I had been dying to read this book since I heard about it in 2018. Recently I’ve also developed a bit of an obsession with the story of the last Romanovs and have added a few non-fiction books to my collection purely about this family. I also really enjoyed Fawkes last year – a Guy Fawkes retelling; from his son’s point of view.
The cover:
Look at that beauty! I am 100% getting a physical copy when it’s out because I need this on my shelves.
General intro:
This book kind of assumes some knowledge of who the Romanovs are but I wouldn’t say knowledge of their “true” story is necessary to enjoy the book. Romanov starts with their exile, and explores their difficulty of maintaining appearance of wellbeing without their healer. This book is told from Anastasia’s point of view – who is the only one in the house – as far as she is aware – that can work the magic to help her brother get some relief from his illness. But this act itself is dangerous, and many who used to use magic have given it up in fear for their lives.
The storyline:
There was an underlying romance theme as both Nastya and her sister begin to form a bond with some of the soldiers in charge of keeping them in the house. But when all the family really wants is to escape, these feelings are often conflicted.
I think it was this romance that surprised me and may, or may not, have been why Nastya is much more mature in this novel compared to the stories we are used to hearing about her.
This book took a little while to get going, and in this time I would’ve liked to read more about the magic, how it works, how common it used to be, the extent of the greatest sorcerers etc. But once the main story did begin it had me turning page after page. It was both gripping and utterly breath-taking.
The characters:
There were definitely less extremes when it came to character personalities but the story was strong enough to carry the narrative and keep the reader engaged. I do feel like if the book was longer, and there were more space to tell the story, there could’ve been more room to explore the intricacies of the fantasy world in this novel.
Anastasia:
Despite being known for her mischief, we aren’t given much of a taste, and given her family’s predicament it probably would’ve been beneficial for some humour throughout the story to keep morale up. Nastya kind of takes on a very serious and protective role that doesn’t quite fit in with her nickname. If we’d seen more of the intricacies of the magic, and Anastasia using it, this might’ve been understood. But these instances were few and far-between.
I would’ve just liked to see more from the main character. She narrated well and proved to be a strong lead but given how close to the “original” story this book was, I would’ve liked to see more of her personality.
In general:
The arc of some of the characters was a little predictable, and I’d say this is a more tame retelling of the Romanov story, however I enjoyed the fantasy twist and the alternative route the story took. It is a light and enjoyable read and fully deserving of a strong 4/5 rating.

Romanov is a completely different book than what I had in mind. I was hoping a great historical fiction but it has a lot of fantasy elements instead. I rated it three out of five because it's different than what i was expecting

This felt like a bad flashback to when I tried to read an ARC of Dark of the West and could only make it a few chapters in, only this time, I could only make it about 1 chapter and then only barely.

DNF at 7%

My biggest issue with this is something that many other people will probably love about it, so probably take it with a grain of salt. The premise falls into one of my biggest bookish pet peeves: when authors take real life historical figures and fictionalize them, usually by giving them magical powers. I don't know why I hate this so much but I absolutely DESPISE this. Every time in Percy Jackson books, when another random popular real-life figure was said to actually be a demigod, I would roll my eyes and curse Riordan's name. This kind of thing honestly makes me think of Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter more than it makes me think of retelling or immersion. The only book I've read that did this and didn't make me want to scream was Blood Rose Rebellion, and that's mostly because the main character wasn't a historical figure, as far as I could tell.

This book didn't feel like a retelling, it felt like a behind the scenes with a twist, and that's not what I signed up for.

Now, if the magic had felt well done, inserted seamlessly or even with some better explanations, I wouldn't have minded it as much. But it didn't. The magic felt tacked on. The inherent secrecy surrounding it didn't make it seem like a "behind the scenes", it made it feel like I was reading two different books: one a historical fiction romance, the other a fantasy novel; and they didn't mesh well, unfortunately, neither did they intrigue me.

The other biggest issue, and the main reason I simply could not go on, is that I hated the writing. Not the deeper stuff - the characterization, set-up, or exposition - though those were pretty awful too, but the actual syntax, the writing itself. It was so pompous and pretentious, over-using similes (there are other ways of making metaphors, and metaphors aren't required every other sentence to make a point), and using passive voice excessively (which doesn't make you sound artistic, it makes short scenes go on for ages and makes me needlessly bored). This book and Dark of the West both somehow made 1st person read like badly done 3rd, and I hated it.

