I have always loved the story of Anastasia Romanov and her family. I was so excited when I learned there was a new book exploring more possibilities of how their lives panned out. We all know the history and the mystery of Anastasia herself. Of course, re-tellings and speculations are not going to be accurate, but that's the point right? It's historical FICTION.

I really enjoyed Nadine's book. I think she took an interesting and poignant time in Russian history and ran with it. Anastasia was a strong female protagonist and I loved reading another theory about what could have happened to her and her family.

This version is different because it throws in a magical and fantasy element. I know in history, Rasputin was a sorcerer who was the tsar's confidante. But in Romanov, Brandes takes magic to a literal level where it actually exists in a practical use. I liked that and felt like it was a unique twist to add.

There was a little romance in the book, which was just enough for me. Novels don't have to be heavy in the romantic department to be good and I feel like the book delivered on this.

I think my only complaint was pacing. There were a few instances through my read where I had to keep ploughing through, when I wasn't totally invested. But that's not to say it wasn't good. Maybe just not enough to keep my attention.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys historical fiction with a twist of fantasy.

"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 either to release the spell and deal with the consequences, or to 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."

I've always been drawn to the Romanovs, that time in Russian history seems so magical, and here we have actual magic as well! Dream come true!

I remember watching Anastasia when I was younger and totally getting sucked in. Heck, I watched it last year and still remembered all the songs. The idea of a princess surviving, when her family didn’t, gave me chills. The strength she would have to have. WOW. So when I heard that Nadine Brandes was wrote a story about Anastasia, I HAD to read it. And yet I knew it would be hard to read. I always get choked up at the idea of her family’s assassination. I can’t even imagine how terrified she must’ve been. Ugh.

Romanov was a magical twist of the story of an exiled princess. It tugged at my heart numerous times and it gave me hope. I think I loved it even more because it wasn’t all real, there was a bit a magic woven into the story. I was not expecting that at all. But I’m honestly happy it was there. If this was a 100% true account, I would’ve been crying the whole time.

While the story was a retelling, some parts were very real and mildly graphic. If giving this to a younger teen, give them a little heads up about what really happened. I know my stomach dropped while reading. I was prepared, and yet I wasn’t, for the firing squad scene.

This retelling is now one of my favorites. I look forward to what Nadine gives us next.

I have always had a fascination with the Romanov family and their horrible execution. I was excited to read this because I was visiting Russia near the time of the book’s release, so I read it while there! That seemed very appropriate! The author did a lot of research and provides insight into the final chapter of the lives of the Romanov family. The second part of the book suggests what could have happened had their been any survivors.

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<p>Okay, so as soon as you saw the name Anastasia Romanov, you probably started thinking of animated movie where Meg Ryan voices Anastasia. And any second you're going to wind up with that catchy lullaby from the movie stuck in your head. Or maybe I'm just showing my age.</p>
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<p>This book has very little in common with that children's movie. Actually, according to the author's note, the book has a lot more in common with the real history of the Romanov family-- with the exception of the magical elements of the story, and obviously, the fact that not all of the Romanov family members die at the hands of their captors.</p>
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<p>I liked ROMANOV. Nastya was mischievous and fun and tried very hard to keep her family's spirits up. I loved her dad's humble, gentle character and his commitment to showing love for their captors as a part of his personal faith. Once I realized ROMANOV told a more historically accurate version of events, I found myself getting lost in the more unbelievable or amazing parts. Nastya's sister's romance with one of the guards, for instance.</p>
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<p>Because of the consent issues, I felt uncomfortable with Nastya's sister's relationship with one of the guards. It is something that apparently happened in real life. Most of their relationship remains emotional rather than physical. Nastya herself has feelings for one of the guards but keeps telling herself to forget about that.</p>
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<p>Overall I liked a lot of things about the book and really enjoyed learning some more about the Romanov family. If you enjoy re-imagined history, like <a href="http://thestorysanctuary.com/review-the-ring-and-the-crown-by-melissa-de-la-cruz/">THE RING AND THE CROWN by Melissa de la Cruz</a>, then you'll probably like ROMANOV.</p>
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I thoroughly enjoy learning more about history through Brandes magical retellings.

Anastasia, or Nastya as she is affectionately called by her family, is a Romanov which means her life is currently at risk. Just like her family, Nastya is strong, kind and loyal, but "not even royal blood can stop bullets." Luckily, the Romanovs have something the Bolshevik army does not and her father has left Nastya in charge of. Nastya is protecting magic that could save her family.

