This is the story of two of Queen Victoria’s granddaughters who marry members of the Romanov family and face terrible consequences for it. The narrative could be tedious for anyone who is not familiar with the history of the Romanovs and Queen Victoria’s family. It seems almost demeaning to the actual story to try to tell through the lives and marriages of these two young women.

*2.5 stars

I wanted to love this book. I love historical fiction and have read many on the Romanovs. I loved that this book took a different approach and followed the children of Louis IV, specifically the two who would marry into the Romanov family. I had no idea that two sisters did. I also found it interesting, their oldest sister is grandmother to the late Prince Philip!

That's about it for the positives though. I didn't get "novel" vibes from this book. It had a very tell vs. show approach in the writing style. It felt almost textbook at times. I also disliked that the POV changed so often. It was hard to follow, who the viewpoint was from at times. Also, the one-off chapters from random people (Nicky, a ballerina, etc) - no. That made it even more confusing and wasn't necessary.

This book was a bit of a struggle to get through and I'm glad I kept a Wikipedia page up to keep everyone straight.

They were granddaughters of Queen Victoria and two of the most beautiful princesses in Europe. Princesses Alix and Ella were destined to wed well and wisely. But while their grandmother wants to join them to the English and German royal families, the sisters fall in love with Russia—and the Romanovs. Defying the Queen’s dire warnings, Ella weds the tsar’s brother, Grand Duke Serge. Alix, whisked away to Russia for Ella’s wedding, meets and captivates Nicky—heir apparent to the Russian throne. While loving him deeply, Alix hears a call of conscience, urging her to walk away. Their decisions to marry will lead to tragic consequences.

The Romanov Brides is a moving and fascinating portrait of two bold and spirited royal sisters. The book also brings to vivid life imperial Russia—a dazzling, decadent world on the brink of disappearing forever. I have not read much in this era of history and thoroughly enjoyed the authors writing. She described the sisters so well as well as the decadent era of the Romanovs. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me the opportunity to read this book. I highly recommend it to lovers of history.

In the Romanov Brides by Claire McHugh we meet sisters Alex and Ellie along with their siblings, who were the grandchildren of Queen Victoria and unlike most daughters of gentry the father let them choose who they would marry for sister Ellie her grandmother wanted her to marry Switzerland royalty but she went against her grandmothers wishes and married a cousin Sierge. Her and sister Alex would both be thought to be the some of the prettiest eligible women in Europe at the time although many years apart Alex would meet the love of her life at the tender age of only 10 it would be her cousin the newly crowned emperor son Nikki and although Alex seem to have a much happier life with her husband that would both meet tragic ends. It seems I am glossing over the greatness that was their childhood, their great losses, there picking of their husbands and not to mention getting ready for the weddings. I think their sister Victoria did better by marrying a commoner Louis. I knew very little about Alex‘s life except the tragic ending with her husband and children in the basement and totally didn’t know it happened to Ellie as well everyone wants to write historical fiction but not everyone writes it well and I always get so excited when I get a great book I knew by chapter 3 this was going to be a great book. This book is just another reason why it makes me so happy to be an early reader I want to thank William Morrow and netGalley for my free arc copy please forgive any mistakes I am blind and dictate my review.

I don't read many books about royalty. The last being about two years ago, but when I saw this book, I knew I had to read it as it sounded fascinating.
I am always eager to read historical fiction based on facts as this book is. This material presented in this book has been thoroughly researched for which I am very appreciative. I am always ready to learn from what I read. There were many characters in the book, some with a brief mention and others playing a much larger role in the book. I enjoyed getting to know the characters, they all felt very realistic in the situations and speech they were presented with.
I thoroughly enjoyed "meeting" the four sisters of Hesse. Following the brides from childhood through their marriages and beyond. After their mother's death, Queen Victoria, their grandmother is there to guide them in what she considers appropriate marriages to English or German royal families. Despite her best, two of the sisters fall in love with Russia, and Romanovs.
I so much enjoyed entering the world of the royalty and was captivated as I read. Just like us these are flawed people, and their choices have consequences as well. There is much happiness in their lives, but tragedy also comes to visit. These are very strong people who persevere. I loved the elegant writing style of the author and will be reading more when she writes it. I want to personally thank the author for writing this book. I learned so much and found it fascinating.