Honestly, I'm just going to finish the ARCs I already have for this year and stop requesting new ones, and just stop reading new releases in YA all together, unless they're sequels to series I've already started. YA (fantasy in particular) has been mostly disappointing this year and I'm sick and tired of it. If the writing standards are lowering in traditional publishing, then their sales and fan response ought to lower as well. Seems only fair.

A book that I would have probably liked better when I was younger. Brandes takes the story of the last few months of the Romanov's lives and adds magic and a romance between Anastasia and a guard called Zash. She had obviously researched the period thoroughly, but I wasn't entirely convinced by the magical elements. To me it felt like an unfortunate hybrid between real history and fantasy. The magic and the secret magical history of Russia wasn't really explained, and it was as if you were diving into a second book in a series. I wanted a bit more world building and description. Why did the Bolsheviks ban magic? However, this may have been a deliberate choice to normalise the magic elements.

The first part takes place in the quarters where the family is held and can be quite dry at times, contrasting with the fast pace of the second part. First part Nastya is actually quite annoying, but I think she's probably quite true to life!

Anyway, I just want to say that whilst this wasn't my cup of tea, it does have some charming elements particularly in the second half and would probably appeal much more to fans of ya fantasy/magic novels with a romantic twist. This is not a genre I tend to read much of though (I am so old and decrepit ya didn't really exist when I was a young adult!).

Not particularly well written. Immature characters and tons of plot holes. I would not read another book by this author.

Despite the interesting subject matter, this book failed to keep my attention. Too much time was spent with the family in exile. Obviously that is a huge part of their story, but it was too limiting for the story to go anywhere. I started to feel just like the Romanovs — trapped without any hope of escape.

I understand what Brandes was doing by showing us how the Romanovs became prisoners and how they were trying to survive their monotonous life in exile, but a hundred pages about it seems unnecessary. Even during that exile period, we didn't learn anything about the family. None of the characters had a real personality. And what we know about Nastya was spelled out for us. She's the one who's going to save her family. But who is she beyond that?

Not only that, it felt childish to read that the Bolshevik soldiers were evil and meanwhile the Romanov family was completely blameless. It portrayed the tsar as a kind and loving husband and father. But who was he as a ruler? There was no nuance there. I would have loved to read about his mistakes as a tsar, his guilt for failing his people in conjunction with how he was with his family. Nobody is purely one thing, but this book definitely made it seem that way.

The one thing that I thought was going to save this book was the magic system. It was a cool addition as a way to retell the story we all know well. Unfortunately, that didn't pan out because the magic system wasn't fleshed out at all. I'm still confused as to how people become spell masters and how the magic ink comes into play.

And let's talk about the romance. This novel could have easily done without it. I could smell the romance coming from a mile away and I wasn't interested in it whatsoever. It seemed forced and I felt very uncomfortable reading about it. Why does Nastya fall in love with Zash? Because he was a handsome soldier who helped her out? Again, maybe the romance would have made more sense if we knew the characters better.

By the time we got to see any action in the book, it was too late. It would've been fun and exciting if we saw more of the chase and the aftermath of using the spells from the doll. Everything ended with a neat little bow with people living happily ever after, but nothing made sense.

This book was a miss for me and I wouldn't recommend this. I didn't learn anything new about the family or that period of time in history.

Ah man. I was approved for this ARC back in November 2018 and I’d been really looking forward to it. I’d hyped it up a lot in my head. So imagine my disappointment when I re-read the blurb when I was about 20% into the book and realised that I had totally misread it the first time, and the reason it wasn’t quite meeting my expectations was beceause I was stupidly expecting something that was never promised to me.

For some reason I got into my head that the execution of the Romanov family would happen fairly early on, and that the book would be about Anastasia being on the run through the Russian wilderness.

There is far less adventuring than that. A good half of the book takes place before the execution, and depicts the exile of the Romanov family in Impatiev House. Apart from the occasional mention of spells, this first half felt like it was straight historical fiction. The fantasy is barely there. Then in the second half, the pacing speeds up the nth degree and everything is about spells and spellwork. It is almost two different books, and it was a little jarring.

