Thomas Nelson Romanov

For anyone who doesn't know, Romanov by Nadine Brandes is a retelling of Anastasia, that is, for the most part historically accurate. As someone who loves both History and fairy-tales this concept was enough for me to buy it and dig in. What makes this different from the real narrative of the Romanov family, is that the author goes beyond reality and explores what would have happened if Anastasia had survived her family's execution. This retelling of Anastasia also includes fantasy elements and the authors own magic touch.This book was extremely well written, in a way that was easy to follow and to understand. The incorporation of Russian traditions was something I really enjoyed especially given the authors own twist on the Matryoshka (Russian nesting) dolls. It was definitely one of my favourite parts of the books. I also enjoyed the accuracy of the events. The places, the people and for the most part the events exist in reality and would be known to anyone who has studied Russian History in the past, particularly the Russian revolution. The last 50 pages or so of the book are where events diverged from reality and we see the authors idea of how events would have proceeded if Anastasia had survived.Despite all of this, I was unable to honestly give this book anything beyond 3 stars and here's why; Firstly, almost the entirety of the book was an account of Romanov history albeit with some creative licence taken. This was problematic because its hard to be excited about a book that was largely just regurgitating facts, no matter how unique a style it's presented in. Moreover, the portrayal of the Romanovs was historically inaccurate and fantasised . Many historians consider the last Tsar a poor leader due to the actions of his government. His refusal to entertain constitutional reform and his decision to commit the Russian army to the Russo-Japanese war in which they faced great losses contributed to his failed rule. Secondly, a big selling point of this book was the magical elements which were added to create a sense of fantasy. SPOILER AHEAD: but the addition of 'spell crafters' and 'spell ink' failed to meet the mark for me. The set-up was great, but the execution was lacking. I'm still not entirely sure why the Bolsheviks hated them so much or how this began beyond the brief mention of Rasputin, the background here was missing. I was also left unsure about why spell Ink was such a commodity and so hard to make/procure.Lastly, the part I was most excited to read about was the author's take on what may have happened if Anastasia survived, for me personally this was the major selling point of the book and also the most lacking aspect. Perhaps if the author had focused on this part more than the Romanov history it would have made for a more original and interesting read.That being said while I did not find this book un-putdownable, it was still gripping enough to keep me hooked until the ending which managed to surprise me. This was a buddy read for me and one thing we all agreed on, was that this was one book in which a sad or tragic ending would have worked out really well. However, The author did her own thing which was unexpectedly and pleasantly surprising.SPOLIER ALERT: Historically speaking the revolutionaries won. lol

I'm a sucker for Russian history and I love anything that looks into the Romanov family so it was a no brainer that I was going to enjoy this. I loved seeing the true history of the Romanov's time in exile mixed with the fictional presence of spell makers in Russia, which seemed to fit in perfectly with the reality of the Romanov's situation (especially when looking at Rasputin and Alexei). It started off slightly slow, but once they moved to Ekaterinburg I was hooked- and at times, genuinely quite sad about certain transpiring events (which I will not mention, as it was a twist that took me by surprise so I don't want anyone reading this to be spoiled). I have to knock off a star because even though I liked the love interest, I felt quite uncomfortable with the dynamic of the relationship, especially given what he does halfway through the book -_-. AND, even though I understand that this was from Anastasia's perspective so of course she is going to think her family were perfect rulers, it was a little off putting to me every time she went on a tangent about it- given the reality that the Romanov's were not exactly good at running Russia. All in all though, this was a great retelling of the exile of Anastasia and her family that you should definitely pick up if you're in the mood for some magical realism, family bonds, and Russian history.

I would not have expected this novel to be so awful. I stared to get bored, less than half way through the book. The story line was dull, nothing like the Romanov story I am used to seeing from the so called "grand duchess." I do not recommend this. What was the point of running from soldiers, studying magic spells, and watching her poor teenage brother dying from his wounds? So sick.

This story Romanov tells the last day of the family the friendships they made & enemies the author at the back of the book explains what was real or she made up - a good read recommend especially if you like a bit of magic

This is a great book, I am a fan of historical fiction and this is easily a best pick for me!