The story was a beautifully written emotional roller coaster of a read. I previously knew little to nothing about the Romanov family, but the first half (which Brandes says is mostly historically accurate) seemed so real and raw. The second half caused a little anxiety with the 'will they survive or will it all be for nothing' question circling my head. I was invested in the characters, captivated by the story and was hoping there was at least a partial win for the characters I came to care for.

The only complaint is that at times it would feel rather slow while other parts happened very quick. This may have been intentional, a 'calm before the storm' technique, but there were times a scene would fly by so quick that I needed to go back and reread the scene to fully understand the what/why/who/how of it all.

Overall, another amazing book from Brandes and it only has me more excited to see what she write next!

This stunning retelling of the Romanov and Anastasia’s story had me from the start. Throught love, fait, friendship and forgiveness, Grande Duchess Anastasia, or Nastya hold her family and their history together. This story ventures a fictional aspect of magic and spell masters to explain the Russian revolution and the change to the historical outcome.

The characters are relatable and Brandes descriptive writing brings you into the Romanov exile in such way, that you feels though you are there with Nastya and her parents and siblings. Brandes’ seamless integration of fact and fiction make this tale truly tug at you heart, not just for the magically minded Nastya, but also for the actual Romanov family who suffered so greatly for the country they loved.

I didn’t want to put this book down and had to keep going to see what would happen next in this tale of Nastya and her family. I very much enjoyed this read and it evoked in meme similar response as when I ready other really good Young Adult fiction, such as Lady Jane (by Cynthia Hand) and Mockingjay (by Suzanne Collins).

Nadine Brades is a Young Adult fiction author to watch. I am excited to see what project she take on next and am off to get Fawkes (previous book) ASAP!

Romanov by Nadine Brandes is due to release May 7, 2019.

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

#Romanov #NetGalley

I think the concept of this book is interesting but the execution of the book struggled for me. There were too many historical inaccuracies and the magic system wasn't as developed as I would have liked. I wanted the book to interweave more russian history and fairy tales but I was slightly disappointed. I could tell from the first chapter there was going to be a predictable romance and I wasn't excited about the choice, it wasn;t necessary.

This started out really good – the author did a great job setting the book up and building the tension of what was to come. Unfortunately, the story started going downhill towards the end. The last quarter of the book was extremely rushed; there was too much going on at once and it was hard to follow. More than once I found myself having to re-read chunks of text because I was confused. All in all, great writing, great job pulling the reader into the story and keeping them intrigued, but the pacing towards the end needed some adjusting.

The story of Anastasia Romanov, the second to youngest child of the last Tzar of Russia, is a difficult story to re-imagine. First, because we already have a beloved musical cartoon that lives forever in some of our hearts - as my well played DVD will attest. Second, because we know what happened to her. She wasn't actually missing once the DNA tests were completed. And I won't lie, my heart broke all over again about it.

Nadine Brandes, however, approached this story from a completely new point of view. Coming to bookstores on May 9th, Romanov tells the story of Anastasia, Nastya for short, in a world in which magic is real. While the bones of the truth are still there, Brandes weaves together another world in which other opportunities may have occurred, including one in which Nastya had the chance to just be normal. I was provided a copy of Romanov from Thomas Nelson via NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

The story starts with the Romanov family already in captivity, awaiting the Tzar's trial, waiting and hoping merely to be exiled to the far regions of the country to be left to live a normal life, not even hoping for the grandeur of their former lives back. Even without the aspect of magic, Brandes writes a compelling story of a family in turmoil just trying to stay together and survive.

While the older two sisters are bit lost in the shuffle a bit, we come to know Nastya and her family, as well as some of the Bolsheviks who guard them. Nastya's motivations, and those of her family around her are understandable. Despite the known path their lives must take, I found myself rooting for them and hoping that the magic aspect would change more than could really be changed. 

The introduction of Zash and the Bolshevik guards that Nastya and Maria become friendly with is a meaningful part of the story. You can't help but feel that they are just young men caught up in something so much bigger than themselves. Brandes managed to reflect the classic issues of war in that part of the story line alone. 

Overall, it's a sweet retelling of a classic story in history, with a unique twist in the use of magic. I look forward to see what else Brandes writes and won't lie that I hope for a tiny bit more of this particular story.

