With the hindsight of history, watching the missteps of the Romanov family and the lost opportunities to escape Russia when things turned against them is heartbreaking. Greatly enjoyed this book and the view of the generation before Nicholas and Alexandra.

Thanks Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and netgalley for this ARC.

This will make you see the Romanovs in a different light. You''ll wish you could reach out and strangle a few historical figures, hug others, and it will enrich your reading of the time period.

This is one of the best books I've read in a very long time! I LOVE reading about the Russian Czars and their families and I've read a lot of books about them. This book had information I didn't know. I honestly felt like I knew the people in the book. It was beautifully written! It starts with nineteen year old Minnie (Maria Feodorovna) arriving in Russia to wed Romanov heir, Alexander. Her sister, Alix has moved to England and has married Queen Victoria's eldest son. When Alexander dies, their son, Nicholas takes over. It's a story of a family who was rich and powerful and still had problems and betrayal and death like all other families. I would read this book over and over! I LOVED it!!

WOW! I love anything written by C.W. Gortner. He has an uncanny ability to bring the past to life. Maria Romanov (Dagmar of Denmark) is a fascinating woman. A strong woman whose story has been overshadowed by the tragedy of her son and his empress. I loved reading about Maria's strengths and weaknesses.. She was a woman I admire and respect. Gortner not only brings her back to life for us, but allows us, the readers, to travel along her journey through life. We experience her happiness and her deep tragedies. I felt her pain when Alexander died, and her anger towards her daughter in law, the Empress. Personally, I find her a much more interesting character than Alexandra. Her interactions with Queen Victoria made me laugh. Gortner has become one of my favorite historical fiction writers.

A ve3ry good read. Well written. Loved the history. Aahh, may we all be a Empress. Such an interesting story. The Romanovs were quite a story. and sure made amazing history..

This book was a welcome look into the life of Czar Nicholas's family and it better elucidated events that lead up to the Russian Revolution before Nicholas's reign. I would recommend it to anyone who was interested in historical fiction.

Minnie (Princess of Denmark) comes of age to marry in the political world and refuses to marry for anything but love. After the tragic death of her fiancé and promises made, she moves forward to fall in love and become the tsarina of Russia. This takes the reader through the history of the Russian royalty reign of Alexander II, Alexander III and the revolution.

This was a book I just couldn't put down. Most people have heard of Anastasia but this book is about her grandmother Maria from a poor royal family in Denmark. She marries young and becomes the tsarina of Russia and her sister marries Queen Victoria's son and ultimately becomes the queen of England. The author breathed life into a story I never knew I wanted to know. This is one of my favorite aspects of historical fiction because when it is done right, like this book, you want to research and learn more about real history.

Maria has Nicholas who becomes the last Tsar of Russia. You see everything she goes through from switching to a regal lifestyle and having to command a household of employees to politics, assassination attempts and the rioting that ultimately leads to the Russian Revolution. I loved how strong and compassionate Maria was. She frequented charity work and took nursing classes, anything she could do to help her people most in need. You even get glimpses of young Nicholas & his teen years to his surprising choice for his wife. I definitely want to go back and read an Anastasia book now that I feel like I know her grandmother and feel she would have been so much like her.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me a copy of this ebook for a fair and honest review.

I have a great interest in Russian history, specifically the Romanovs, which is why I decided to read this in the first place. It was very interesting seeing everything from Minnie's point of view: as a non-native Russian who married into the empire and was the mother of the last Tsar.

This book moved very fluidly through time. There were definite moments of foreshadowing of the impending doom of the Romanovs, which I really liked. If the reader knows anything about the revolution, Anastasia, etc, there are clues throughout history that Russia was headed in that direction for a long time. I was quite surprised at Minnie's opinions of Alexandra (Alicky) as Nicky's wife. I never knew that they had such a tumultuous relationship and Alexandra's association with Rasputin was a major part of the Russian revolution.

Minnie is an excellent example of a strong woman who makes the best of her situation in history. At some points, she is at the top of the world. She is the Tsarevna then Tsarina, and the most fabulous woman in Russia. But she also experiences great despair at the loss of her husband and family. Her family experiences hardship and persecution, and she is strong throughout.

If you like historical fiction, you should definitely read this book. It gives a look at a character that isn't in the media or spotlight much, and that in and of itself is interesting.

We all know the story of Nicholas and Alexandra, but how many of us know the story of Nicholas’ mother? I confess, the thought of his mother’s life being of interest never really occurred to me until I saw this book.

Born Princess Dagmar of Denmark, Minnie (as she was known) went to Russia as the inexperienced, teenage bride-to-be of the country’s Tsarevitch and married into the Imperial Romanov family. From that time on, her life was one of glittering excess that defined the Russian royal family until the revolution that saw not only the murders of many of her family, but also her escape from Russia.