Pub Date 12 Mar 2024
I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

This is a very complex story and without the family trees I would have gotten lost a couple of times. The story is written in narrative form which always makes me feel like I’m on the outside looking in instead of a part of the story. The scenery surrounding the characters is very descriptive and helps with telling the story as does the descriptions of the opulence of the Russian royalty. It is an interesting story of the ways the Russian, English and Germany royalty lived at that time.

Clare McHugh's novel is about young Princess Alix of Hesse—the future Alexandra, last Empress of Imperial Russia—and her sister, Princess Ella. Their decision to marry into the Romanov royal family is what drives the story of this novel, but the book begins much earlier. Alix and Ella were granddaughters of Queen Victoria, and the queen had very strong opinions about the young women's plans to marry.

There are many things which I enjoyed about the story. For one, the rich details of the characters and events make it clear that the author has done her research. While others criticize the vast internal dialogue of the main characters, I found this to be intriguing. I also learned a great deal about Russian history and the Romanov family..

However, not only did I have difficulty getting into the beginning of the novel, I also felt as though the novel ended a bit abruptly. It left me with many questions that, while answered in the author's notes, did not make a satisfying ending for me. Furthermore, I found it difficult to keep track of all the characters/family members.

Thank you NetGalley, Harper Collins Publishers Inc, and Clare McHugh for providing an advance copy of this book!

This book was okay. The plot wasn’t super entertaining , and I felt myself losing interest frequently. I had to really push myself to finish reading it. I think I was hoping it would cover more of what happened after they got married, not just mainly leading up to it. I just felt like there wasn’t enough of a story there. I appreciated the afterword, though, because that’s really what I wanted to read about. It read more like a very young adult novel, and if it didn’t mention any details of sex (or lack thereof), I would say it would be great for middle school or younger even.

Princess Ella and her younger sister, Princess Alix, are granddaughters of Queen Victoria. They both defy expectations by marrying into the Romanov royal family of Russia. Despite warnings from their families, Ella marries Grand Duke Serge, while Alix, captivated by heir apparent Nicky, faces a moral dilemma. Their choices, driven by love and duty, ultimately shape the course of history with tragic consequences.

Knowing what happened to the Romanov family makes this a bit of a solemn read. I couldn’t help but pity both princesses, who faced pressure from all sides about who they ought to marry. I envied neither of them the wealth and fame that came with their position and family. At the same time, this made it difficult to see the romance in their courtships.

The novel is written in the present tense, which I am not a fan of, and begins just before the death of their mother. It continues up to Princess Alix’s marriage, so while we don’t see the tragedy, we see the undercurrents that build towards it. This also makes the cover a bit misleading: we never see Princess Alix as the last tsarina.

Overall, it was an interesting read. It was a bit difficult to keep up with how they were all related, but there is a chart at the beginning to help. I would recommend this to readers who have an interest in fictional tellings of historical events.

I very much enjoyed this read....it is a book about love and royal families. We first meet the royal family in England, direct descendants of Queen Victoria. The Queen runs not only the country but also her family. The Queen interacts with Ella, who seems to be a typical Princess who adores men. Queen Victoria puts guilt trips and demands on Ella on whom she will marry. It is rather interesting to see this first match play out. Ella finally chooses and a wedding takes place. On the day that the royal family of England meets the royal family from another country, Alix meets her first crush. Once again, the English family will try to influence Alix and her love life.

Anyone who follows the English royal family probably knows what happened to the girls at the end of their story. Still, it is fun to imagine the events that lead up to the love matches that would alter the course of history for one country in a theatrical way.

I really enjoyed this book. Even though I knew where it was heading, I still loved following the stories of sisters Ella and Alix. This book starts off really sad, but there are moments of hope as well. This is a slow moving character story where not a lot really happens. But I thought it was really well written and engaging.

Many thanks to the author, NetGalley, and Harper Collins Publishers for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book.