In terms of characters, I really enjoyed the close-knit family dynamic of the Romanovs. I enjoyed the cheeky Alexei, and I actually was pretty into the forbidden romance between Grand Duchess Maria and Bolshevick soldier Ivan, which I learned after reading is actually historically accurate.

But apart from that, the characters all felt.. superficial, I guess. A bit shallow. I didn’t really buy the romance between Anastasia and Zash at all, except for one or two moments. And even I with my limited knowledge know that Tsar Nikolai II was not the loving, kind, beneficient ruler devoted to the Russian people that he is presented as here. I want to give benefit of the doubt, because it is from Anastasia’s first person perspective and she may well have viewed her father that way, but it would have been good to see her delve into the whys and wherefores of the revolution a bit more.

Still, I read the vast majority of it in one day, so take from that what you will. I have a copy of Fawkes, Nadine Brandes’ other historical fantasy, which I still intend to check out.

I devoured this one! I've always been fascinated by the story of the Romanovs and of course, the mystery of Anastasia. This book mixed that mystery with one of my favorite things-magic. I read this almost in one sitting, falling asleep with it in my hands and finishing it when I woke up the next morning. The story was fast paced and kept me turning the pages with a feeling of tension as I anticipated the tragedy that I was still hoping wouldn't happen. It was absolutely beautiful and I loved the story and the way that the Romanovs were brought to life on the page! I can't wait to own the final copy.

Disclaimer: I was provided an e-arc of this from Netgalley but all opinions are my own.

*** Disclaimer: I received a free early access copy of Romanov by Nadine Brandes from NetGalley and Thomas Nelson for review purposes. Thank you so much for opportunity.

I was so excited about Fawkes that you should've seen my face when I learned Romanov was going to exist! The Romanovs were such an interesting family and all of the mysterious circumstances that surrounded their true disappearance. The speculation of Anastasia living, the rise of Leninism ,and just the general misfortune upon them is so interesting and heartbreaking.

One thing about this book I really love is how Nadine explains the contents of the book. She tells of her research, what is real/based off of real people and what has been added to make the story. So many of the element incorporated were actual things and people, even if the truth was stretched.

Russian history is one of those subjects that is fascinating to me because of how a majority of the world currently views the country and because their history is so rich. The Romanovs may not have been the perfect ruling family, but much of it was definitely just unfortunate timing as the ruling family in power that played a part in their demise.

I love how the story beings with a general telling of events. It's slower paced, but it helps build up to the rest of the book. For those who don't know a lot about the Romanov family or their exile it helps give a background for what happened. The Bolsheviks that came in contact with them did come to love the family. They were not maniacal or power hungry. I enjoyed how that was a constant theme.

For the magical elements I think Brandes did a wonderful job because she wove Russian history into it seamlessly. With movies like Anastasia in 1997, it's always been sort of romanticized as such. I think that's what helps make this story believable and not far-fetched. 

Nastya is a very well written and developed character. She has feelings that ever girl goes through. She's loyal to her family and friends to nearly a fault. She struggles with responsibility and worries about being the person she's supposed to. I enjoyed her weak moments with the romance plot because emotions can really hinder life in the present. It's not always in a bad way, but as an adolescent it's especially tough.

I love Nastya's relationship with Nikolai. She will do anything for her brother, which I can personally connect with. He is also a character I enjoy in the book because he doesn't let his sickness get his spirits down. In fact, he's the one with the witty one-liners and much of the banter's comic relief. He's also shown to be a strong part of his sister's conscience.

I did enjoy that the villain was a villain through and through. There was no horrible backstory to be able to sympathize with him or make him morally grey. I find that nowadays villains can be more ambiguous, which isn't a bad thing, but it's nice to be able to have that clear line of good and evil now and again.

The ending was definitely something I was happy with. I think people who read it will enjoy it as well.

I gave this book 5 stars.

This book was everything I needed and then some. With a Life/Reading Slump that’s going on 3 years now, it’s difficult to find books I truly enjoy. Even when I DO find books I enjoy, I still struggle to find the time and energy to read them. Typically, it takes me 3-4 weeks to read one book now, whereas I used to read a book every 3-7 days before The Slump. But Romanov? I couldn’t put Romanov down. I read it in less than a week, and I adored every single second of it.

