never wanted to fight for the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He defected to the Russians to help form the Czechoslovak Legion with others like him. Their goal: leave the chaos of Russia, sail to France, and help the Allies defeat the Central Powers, thereby toppling a hated empire and winning an independent Czechoslovakia.

With the fall of the tsar, Nadia Linskaya’s life is in ruins. Her family is dead, her lands are confiscated, and her aristocratic world is gone forever. But Nadia is determined to elude the Bolshevik agent who destroyed her family and find a way to survive in this changed world.

When Nadia takes refuge with the Czechoslovak Legion, the last thing she expects is an ally. But when Filip proposes a sham marriage to ensure her safe passage across Siberia, she takes it. Neither Filip nor Nadia expect real love, not when the legion has to take over the longest railroad in the world—and then hold it against Bolshevik counterattacks, partisan sabotage, Allied intrigue, and a set of brutal Siberian winters. At risk is the future of Czechoslovakia, the fate of Russia, and their hearts.


My Review:
A Waltz with Traitors is a historical suspense/romance set in Russia starting in March 1918. So much is going on that we need 3 male and 1 female point-of-view characters to tell the story of the Czechoslovak Legion. Between war, retribution, starvation, and disease, people were dying all over Russia, so this is a warning that a lot of bad things happen to the main characters and that non-POV characters may die. But the main characters hold on to hope even in the darkest times, so it's not depressing to read.

Vivid historical and setting details were woven into the story, bringing it alive in my imagination. The main characters were engaging, complex, and felt like real people. Though, at the very end when Nadia drives the car, things started feeling exaggerated to the point of being unrealistic. The action scenes went on forever with "if it can go wrong, it will go wrong" in full effect while the reconciliation scene resolved a world of hurt in no time.

Nadia held on to her faith in God and heaven throughout all she endured and lost, and Filip grew in his faith by witnessing hers. There was no sex or bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this interesting, suspenseful historical novel.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.