The Romanov Brides is an incredible story of two future Romanovs and their families. Obviously, the author took her time and thoroughly researched the story's history. This novel got me interested in the Romanov period and allowed me to learn about how the tsar's family made connections with many other countries. My only issue would be that there were many people to keep track of and the pacing at the beginning was pretty slow but then ramped up to the end as if the book ended out of nowhere. However, I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and look forward to reading more of what Clare McHugh has to write next!

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for my copy of The Romanov Brides by Clare McHugh in exchange for an honest review. It published March 12, 2024.
What a sweeping, fascinating historical fiction novel! If you knew me, you'd know that I have an affinity for Imperial Russian culture. Everyone knows that I'm always going through a "Romanov Phase". This book was an absolute treat to read about more of the family, the lesser-known family members. It was also great to learn how these brides came to be married to their Romanov men. I found that McHugh did an excellent job represented so many different historical figures, and showing just how related everyone was in European royalty, especially at this time in the late 19th-century!
If you have any interest in European Royalty in the 19th-century, and especially an affinity for all-things-Romanov, then you definitely need to give this book a read!

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️


Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for the early read! Great historical fiction book. Always enjoy a decently researched historical fiction book. Felt like there was a lot of thought and work that went into the telling of this story.
Will recommend!

I was given an ARC by the publisher in exchange for an honest review

The Romanov Brides by Clare McHugh is a historical novel focusing on the royal family that ruled over a lot of Europe in the late nineteenth century, particularly on Ella and Alix, a future Grand Duchess and Empress of the Russian Empire respectively. The novel starts from the childhoods of Ella and Alix and goes all the way to the coronation of Tzar Nicholas.

McHugh doesn’t glorify the Russian Empire, critiquing it and the opulence enjoyed by the royal family while also drawing attention to attempts on the royal family’s life that shows the people of Russia were unhappy for a long time. This chapter of the history of the Romanov family is not explored often, with a lot of media focusing on Anastasia in particular. Ella and Alix were Prussian princesses with connections to the British and Danish royal families and the novel highlights how closed the family tree of this family was and the negative impacts it could have on the children.

What I liked was the multi-POV style of the book, using different people to show varying perspectives on the Russian Empire, its royal family, and the other royalty at the time. My favorite POV was probably Alix’s for how her grief was portrayed and how she grew throughout the novel.

I would recommend this to fans of royal history, readers who want to learn more about the Romanov line, and readers interested in Prussian history.

The Romanov Brides is a fascinating look at some of the final years of imperial Russia, through the lens of Germanic princesses Alix and Ella. Alix would later become Tsarina Alexandra, wife of the final Tsar of Russia, Nicholas II. The story begins in Alix and Ella's childhood, following the pair through royal marriage negotiations facilitated by their grandmother, Queen Victoria of England, and the various forces influencing their ultimate decisions.

There is a lot that I enjoyed in this story. Our opening scene follows Alix and Ella as an illness sweeps their family in childhood, a tragic event that will shape the rest of their lives. As the story unfolds, McHugh's detailed research is paramount, as she eloquently illustrates scenes from Alix and Ella's lives as they move closer to their eventual marriages. While the book generally follows the perspective of Alix or Ella, McHugh includes a number of scenes from outside characters, allowing a fuller understanding of the world and the political ramifications of these unions. While a few of these felt superfluous or unnecessary, the majority truly helped the overall story.

My biggest issue with the book is the timeline. Starting in childhood, the story continues up to Alix's wedding day, including every bit of detail regarding changing issues with her eventual marriage to the heir to the Russian throne. As a historian myself, I enjoyed this attention to detail of marriage politics in the period. However, I was drawn to the title due to the knowledge that Alix would become the last Tsarina, a fact that we do not see on the page. The story ends at her wedding, and a short afterward details the end of her and Ella's lives. I would have loved to have seen her role as Tsarina, and how she and Ella continued to balance their lives with the tumultuous times in Russia.

Overall, this was a very interesting take on an aspect of Russian history that I would like to know more about. If you are interested in how royal marriages came to be in the late nineteenth century, this is a fantastic read. If you are more interested in the end of the Romanovs and the Russian revolution, I am afraid this is not the book for you. I look forward to more of McHugh's writing, as she clearly balances fact and fiction well in her historical fiction writing.