I knew I had to read this book as soon as I first heard about it. A magical retelling of the story of Anastasia Romanov? How can I resist that?! I confess I had forgotten a lot of details around the Romanov family and their tragic ending... But that didn't make me enjoy Romanov any less. This retelling mixes historical facts and magic in an expert way and gives us a whole new take on the events set in 1918 Russia. While Romanov can mostly be considered and in fact mainly reads like a historical fiction story, there are also magical elements incorporated that give the story a little something extra. I really liked the magic as described in Romanov and I almost wished we would have seen and learned more of it during the story. Instead, the main focus is on the Romanov family and what happens to them after Nastya's father had to abdict and the whole family is exiled in Siberia. It's a story of a family fighting to stay together while they try to hold on to a shred of dignity... The mayority of the story is focused on their time as prisoners in exile and not on the events after as I would have guessed. I enjoyed the writing style, although I do have to admit that the pace is considerably slow and this might be a turn off for those who don't enjoy slower and more character driven historical fiction. Romanov focuses mostly on the characters and their development, and only gives you a healthy dose of action and magic more towards the ending. I personally didn't really mind most of the time, although the middle part could get a tad too slow and tedious. The characters and magical take on this famous family mostly made up for it though, and I can definitely recommend it. Historical fiction fans: don't be put off by the fantasy elements in this story, as it's surprisingly light on the magic and focuses mainly on the historical elements.

Romanov is YA historical fantasy done right. I loved this book! Romanov by Nadine Brandes is a YA fantasy take on the historical story of the Romanov family. This book begins with the family already exiled, and how it twists and turns the history I won’t get into. No spoilers here! Told from the point of view of Anastasia “Nastya” Romanov, we are treated to a feisty heroine who knows herself and has a great love for her family and her country.
It took a bit for me to fully immerse myself into the story. I’m a fan of Russian history and the Romanovs, and I was quite skeptical as to how Brandes was going to pull this story off. Would she go too fantastical and totally stray from history? Or would she play history totally straight and not make any authorial changes? You can tell that Brandes really dove into her research and respected the historical story. I appreciated all of the history that was put into Romanov, and while the story obviously strays due to the fantastical bits, it felt authentic enough to me and I didn’t cringe while reading the fantasy parts.
I’ve previously read another Brandes book, Fawkes, which was another YA historical fantasy retelling of the Guy Fawkes story, and while that one had plotting and characterization issues that didn’t quite work for me, in this book I felt everything worked well together, in particular the characters. I loved that the characters were thoughtful and had great struggles. Nothing is easy for the characters in this book, but even though there are horrific things that happen, there’s still a sense of hope and kindness throughout the story. There’s sibling love, parental love, a strong male friendship, and romantic love. While this is just told from Nastya’s point of view, the other characters, particularly those of Zash, a Bolshevik soldier, and Alexei, Nastya’s younger brother who suffers from hemophilia, were fully fleshed out and compelling.
This is a book for fans of the history of the Romanovs, and while with the addition of magic and other plots, it isn’t completely historically accurate, but somehow it’s the story I wish were real. It’s a story that will bring new readers into the historical fiction genre and has reaffirmed my faith in YA. This is why I read, and I loved this book!

Bottom Line: I absolutely loved this! Love, adventure, history, magic – it’s all here and it’s wonderful!

3.5 stars This book was another just ok book for me.. I think I had some issues turning off my analytical brain for this one because I have studied extensively the Romanov family and I feel like the author severely tamed them and their situation down. Like Nicholas he was weak. And seen as a bad leader because he was under his wife's thumb, and for a book that shows the author has done some research it is frustrating. I get that the book is a work of fiction and that I should take everything in it with a grain of salt that doesnt mean that it should be as a whole, historically inaccurate. I liked the family dynamic that she wrote but didnt find any of the characters to be all that strong. But over all I found the book to be enjoyable. To the point that I preordered it.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you NetGalley!

Already a big Anastasia fan, I was sold by the title and description of this book! Add some magic to the traditional story and you have the perfect YA retelling! We all know the basic gist of the story, Anastasia is a long lost Romanov princess who survived her family's massacre when the Soviets took over Russia in the early 1900s. This story has a twist, because it takes place before the massacre of the Romanov family and Anastasia is tasked with a securing a magical item that could save her family from their historically morbid fate.

Yes, this has the stereotypical YA fantasy enemy to lovers story. Yes, it has a strong, stubborn female lead who is motivated to carry out her epic journey by her deep love for her family. Yes, the main character has undiscovered magical powers that give history a magical twist. Yes, it hits all the YA bullet points on the head! and Yes, I liked it a lot!

DNF at 65%
I tried really hard to finish this book, but I've kept putting it down so much, not wanting to keep reading it. It's sad to say that this was a disappointment. I was expecting more action, but over half the book they're in two single locations, and that rarely goes well for the story to move along. I felt like nothing happened, and the highlights were few and far between. I've read that the later part of this book is very action packed, but I've completely lost interest at this point.

