If you are a fan of Russian history, especially the Romanov family, this book is for you. It was fantastically written -- full of love, magic and courage. The characters were well rounded -- I especially liked Nastya who had an incredible mix of vulnerability and strength. Will definitely be recommending this book to everyone!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas Nelson through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Overwrought, but then so is the protagonist Anastasia. Fine if you like your historical fiction mired in telling and not showing, with a sprinkle of Disney movie thrown in.

A charming love story with a bit of magic, but for me this novel was hampered by one of the more specious explanations of Soviet communism I’ve ever read.

Romanov

Nadine Brandes 3.7 Stars

Some ***SPOILERS***

I was pretty hooked on this book. So, I have never read anything by Nadine Brandes before and honestly wasn’t super intrigued by her other novel Fawkes. I picked this one up because I love anything having to do with Anastasia and the Romanovs. I have spent some time living in Ukraine (former Soviet Union) and it was fun to come at this book with some Slavic experience.

Let’s start off with good things. I absolutely loved the characters in this book. The way Anastasia or “Nastya” was portrayed was perfectly how I also imagined her to be. She was the only character we really got to see develope other than Zash, who I also loved. I loved that he wasn’t the hero, but he also wasn’t portrayed as pathetic and useless. I loved his inner turmoil and the reality of the time-period for a boy soldier. I fell in love with Tsar Nicholas and although I could guess where he and the rest of his family ended up (if Brandes was going to stick to history), I was still sad to see his soft heart, humility and understanding leave.

I also love addition of magic, using the doll and the way spells were made and activated was extremely original and very creative. Well done Brandes.

The other thing that I loved about this book was how much research Brandes put into studying the Romanovs and Russian culture. While some of her similes and metaphors seem too typical...like comparing Bolshevik soldiers to vodka bottles (seriously?), most of her research was well done. There are some things you don’t get from a culture unless you’ve really spent time there and that was understably excluded from this novel. Unless the author really has been there? Then maybe I would have expected a little more from her especially where the descriptions are concerned.


That’s where I found myself disappointed. The Romanov family spent moths in the Ipatiev House and I still have no idea what the layout is or what color the walls are or if the third step from the bottom squeaks. I have no idea what season is like other than sometimes it was cold and sometimes it rained and sometimes there was sun...not helpful. I, personally, like details and want to be fully immersed in the world. Barnes didn’t help me do that very well.

The other frustrating part of this book was the scene transitions. One second Nastya would be talking to her sister and the next second it’d be three days later or she would all of a sudden be in the library alone with no context as to what was happening. I need more fluid transitions. I need to see where a paragraph ends and where the next one starts with a little more flow and less choppiness and disorientation.

Overall this was a good book and I very much enjoyed it. I liked it enough to wish that it wasn't a standalone! Although I missed out on the details, I would definitely recommend this book!

I wanted to like this book, I really did! The book was slower than what I had hoped, and the writing didn't push me to loving the plot or the characters enough. It was a slow read and the characters were blah. I loved the premise of the story, the characters potential, so many things, yet it really left me bored. The setting was alright, the story was lacking, it was in the genre of historical fiction, but it really didn't have the pull of the story, it was difficult to get through.

The Romanov family fascinate people for a century. Well, their end did.
And I was curious what Nadine Brandes would do with the story. And mainly how she's going to end the story, that's what I'm always curious to see.

I believe that the book had great potential. However, it seems a bit like a miss. Like the story is always the one note away for me to really enjoy.

Roughly the first 60% follow the Romanov family from Tobolsk to Ekateringburg. Here, it seems very precise. The author then said that she made a lot of research. However, it seemed like she mainly used the Wikipedia article about the Execution of the Romanov family. There are some sentences that seem very similar. Or they might have the same source.
However, the result is that it seems a bit textbook said from the POV of a teen girl.

Then the last 40% is a fiction. Following the myth that Anastasia and fully developing the fantasy element of this book.

