I would have given this book a 5* if they hadn't tried to make t so twisty/ turny.  Its okay to draw a straight line in telling a story.

Imperial Russian meets bolshivk agitator and fall in love. Their story is told piecemeal throughout the novel. From the fall of The  White Palace,  the Seige of Lenningrad, to the rise of democracy they loved each other.

Not a bad book, rather enjoyable.