I received this novel as an e-Galley from Netgalley, and then received the physical copy in my "The Bookish Box" for May 2019. I am a bit obsessive with Anastasia stories, and I was excited to be able to dive into a retelling. It was described as a magical retelling, so that made me even MORE excited. It really isn't far fetched, considering that Rasputin was such an important part of their lives.
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★
Author: Nandine Brandes
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Format/Source: Netgalley ARC/Physical Finished Copy
From GoodReads: The history books say I died.
They don’t know the half of it.
Anastasia “Nastya” Romanov was given a single mission: to smuggle an ancient spell into her suitcase on her way to exile in Siberia. It might be her family’s only salvation. But the leader of the Bolshevik army is after them, and he’s hunted Romanov before.
Nastya’s only chances of saving herself and her family are to either release the spell and deal with the consequences, or enlist help from Zash, the handsome soldier who doesn’t act like the average Bolshevik. Nastya has only dabbled in magic, but it doesn’t frighten her half as much as her growing attraction to Zash. She likes him. She thinks he might even like her.
That is, until she’s on one side of a firing squad . . . and he’s on the other.
"Can their hearts be softened?"
"It's not up to you to soften theirs. It's up to you to keep yours soft."
HERE'S WHAT I THINK...
I will admit I browsed the goodread reviews before I wrote my review, as I always want to know what others thought of the book. I was slightly appalled at the reviews. I totally understood the issues with historical inaccuracy but I felt like many of the reviews were unfair, especially the reviews of DNFers.
So let's just jump into this. I'm going to tackle the historical aspect of the story. This is a retelling of the story. It's not going to be accurate. It is a historical fantasy, which falls into FICTION. This really chaps my hide when people criticize a fictional book for not being accurate. We already know that most of this is not what actually happened, just like in the movies. Based on something does not mean EVERY DETAIL IS ACCURATE. It's something that tends to happen in the book community when a detail isn't correct. Guess what, there wasn't a bunch of magical items that could do magical things either. *shrugs* We can all get over and move on, while enjoying the book.
With that said, I found the take on the Romanov's story very interesting. If you are unsure of what the book is about, Romanov focuses on Anastasia or Nastya's story. It is a historical fiction book that gives an alternative account of what happened to Nastya and her fight to save what was left of her family. If you leave everything you KNOW to be true at the start of the novel, you will find yourself thrusted into a world of war, tragedy and more. It's definitely not one layered, by any means. There is family drama, civil unrest, magical elements and of course, romance.
I really appreciated the characters in Romanov. The novel does not show the public version of Russia's last Tsar - instead we see a soft version of the man half of the nation hated. We saw a father desperate to save his family, trusting his daughter with a family secret, a family heirloom. I honestly don't mind the portrayal of the Tsar, solely because it is told fron Nastya's POV and she is a girl who truly loves and believes her father is doing the best he can. Each member of the family had a distinct personality that was easy to fall in love with. I did notice that the story seemed to focus on Maria and Nastya and the Nastya and Alexei, instead of the entire family. The others are there, but not in such great detail.
My favorite part of the book was admittedly their time in the Ipativ House. Mainly because you can FEEL the tension, the emotion and the fear. There are several huge plot points that happen during this section of the book and honestly, it shattered my heart. I could not continue on at one point because of the pure emotion coming from one of the characters. Regardless of the historical accuracy, Brandes makes you feel, and that is a powerful thing.
I will agree with a few of the reviews that said the book kind of went down hill after that. While they are escaping, they seem to forget that their family was killed, or maybe they just couldn't think about it in order to survive, I don't really know, but I felt like that piece of emotion was lacking. If my entire family was slaughtered, myself included, I would probably be a bit more of a mess, regardless of if I was running for my life. Aside from that hiccup, I really thought the story was handled well in the emotional department.
The Russian environment is brought to the forefront with the use of russian words and phrases. It's hard to forget that you are in Russia, and it makes it easy to feel for the Tsar and his family. Yes, I know all about Bloody Sunday and WWI, but I mean, we got Lenin outta that and he wasn't any better. *sorry, not sorry. LOL* There were admittedly not a TON of detail about where they were staying, but I felt like that was on purpose. It didn't really matter what the world outside their fortress home looked like, the majority of the story takes place in this confinement, and we get plenty of details about this area: cramped, white washed, stuffy, etc. This gives you enough information to know that the family is living in very uncomfortable quarters. The focus of the story is the family, and I really felt like Brandes keeps the focus on them through out the novel.
The book is hard to read sometimes; it does have factual events and those can be tough to read, knowing it really happened. The execution of the family, especially, was rough for me. The detail as the event unfolds and concludes is vivid and powerful, regardless of your feelings on the family themselves. One of the hardest scenes *SPOILER ALERT* involved Maria and a guard that she had fallen smitten for. The pure terror and heartbreak of watching someone you care for die in front of you seemed like a foreshadowing to the horrors that Nastya would face soon. **END SPOILER***. Ugh, there were so many powerful moments in this novel that I really just couldn't pin point ONE or TWO to talk about.
The struggle between good and evil in this novel really seem blurred. It really depends on which side of history you stand with as to how you view the characters. The resolution, while expected, still had a very solid wrap up and I enjoyed the over all arc of the story. Anastasia remains one of my favorite mysteries (even if they did find her and her brother's bodies in 2007). The magical elements that are weaved throug hthe story are not logical, but they add a beautiful richness to the tale of family survival.
Finally, the last thing I want to touch on is the writing itself. I am not a fan of historical books, but Brandes writing blew me away. It took me away from the present world and threw me into Nastya's with a force that I couldn't fight. I loved everything about her, from her spirit to her heart, to her stubbornness. This is a first novel for me from Brandes and her brilliant writing style has wrapped around my heart and taken hold. I am definitely going to be giving FAWKES a try! :)
Over all, this novel was a solid 4.5/5 stars!!
"LET NO ONE TAME YOU."
TL;DR
Romanov is a fantastical retelling of the mysterious Anastasia and her family. While the historical details are not always accurate, the heart and soul of the story soars above everything else. Nastya is a force to be reckoned with, and Alexei is just as sassy as his sister. If you are a fan of Anastasia, Russian culture, or just a great book to escape for a while, Nadine Brandes delivers a binge read worthy tale! 4.5/5 stars!
About the Author:
NADINE BRANDES once spent four days as a sea cook in the name of book research. She is the author of FAWKES, ROMANOV, and the award-winning Out of Time Series. Her inner fangirl perks up at the mention of soul-talk, Quidditch, bookstagram, and Oreos. When she's not busy writing novels about bold living, she's adventuring through Middle Earth or taste-testing a new chai. Nadine, her Auror husband, and their Halfling son are building a Tiny House on wheels. Current mission: paint the world in shalom.
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