Strangely enough, I prefer the textbook beginning. Why? Because there it at least makes sense. Unfortunately, the author seems to be lost when she suddenly does not have a history to follow. What to do now? And suddenly there are so many problems for me to unsee.

I have several things I need/want to point out.

- There is a lot of Russian words used to describe things. Budenovka, fortochka, droshky. I understand all of them. But, I really doubt that someone who does not speak a Slavic language will know all of them. And unfortunately, it is not a good thing to be forced to google things.

- The Romanov family was shown as the nicest people ever. And while I understand that of course, Anastasia would love her parents... It does not work. The author claims extensive research, but here I believe she fails. Nikolai was very much a family man. But, he was a very bad tsar. Meek. Under the influence of his wife. But here Nikolai is suddenly the perfect leader who leads his family. It seems fake. Romanticised.

- The book should have started at a different point; not everyone is familiar with the Revolution and the Romanov family. If the book started maybe with the abdication, it would make more sense. Explain why Nikolai was forced to abdicate. Why people hated him and his wife. Explain Bolsheviks, Mensheviks.
-This is one of the problems. People need knowledge. One time Nicholai talks about his cousin King George V of the United Kingdom. But he does not say his name and people are left guessing. Or confused. <spoiler>From the book it sounded as if Nicholai was hurt that George did not take them to Britain to save them. But he did not know that George refused; he believed that it was the UK's government! So, do not try to be historically correct and then drop things like that.</spoiler>

- There is a lot of talk about the White Army, but once again I felt like it was very confusing unless you know the history. And by the way, correct me if I'm mistaken. But wasn't it the Czechoslovak legion that was reaching Ekaterinburg? They were going East so that they could go back to Czechoslovakia.

- Do I have any Russian friends here? If yes, please, help me here. Zash. I'm really confused by the name. I know the name Zasha exists, but I never saw Zash. I know that защитник (zashchitnik) means defender. But is there Zash as a name?

- Also, Zash is supposed to be from an aboriginal tribe from Russia but his description makes him sound more Scandinavian than Siberian.

<spoiler>Oh my main issue! The anjin speel takes them into a shadow world or whatever and whatever happens to their bodies after that will be erased. But not before. Anastasia says it after the execution while lying in a car. And then when they come back, she only has bruised ribs. The way they were killed was a massacre. They were butchered; there is no way she would be shot only one time. They would, but more bullets in her and then take a bayonet on her. This is nonsense! </spoiler>

- And the ending: <spoiler> Anastasia asks to be buried with her family. And it's true that she and Alexei were found in a different grave. But still, I don't like this because if they lived a happy long life and then buried with their family, their skeletons would be of old people. I know fantasy... but still. And talking about this I just want to point out that the point where Alexei tells the soldiers that he is now the tsar there is no way they would just let him go! If they were truly the Whites, Alexei is the most important thing to them. They would have stayed with him, protected him and tried to get him to their leaders. They would have not just waved goodbye and watched as they went back to the enemy.</spoiler>

- The problem with this book is simple. It tries very hard to be historically correct but always fails in small things which matter. And it does not work with the fantasy element. I want to believe that if it was fantasy all along, different names, different family, setting it might have work.

I fell in love with the cover and the synopsis of this book as I am crazy about anything that says “Romanov”.
I had such high hopes going in.
Oh how I wanted to like this novel.
But something went wrong.
And I didn’t like it nearly as much as I’d hoped.

“Romanov” by Nadine Brandes is a fantasy spin on the well-know tragedy of the Imperial Romanov family. The novel focuses on the last months of their exile in Siberia and is told from the point of view of Anastasia, the youngest of the Romanov girls.

The first half reads an awful lot like a history textbook — a very boring history textbook where basically nothing happens for 150+ pages. I appreciate that the author stuck very closely to historical facts about the life of the family but it was just too suffocating and exhausting to plough through. There were a couple moments when I considered simply DNFing the book — that’s how uneventful the first half was. In the second part the events picked up speed and I was mildly interested to see how everything would turn out for the characters. The ending wasn’t great — more like okay — and I sighed with relief when the book finally ended.