Thank you, NetGalley and William Morrow, for my free ebook for review.

Clare McHugh's "The Romanov Brides" offers a captivating glimpse into the lives of Princess Ella and Princess Alix of Hesse and by Rhine. The novel vividly portrays the sisters' early experiences, from the loss of their mother at a tender age to the intricacies of their family dynamics, including their relationships with their father, siblings, cousins, and grandmother, Queen Victoria. The narrative delves into the women's inner turmoil and the weighty decisions they face, particularly in the realm of marriage. One striking aspect is the evolution of their religious inclinations and beliefs.

Central to the story are the sisters' marriages, with a focus on the courtship and marriage of Ella and Grand Duke Serge, as well as the love story of Alix and Nicholas II. Against the backdrop of provincial life in Hesse, the opulence of Russia, and the austerity of England, the novel expertly weaves in the matches Queen Victoria seeks to arrange within her family, the necessity of paternal approval for marriage, and the disparities in governance, religion, and the mounting unrest in Europe.

Overall, "The Romanov Brides" offers a profound exploration of the sisters' lives, their unique personalities, and the tragic events that ultimately befall them.

I would like to thank NetGalley and William Morrow Books for an advanced reader copy of The Romanov Brides by Clare McHugh.

As someone who loves historical fiction, I am always excited when I see a book about a period of history I know little about and something I do not seen often covered in the genre. The Romanov Brides covers the early life and marriages of Princess Alix and Ella of Hesse, the future Empress Alexandra (last empress of Russia) and Grand Duchess Elizabeth of Russia. Both of their lives do not have a happy ending, but this book is not about that. Instead, the books follows them both falling in love with their future husbands and getting married.

Overall, I really enjoyed The Romanov Brides. The book covers a long period of history in a short amount of time, and I thought this was well done, for the most part.

Alix and Ella are both engaging characters that I really enjoyed, along with their future husbands, Serge and Nicolas. I am not an expert in any of the historical figures in this book so I do not know how accurate it was, but I enjoyed their characters and they represented the time period well. The romance between both couples is not the most romantic, but this makes sense as they are nobility and do not have the true freedom to marry for love. From what we do get to see, both couples are cute and work well together. The non-romantic relationships were also good in this book, familial relationships get explored on all ends and developed throughout the book.

My only issues with book was the pacing towards the end and the narration. Towards the end of the book, the pacing is pretty slow and then ramps up very quickly at the end, so it seems like the book ends out of nowhere. As for the narration, the perspective of who is narrating changes every few chapters and sometimes, it can be difficult to tell who is narrating immediately in the chapter.

Overall, I would give The Romanov Brides by Clare McHugh a 4 out of 5 stars. Minus the pacing issues, I really enjoyed the story, characters, and relationships in this book.

The Romanov Brides by Clare McHugh tells the story of Princess Alix and her sister Princess Ella who become brides to Nicholas and Sergei of Russia. We all know what became of Nicholas and Alexandra, but this was the earlier story of their lives from childhood to the marriage of Alexandra and Nicholas. Well written and researched. It was interesting to see how Queen Victoria of England was an influence in their lives. Also it was noted how hemophilia was a concern in this family. A good read for historical fiction lovers. Thank you to NetGallery and William Morrow for letting me read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I zoomed right through this book. While Alix’s story is well known to most, I had not much knowledge of her sisters Elizabeth “Ella” and Victoria. Alix’s lack of “royal” personality was well known, and in time did not endear her to the Russian people she became the empress of, but this book endeavors to bring more heart and depth to her., Victoria, however, I would have liked to seen more of, as her was told rather quickly and she effectively faded into the background. Ella’s character, though starting sad at the beginning of her marriage, shined through and overcame the challenges that faced her. She was given more depth and fleshing out than Victoria was, but I found myself wanting more from both of them. Telling the story of three individual women who are all apart of history is not easy, and for the most part, I enjoyed what Clare McHugh did with her characters. For fans of the author, or Russian/Romanov History, or fans of the entwined history of Queen Victoria”s many descendants, this novel is a must to add to your reading of 2024!

Thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley for the E-ARC copy!