C.W. Gortner’s portrait of this fascinating woman is well researched and highly readable. I especially enjoyed how he presented Minnie’s views about her daughter-in-law. I felt he really brought the Imperial court to life.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

The Romanov Empress
by
C.W. Gortner (Goodreads Author)

I have read all of C.W Gortner’s books and he never fails to deliver through his in depth research of his subject or subjects.
I have read many books on the Romanovs but did not know much about “ Minnie” ( the beloved Empress Maria, the Danish girl who became the mother of the Last Tsar of Russia . )This book narrated by Minnie is easy to follow and one feels as if one is in Russia during the Romanovs reign. Maria was the daughter of a very poor Danish royal family.
Her sister went on to marry Queen Victoria's oldest son and thus became the Queen of England. Maria went on to become the Tsarina of Russia. The author follows the Romanovs through a lavish lifestyle, through the riots and the change of fortunes of the dynasty when the last Tsar and his family are arrested . Followed by the Bolsheviks taking over the control of Russia.. The author also has a comprehensive bibliography if the reader wishes to continue reading on the Romanov dynasty.

In books that I've read in the past, fiction about the Romanov dynasty tends to focus on Nicolas and Alexandra - let's face it, there's a lot of drama there. The Romanov Empress tells the story of Nicolas's mother, Maria Feodorovna, Her view of Alexandra's behavior was very eye opening to me, and reminded me in some ways of Princess Diana! Even if you're not into Russian history, this is a good, engrossing book about a turbulent time in the history of the Russian Empire

This was such a great book. It was refreshing for the story to be told from Maria Feodorovna's point of view, since many novels center around Anastasia or the Imperial Family and Rasputin.

This is a fantastic telling of the empress’s Maria Feodorovnas life. At first I thought it was rushed but really the author managed to write it in such a way that no words were wasted. I am a huge fan of history and the Romanov dynasty specifically and I loved that this was told from Marie’s POV instead of the more common MC. I want to read it again and will definitely be reading more from this author!

I am voluntarily submitting my honest review after receiving an ARC of this ebook via NetGalley.

This fascinating account of events leading up to and during the October Revolution in 1917 Russia as told from the perspective of Empress Maria Feodorovna is an enjoyable read fans of historical fiction will enjoy. While most readers will already be familiar with the plot and know how the story ends, Gortner successfully makes the story seem fresh by describing the events from a unique point of view. Though she lives a life of luxury and as the tsar's mother, her perspective is somewhat compromised, the Empress does report on events with a great deal more clarity, humility, empathy for the common man and honesty than one would otherwise expect. The writing is crisp and the novel progresses quickly. Fans of CW Gortner will enjoy this novel as much as his other works.

I loved this book! I typically don't like first person novels, but the format worked well here. This is the story of Princess Dagmar of Denmark, who marries the Russian tsarevich, and eventually becomes Empress of all Russia. It follows her from age 15 until her exile decades later, following the execution of her doomed son, Nicholas, the last tsar of Russia. I found it completely fascinating - even knowing how things would end, I could not wait to read more of this story each night. Dagmar, called Minnie by her friends, was a very strong and intelligent woman, and I loved this look at her life. It brought a slightly different perspective to that era of Russian history. Many thanks to Netgalley and Ballantine Books for allowing me to read an e-arc of this most excellent book. 4.5 stars!

I loved this book! It was a great and insightful introduction into one the most well now royal families. All this book did was intrigue me into reading more into the Romanov family!

I've never read about the Romanov's before, and this makes me want to know more. I really enjoyed this historical fiction. It didn't dump too much history on me while keeping me in the moment.

I received this as an ARC through Netgalley. I love Russia, especially Imperial Russia and I love to read books about figures during the time period of Imperial Russia. This book was written about the life of Tsarina Maria Feodorovna. This is the first book I've come across chronicling her life. I found her life story very interesting and this book grabbed my attention from the start. It's written in the first person and walks us through a very important time in Russian history. The Tsarina's life started in Denmark born into a relatively poor, working class family. Her life changes once her father is announced to be heir to the throne, making her royalty. She finds herself married to Russia's Tsarevich, Alexander (Sasha.) Over her imperial rein, she has several children, faces terrorist threats, scandals and war. She sees her son, Nicholas II, through his rein and then the ultimate demise of the Romanov dynasty. She survives this all, one of the few Romanov's. This novel beautifully and artfully depicts this life of Maria Feodorovna who lived an unbelievable life of luxury and bore witness to some of the worst atrocities of Russian history. As far as I can see, it is also fairly historically accurate, although, I'm by no means an expert. I'd recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading well written novels about history's amazing women. She held a very important role in Imperial Russia and this novel offers her story in an enchanting, entertaining way. It had me hooked from the beginning to the end. Highly recommend!

This is a wonderfully written and compelling story of the Romanovs , narrated by Maria, the mother of Nicholas, the last tsar. I have read a lot about the Romanovs, but this one portrayed so well, the life of Danish Princess Dagmar, eventually becoming the Dowager Tsarina. What a courageous and strong woman. I highly recommend it.