Romanov

"Love love loved this twist on the Romanov story and the fact that the author did extensive research makes it that much better."

""Romanov, Romanov, Romanov..."<br/><br/>Good Lord, what IS the enduring fascination with this profoundly bland family of over-entitled aristocrats? Sure, getting shot in a basement after the rabble caught on to your excesses might seem a tad harsh, but it doesn't make you inspiring, intelligent, or even interesting.<br/><br/>And oh, does Brandes want us to believe that they are all three: that czar Nicholas was a model of humane, pacifist restraint; that his 13 year old bedridden son Alexei was a brilliant and empathetic leader in embryo, and that all the family wanted was to be left in peace to cultivate their garden and live as simple peasants.<br/><br/>Oh please. Admittedly this is a supernatural alternate history fantasy, but we are talking super friggin' fantastical.<br/><br/>Okay, back to the story. Anastasia (Nastya) the youngest of the 4 Romanov daughters narrates the tale of the family's imprisonment in Ekaterinburg, where the real Romanovs were executed in 1918. The first half of the book is a gripping and historically accurate account, and Brandes does a great job of conveying the claustrophobia, boredom and underlying terror of their captivity. But there's a twist: Papa Nick has hidden a matryoshka doll among their belongings, with instructions to Nastya to keep it safe and to open it "only at the last possible moment". For you see, Nastya and her father dabble in spell mastery, an ancient art now outlawed by the Bolsheviks (who apparently don't believe in anything fun). Nastya relies on healing spells to relieve little brother Alexei's hemophilia, but she is running out of spell ink, and she suspects the doll may hold a clue as to how she can save her brother and perhaps the rest of the family. But Commandant Yurovsky is suspicious, and is determined to discover their secret and to wipe out all the spellmasters, especially the doll's creator, the elusive master Dotchkin. Will Nastya solve the mystery of the doll in time? Will she find master Dotchkin before Yurosvsky does? And will that hunky Bolshevik soldier Zash help a Romanov out, or betray them?<br/><br/>There are enough twists to keep this interesting, but again, the ludicrous characterization of the Romanovs kept suspending my disbelief. Nastya's naïveté about the revolution is maddening, and although she professes to "want to know" the reason for the Bolsheviks' anger, she never delves particularly deeply, and Zash conveniently has nothing bad to say about her father's rule other than that he was a henpecked husband. (Apparently the Bloody Sunday massacre, secret police torture, and massive starvation during WWI slipped his mind). Then there's the whole "simple peasants" deal: Nastya insists that she and her family are ordinary folks who are happiest camping out in the woods (surrounded by an army of servants of course) while at the same time speaking loftily of the nobility and power of the Romanov blood, and her brother's natural royal leadership qualities. Even the Romanov name has magical powers , "Romanov, Romanov, Romanov..."<br/><br/>Brandes seems to have a decent grasp of Russian history (Yursovsky was indeed the real life commandant at Ekaterinberg) but then why does she repeatedly refer to Anastasia as a "princess", when, as anyone who's ever cracked a Tolstoy novel knows , "princesses" were a kopek a dozen in imperial society, and not royal. Nastya's hero worship of her father and brother is likely realistic, but she seems barely aware of her mother and her 2 older sisters, with whom she was legendarily close.<br/><br/>I feel this would have been a better historical fantasy if it had been written about someone <i>other</i> than the Romanovs, but of course then fewer people would get suckered into reading it. Hey, it worked on me."

"I read this in a day. I enjoyed all of it, including the parts of the family trying to make out the most of their situation."

"Sad dark but hopeful"

"This is a lesser know historical fantasy about a real event but exaggerated with magic. Definitely recommend"

"Reading this book was a huge risk because I know how the story panned out in real life, so I had doubts. But it had a happy ending and I was not disappointed!!"

"This is the absolute best Anastasia retelling I've ever read. The characters are phenomenal 💜"

"I really enjoyed the ending, her finding her purpose and opportunities open up that weren't possible in the true historical happenings. It is one of my new favorite books, it was an emotional rollercoaster despite knowing the Romanov story, it kept me guessing! "

"<a href="https://laughinglistener.com/"><br/>The Laughing Listener</a><br/><b>May 2019</b><br/><i>*I was graciously given a free copy in exchange for an honest review*</i><br/><b>Format:</b> Hardcover<br/><b>Overall Rating:</b> 5 Stars<br/><br/>When I requested to review this book, I didn’t completely know what I was getting into. I saw “Anastasia retelling” and put my bookish blinders on against the rest. Now that I’ve read <i>Romanov</i>, it’s DEFINITELY not what I was expecting at all, but I mean that in the best way. This is no light-hearted princess fantasy. It’s an emotional, historically accurate story that just happens to have some magic in it. And I freaking LOVED EVERY SECOND.<br/><br/>In high school, I was in an advanced English class. Because of this, my guidance counselor thought it would be a great idea for me to enroll in advanced History as well. I thought this was a terrible plan because me and history don’t mix, but got talked into it anyway. Turns out I was right and barely scraped by that class with a D, BUT—we had a whole unit on the Grand Duchess Anastasia and the whole Romanov family. I completely forgot everything I learned the moment I stepped out the classroom door that year, but it didn’t take me long to remember when I started reading this. A few pages in, it all came flooding back and I knew this was going to be a rough ride. Spoiler alert: I was definitely not wrong.<br/><br/><img src="https://media.giphy.com/media/rDl1hAg81PRjq/giphy.gif" width="" height="" alt="I’m a mess."><br/><br/>This novel is so emotional and heavy, but I mean that as a compliment! From the very beginning I was taken on a journey and I couldn’t put this down. Even knowing the ending didn’t change how invested I was or quiet my urge to find out what happens. All of the characters are so rich and amazing. I really loved getting to know them all, especially the Romanov family. Their bond to one another was so lovely to watch and seeing those bonds last through such adversity was inspiring. I have to admit that Anastasia and Alexei were my favorite to watch, but they were all really special. <br/><br/>It was also so beautifully written??? I saved soooo many quotes reading this thing because Brandes is such a wonderful storyteller! And the way she seamless weaved magic into the story was PERFECT. This book is more historical fiction with some fantasy elements thrown in, but it was done so effortlessly that I almost believe this actually happened. That the Grand Duchess Anastasia was an aspiring spell master with a magical Matryoshka doll. <br/><br/><img src="https://media.giphy.com/media/12NUbkX6p4xOO4/giphy.gif" width="" height="" alt="MAGIC"><br/><br/>Lastly, I’d like to give Brandes a shout out for the romance between Zash and Nastya. It took a backseat to the plot and family relationships, which I really appreciated! Playing up the romance too much would have cheapened the message and I’m glad it was so subtle and elegant.<br/><br/><b>FINAL WORD</b><br/><br/>This book may be emotional, but it’s AMAZING and beautiful. If you’re a lover historical fiction and fantasy, then you should ABSOLUTELY read this. You won’t regret it!"

"Netgalley: Denied <br/><br/>Edelweiss: Approved <br/><br/>Thank you Edelweiss! lol <br/>"