As an educator, historical fiction is always an easy sell and this one is so well done to boot! The writing is mechanically lovely, and leaves so much to look at in the classroom and it's interesting enough to capture teenagers. They generally find Anastasia and the Romanov family really interesting anyways!

My Review: I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Confession.. I enjoyed Fawkes but not enough to make Brandes my auto-buy author, so I went into Romanov expecting a pleasant read but nothing too mind blowing.. HOWEVER I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I devoured it within hours, and in the times I had to put the book down (to travel etc) I still found myself thinking about the plot and looking for a free minute to pick it back up! This in my opinion is the making of a very good book!

Did I know the Romanov story before reading? Not really. Am I more likely to find out more about it now I've read Romanov? Absolutely

This book was magic from start to finish. Albeit a little slow to begin, the world building was colourful and the character relationships were deep and extremely loving. I particularly loved how they set a clear message to continue being kind - even in the most awful circumstances. The beginning of the book shows the family as a unit, it uncovers a few magical family secrets all while showing you the blooming relationship between the Romanov family and the guards keeping watch. There's a brief love story between Maria and a guard, as well as the beginning of one between Anastasia and Zash, until a reshuffle of staff results in Zash being the holder of the gun that is aimed for Anastasia's heart! (Yes, that's real - no metaphor here!)

I loved every twist and turn throughout this book. The magical elements kept me on my toes eager for more. I found myself willing for things to happen and having my heart completely ripped out when they didn't - or did!

Such brilliant, powerful writing from Brandes! Such a wonderful bunch of strong, independent characters that all rely on and build each other up! I also loved that it was particularly fast paced for a retelling. The pace certainly picks up and maintains speed at a certain turning point in the book.

Overall: 4 STARS - I absolutely loved this read so much that I devoured the entire book in mere HOURS. I was wrapped up in the magical secrets and the spellbinding storytelling!

Last year, I read Fawkes, which I wasn’t completely enamored with, but it was a fun read, and I really enjoyed the combination of a retelling of history with magic layered on top. I mean, history is okay, but let’s be honest … magic makes everything better.

So when I heard that Brandes’ next book would be:
1. Based on the Romanovs
2. Have Anastasia as a main character
3. Layer magic on top of history
4. Possibly have hate-to-love or ill-fated lovers
… I was all for this and rushed out to read it.

So what was the result? The really rare 2-star rating. I mean, this thing is practically a unicorn for me, because I’m usually really good at picking books that seem like a good fit for me. In this case, I was wrong. I expected something entirely different going into it the book, but had I known it was so heavily focused on the historical fiction aspect, I probably wouldn’t have picked it up, knowing that solid historical fiction isn’t really my thing. It was a case of me just having different expectations of what the book was about.

Romanov is more historical fiction than fantasy, with a heart-warming story of family love, strength during hardship, perseverance, and forgiveness.

Oh, and there’s a dog. And who doesn’t love a good pupper? 10/10 deserves all the treats.

My Thoughts:

- Brandes obviously did her research and really transports the reader to Russia along with the Romanovs. I confess that I know very little about the Romanovs and Russian culture, particularly during that time, but Brandes had me covered. There was enough information and setting where the book had an authentic Russian feeling (to me, at least, but what do I know? The answer is not much, in this case). The setting is also established well enough, where it’s clearly the Romanovs versus Lenin and the Bolsheviks … and things aren’t exactly going great for the Romanovs. Yeesh.

- Nastya is referred to, lovingly, as shvybzik (imp), because of her penchant for pulling pranks, which was really cute. I mean, I don’t want to spoil any of the pranks, but I thought including them was a nice touch to Nastya’s character. They aren’t anything particularly big or elaborate, but she had little insidious ways of thwarting or subverting the Bolsheviks. And in a situation that she can’t control, where her freedom has essentially been stripped clean away, those little acts of defiance really endeared me to her character all the more.

- At its core, Romanov is really about a family that endured countless tragedies, which only served to strengthen their familial bonds. And guys, it was pretty dang sweet. The whole first half of the book focuses around the Romanov family as they deal with exile, as they try to bolster each other and carry on some semblance of normalcy, despite the chaos and despair. There were some really touching scenes.

Sticking Points:

- This book is heavy on the historical fiction and light on the fantasy, which is really what I was here for. In fact, the whole first half of the book deals with the Romanov exile. As far as I can tell, it seems pretty accurate. Nadine Brandes goes into detail at the end of the book about all the facts in the book and her research, which was pretty interesting. But not why I read the book. I was expecting the magical aspect to play more of a critical role, but really, it was relegated to a deus ex machina, essentially, that had no other purpose besides that.