Another thing that really bothered me was the writing. One, some metaphors were way over the top and felt forced. Two, as a native Russian speaker I got annoyed by the words and phrases in Russian because some of the forms were off (“Dobroye utrA” when it should be “utrO” — which, I hope, gets fixed before the release). Besides, the constant repetition of “(insert the name) said in Russian”— when Russian was basically the only language spoken by common folk at that time — felt unnecessary and excessive.

Still there were things that I liked. Magic was a cool addition and a neat way to build a retelling around. I just wish that more attention had been paid to this aspect of the story, I admire the accuracy of the first half of the book. I also liked the portrayal of the royals and their relationships with one another and their captors though the two eldest sisters, Olga and Tatyana, were almost invisible throughout the novel — at times I forgot they even existed. The romance also was honestly just meh.

All in all, as a retelling the novel does its job of showing what Anastasia’s life could have been like if she had possessed a magic spell. But I would advise to manage your expectations before picking up a copy of this book so as not to be disappointed.


I received a free eARC of the book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

A YA version of royalty in Russia. The mysticism aspect was interesting but the rest wasn’t really well developed.

I LOVE Anastasia and have really gotten into historical fiction lately. I felt the pacing was a bit odd, being so slow in the beginning, and then speeding up in the second half. The characters were wonderful and the story interesting.

Thank you to NetGalley for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I love anything to do with the Romanov family's tragic story. This aspect of the book, combined with the added magic, made Romanov a very enjoyable read. The way the characters were written really brought life into the Romanov family that wouldn't have been as present in a biography. The magic system, which involves spellmasters who use spell ink to create spells, wasn't as important as I initially thought it would be. Anastasia, or Nastya as she is known as by her family, is tasked with protecting a doll that contains a spell that will save her and her family from the Bolsheviks. Other than this, the first half of the book seems very realistic to what the Romanov family likely would have experienced during their last months while being held captive. The second half of the book, however, adds a lot more detail to the magic system.
I really liked Nastya as a character; she was funny, clever, and protective of her family. However, I did not like her love interest, Zash. He seemed very disingenuous to me, as if he didn't care as much about Nastya as he claimed to.
All in all, Romanov was an enjoyable, oftentimes tragic, and fascinating book.

If you're anything like me then what drew you to this novel aside from the beautiful cover was the fact this story is about Anastasia. I grew up in the '90s and Anastasia was so big that I remembered buying book covers with Bartok on it and getting him in Happy Meals.

Nostalgia aside, while this is historical fiction it also possesses magical realism that changes the course of history, and Brandes offers insight as to where she pulled inspiration from at the end of the novel.

The tone of the novel is dark, even though clever Anastasia seeks to find good and joy in every situation, focusing on what her father would expect from her. She is a rambunctious, mischievous girl who adores her family and even in their imprisonment finds ways to harness goodness.

I honestly had a pit in my stomach the entire time because I knew what happened and it is one of those stories in history that has always perplexed me and made me quite sad. Brandes did a magnificent job ensuring that the reader connected to not just one but all of the characters. You felt for the soldiers, the family, the men that were forced to partake in this 'or else'.

It was a slower read that really didn't pick up until the last 3/4 and those left me dizzy, but I enjoyed it.

Overall, a 4/5 savvy crowns from me. :)

I have loved Anastasia's story since I was a small girl, reading a fictionalized version of her diary under the covers with a flashlight. I am such a sucker for a Romanov retelling, and this did not let me down. Like Captain Crunch on your tongue, it's bright and sweet with a little dagger edge to keep things interesting.

To put it simply, I loved this book!

To put it less simply...

Nadine takes her readers on a wild, romantic, mysterious, and magical ride through the pages of Romanov. I have though of Anastasia in the past - you can't get away from the animated version of course, but the fact that it's a real story is also intriguing. When I found out that Nadine was writing about her story, I couldn't wait.