- There’s not a whole lot of action going on for the first half of the book … and then the action in the second half felt so incredibly unbelievable that it broke my suspension of disbelief. The first half of the book focuses on the Romanovs in exile. It’s basically quotidian life, which is … taxing. If you’re looking for some heartwarming, touching family drama, you’ll probably love the first half of this book. Unfortunately, I was mostly looking for, you know, spells, deceit, lies, magic, and adventure. So that was a bit of a bummer. The second half had all of those things … mostly. Except that the way it was approached, the magic was a deus ex machina; the spells didn’t make any sense to me; the deceit was actually pretty satisfying, not gonna lie; and the adventure was so far-fetched. These characters should’ve been dead ten times over from things they did, yet somehow, they survived without any explanation, defying all reason.

- I didn’t feel like I really got to know any of the characters well. And there were a lot of them. Maybe it was because there were a lot of them that I didn’t really connect with any of them? I don’t know. Well, that’s not true. I loved Alexei. He had so much promise as a character, and I enjoyed his parts, but I felt like I didn’t really get to know him so much as his circumstances. Nikolai seemed like he had promise, too, and I wanted to know more about him, but I never got the chance. The others seemed to just sort of float in the periphery. There were so many times in the book that a character did something and I just had no idea why. The characters suddenly took giant leaps in perspective for seemingly no reason, which made the character arcs seem a bit choppy to me and hard to follow.

- Now, I normally am all for hate-to-love tropes, but this romance was a bit lackluster for me, and I didn’t understand it. I mean, hate-to-love has to have some sort of catalyst to push it from one to the other in a sensible fashion. Or, preferably, many little micro-catalysts. In Romanov, I just didn’t buy the shift. It seemed to come out of nowhere, and then suddenly, boom, they’re clearly soulmates. And then they aren’t. And then they are. It was a bit all over the place. I felt no chemistry between these characters and no reason for Zash to risk what he does for Nastya.

- The magic system was … confusing and a bit too convenient, with no clear background or rules as to how it works. Soft magic is all well and good, but it should still feel like it fits, and in Romanov, it felt like an afterthought. I have no idea what the rules are for … well, anything regarding magic. And when I think I understand the rules, they’re changed and spells are cast/used in a new way that doesn’t seem to quite fit the previous rules. Romanov also suffers from having a magical MacGuffin, which is never really explained, and the plot wouldn’t exist at all without it. Conveniently, the doll only becomes usable when the plot needs advancing—when there’s a sticky situation and the characters clearly can’t get out of it themselves. Really dampened the stakes for me, because I just kept thinking, well, of course, they’ll just use their magic to get out of it, even if that wasn’t always the case.

- The book felt like it was really pushing a particular message (Romanovs = innocent, good; Bolsheviks = guilty, bad), and I couldn’t decide if that was a facet of the point of view character or the author … but it was pretty heavy-handed, either way. In the end, the Romanovs come off looking like a tragic family who were innocent victims of circumstance, ruthlessly slaughtered by the evil Bolsheviks. The good guys were all Romanov supporters, obviously, and in order for any character to suddenly become “good,” then they were no longer Bolsheviks, clearly. I was so disappointed in this approach, because the Romanov story is, inherently, sympathetic enough without painting them as innocent martyrs. I wish this book had allowed for more nuances of character. There was a perfectly good angle to be taken with a juxtaposition of their potential ruthlessness when it came to squashing unrest and the gentleness of their family life and interaction. It would’ve certainly produced more well-rounded characters and shown a completely different side of the story. As it was, the characters fell flat to me, because they seemed too good to be true.

This book plays well with the historic accuracy and with fantastic points. Anastasia is a character we can just love for her bravery and her family devotion. She fights her interest in Zash so she can save her family. The book is heartbreaking because we know what they're gonna live and it's hard to let them go, all of them.
I really loved this book, despite the too fast love interest of Zash in Anastasia. He goes from I hate you to I'm interested in you in just a few pages, while it seems to take longer for her.

I don't have all that much knowledge about the history of Anastasia, other than a love for the the old animated movie. Still, this story swept me up enough for med to enjoy the read. I liked how Natasya was portrayed - even though she was a bit super-heroy at points - and the story that unfolded. Brands has a way of writing magic which doesn't feel overused.

I did have a bit of an issue, as with Fawkes, with the historical aspects, though. Not knowing all the historical happenings, it can be a bit hard to understand what Brands means and what certain things are. It's not awesome to have to google things while reading. Multiple times.

Still, this is a well-written enough story about a young woman, spellwork, family and a whole new look on history. I recommend this book to all readers who enjoy YA, history and intrigue and don't mind a bit of googling (or actually do know history, because there are people less lazy than me) or

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