The story itself never stops moving. I wouldn't call all of it 'fast paced' but when it's not fast, it's like a dangerous river, always rushing past to the next section of rapids. In that way, this book will gain (and hold) your attention. The characters, while there are many of them, are well fleshed out to the point that they need to be, and create a true sense of familiarity with Nastya.

As for the magical aspect of this story - it is excellent! I won't go into much detail here (no spoilers, thank you) but Nadine builds it so seamlessly into the book that it's not only believable but surprising in the BEST way.

Lastly, the romance. Just wonderful! As always, Nadine writes it so sweetly but yet the passion is not missed. I was convinced of everything in the end and that left me so satisfied.

Overall - 5 stars doesn't seem like enough for this wonderful book! I enjoyed every minute of it and can recommend it to anyone who enjoys magical realism or fantasy with in the context of history!

__________
I received this book for free but was under no obligation to post a review. I do so under my own motivation and the opinions I have expressed in this review are honest and entirely my own.

I was super excited when I got access to Romanov by Nadine Brandes. I haven't read this author before, but I was kind of obsessed with the Russian Royal Family in high school, so I thought this was a perfect book for me. I am fascinated by the Romanovs and all the secrets they hold, and I was kind of obsessed with the idea that Anastasia escaped and lived her life on her terms. Even though know we know that her and Alexei were just buried somewhere else. This book seemed like a perfect fit for me, but in the end I felt just "okay" about it.

To be perfectly honest, the reason why I didn't rate this book high is that I was bored for most of it. It takes a bit to setup up the story, and for the first half of the novel it's just about them being in exile. I found these parts to be such a snooze-fest that I thought about DNFing the book. I think what kept me going was the idea that something magical was going to happen and like Anastasia I had to wait on it. The exile part does setup the tension between Anastasia and Zash, but I'm still not really sold on their relationship.

At the half-way mark in the book that is where all the action is at, so I started getting more interested in the story again. I still don't think there was enough magic or fantasy elements in this for me, but the concept of spells being in the Matroyshka nesting dolls was a cool one to me. I do also like that the Romanovs sewing jewels into their dresses was in this book too (this is a real thing that happened!).

I am glad that at least in this story Anastasia and Alexei get a happy for now ending. I wasn't completely sold on this one, but I think if you like Evelyn Skye's The Crown Game or if you just have an interest in The Fall of The Romanovs, this is a book for you.

*I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas Nelson through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

So I love magical realism, and I love historical fiction, but I did not love this book. This book is set in the last days of the Romanov family and basically how magic saved Anastasia. Good things: the characters were well developed and I love how fully fleshed out everyone in the family was, although it did bother me from a historical standpoint how biased the representation was. I mean, of course this teenage girl thinks her father is the best and that he can do no wrong and the Bolsheviks are wrong, but historically Tsar Nicholas was a pretty terrible leader. If you’re going to do historical fiction about such a well known family, I’d like to see some nuance. The magic was also pretty cool and a nice element to add. Bad things: The first half of the book was so boring that it was nearly unreadable. Once I pushed through it, the end was fast paced and compelling, but are teens really going to push through nearly 150 pages of ‘we were under house arrest, we went to the garden then back to our rooms, nothing of any import is happening’? If the whole book had been as great as the last half then it would be a plus, but the first half being what it is, I have to give this one a minus.

It's difficult to review this book. The best way to describe my feelings as I read the story is to say that didn't let me forget the actual Romanov demise and what as people, not royals, they must have felt and went through during that time. By adding a magical element to the story, Brandes manages to provide an alternative to the depressing truth while also keeping some historical accuracy (a couple exceptions, obviously). I appreciated that this allowed me to experience this history as I'd want to see it play out and not as it was.

'Romanov' by Nadine Brandes is a standalone YA historical fiction novel that has a fantastical twist.
Brandes' take on fate of Anastasia Romanov and her family certainly has an intriguing premise, and while it has it's faults as a novel of it's own merit, I can't help but feel compelled by the subject matter and the humanity of it's characters.
Based on the writing style I'd personally say that 'Romanov' is probably better suited to the younger end of the teen market.

~ Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to review this title. ~

Damn. What a book. If possible, I would give it 3.75 stars. It didn't even matter if it wasn't historically accurate, honestly.

The premise of ROMANOV is everything one could ask for: it is the untold (fictional) tale of Grand Duchess Anastasia Romanov, spun through webs of tragedy and bloodshed and magic woven into the fabric of Russian revolutionary history. "Nastya," in the final fleeting hours before her family's collective fate, clings to hope for survival pinned in a single Matryoshka doll containing a final spell that will save them all.

Or, rather: an Anastasia retelling? I was hooked instantly.

Here's a rundown...
WHAT I LIKED: A lot, actually.
<blockquote>- the writing is elegant, quiet, playful and easy to read. The likable characters, the lovely descriptions of beauty in the smallest of crevices.
- Nastya's voice was portrayed very well—look! a well-developed female protagonist! how rare!
- after the first half, the plot kicked off much faster. Engaging to the finish. A page-turner.
- the concept of the spells and spell masters, and how they were portrayed—very magical and fitting to the era.
- the Romanovs. It was incredible reading how their lives fell apart, piece by piece, but their resilience remained in their unwavering love for one another. How they relied on another for silent, grim hope and optimism in escape. Fantastic.

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE SO MUCH: Also a lot.
- I found the relationship between Zash and Nastya quite forced. One moment, Nastya feels nothing, and then out of the blue she can't live without him. Where was the slow burn development?
- Aside from Alexei, the other Romanov family members were relatively flat. Understandable, but it would have been nice to flesh them out a little more.
- Worldbuilding. Most locale descriptions were a little convoluted and drab. I wanted to know more about the magic of the world, about the Revolution itself tearing the nation apart (that they literally were in the center of). Instead, I couldn't even picture what the Apietev house looked like, even though they were there for a hundred-some pages.
- The shift from the slowness of the first half to the second didn't really match up. Everything started happening at once. I like fast things, but the connection between the two halves was a little flimsy at best. Many things were relatively underwhelming, given the gravity of the premise itself. Oh well.

ROMANOV is an unflinching, fantastical spin on one of history's greatest mysteries. A tale of suffering and tragedy, death and loss. Of survival and compassion, and forgiveness. Of someone so full of compassion she found love in all, friend and foe alike.

A tale as triumphant as it is tragic. A myth in the making.

I thought this book was a very interesting take on the Romanov family. As soon as i started reading this book i could not put it down until the end! I think i read this book in about 6 hours. I would recommend this book to anyone who like's history, magic, and twist you don't see coming! Loved this book!

With Romanov, Nadine offers us a precise take on Russian history.
I always obsessed over the myth of Anastasia, but never reseached it, so I blingly thought the animated movie version was the right one.
Oh, how wrong I was. I realized it halfway through the book, when I had to google something Romanov related.
In the first part of the book, Nadine tells us exactly what we know of the last days of the Romanov. I was (still am) impressed by the exactitude of the events. She even had some stuff the soldier said in real life to the Tsar in the book.
This book is the magic and adventure book you’re waiting for. All throughout the book, we are waiting for something to happen. For Anastasia to use magic. And when she does, it does not disapoint.
If you are an history nerd like me, this is the book you need.

I was so excited to be approved for this book. I have always had a fascination with the Romanov family and the events that led to their family being killed. The cover was beautiful and eye catching as well. This would be a book that if I saw it on the shelf at my local book store or in Walmart I would find myself picking up to see what it was about.

I liked the pacing in the first half of the book, it drew me in and swaddled me in a soft fuzzy blanket of words. However that pacing soon became tiresome as it came to the middle.

I loved the magical elements the author added to the retelling, it gave a unique spin on things. I was a little bummed out that I did not really connect with any of the characters or the love interest but overall this was a good re-telling.