The first half of the book is basically straight-up historical fiction, with a small bit a magic thrown in. I love history and I love the mystery surrounding the execution of the Romanov Family, and whether or not Anastasia escaped. But I really didn’t know much about the Romanov family otherwise, and nothing about Anastasia beyond what we “learned” in the animated movie. So reading about the family’s final months/days in exile was intriguing and educational, but since it was done in a fictional way, it didn’t feel dry or like I was being lectured at. In fact, it’s made me want to read more about this time period!

The second half of the book was where the majority of the magic came into play. It was also where the author divulged from history, and gave us her fictional take on what happened after the Romanov family was executed. This was just as intriguing as the first half of the book – if not more intriguing.

As much as I love the story of Anastasia and LOVED the movie, I haven’t actually read any other Anastasia retellings. I have a bunch on my TBR, and I asked Twitter for recommendations, but I haven’t actually read any. I came to this shocking realization as I was reading, and made this comment: “I really like Nastya – she’s my favorite Anastasia since the Disney one.” – So.. First of all, someone corrected me and told me that the 1997 animated movie wasn’t actually a Disney movie. I don’t care – Anastasia will always rank as a Disney Princess in my eyes. Second of all, I guess that makes Nastya my second favorite incarnation of Anastasia, since this is only the second retelling I’ve read/watched, bahaha. But that aside, I really did love her character – her strength, resilience, and ability to grow from tragedy and forgive the “enemy.”

Zash probably has the biggest character development/growth of anyone in the book – even beyond Nastya. I really don’t want to spoil it so I can’t go into details too much, but I really liked the way his story went.

So, yeah.. I don’t even know what else to say. Except that this book was everything I needed, and is definitely one of my favorites of 2019. I HIGHLY recommend it!

I was really excited about this one because I'm an Anastasia nerd, but it was a little lackluster to me. I owe a lot of that, though, to being more familiar with the actual history probably than the average reader of this.

While I do feel it would definitely be entertaining to some, I was just a little underwhelmed by it overall. The magic aspect was an interesting route to take, but it was hard to fit it in to the actual facts at times. And I felt like there were lots of clichés about the family that were over-used. It seems like if you're going to take such a large leap, you may as well flesh out the characters in more of your own style.

A wonderful read full of magic, wonder, heartbreak, family, and love. The story starts a little slow, but picks up and the prose is beautifully written.

Real mixed feelings about Romanov. I really wanted to love it and it was one of my most anticipated books of the year!

A retelling of the story of Grand Duchess Anastasia, and according to the synopsis magic and forbidden love; that was supposed to be exactly my jam.
But I didn’t like it as much as I wished and honestly I even struggled to get through it.

60% of the book is about captivity: conditions as a prisoner, loyalty, family...the thing is I didn’t feel any connection to the characters! Even to Anastasia. Don’t get me wrong I didn’t hate her or anything but that’s the thing: I didn’t feel anything at all.
We don’t really know where the story is going, there’s no quest, the characters don’t really have a goal (they have to survive and endure harsh conditions yes, but it’s a day to day report of how they lived and not really a story then).

The "love" story –or sort of because I wished it could have been only friendship, maybe it is... anyway,I love romance and slow burns and forbidden love in books but I couldn’t care less! Honestly there was no point in bringing a love interest in the story! It just didn’t work for me at all, I didn’t see any spark, not really or even special attachment. It was unnecessary as it is barely tackled and doesn’t bring anything special to the story; a strong friendship would have been better (but as I said it often felt like one so maybe it was but so many interactions and thoughts were misleading: she uses the word friendship but also hints at more so it was confusing and not stirring)

I loved Alexei and the connection he has with his sister though! Far more important imo! That duo was awesome!
Alexei is fun too, probably the only one.

As the story goes, like I said, I was a bit bored. However, the tragic event in the middle of the book is heartbreaking and so well written; it’s horrible but still it was the best part of the book; and just for that I didn’t DNF it. That was the moment where at last I felt emotions.

Magic:
Finally, in this book the Bolsheviks are trying to erase magic and hunt spell masters. That part was SO underdeveloped; it was a great idea but there’s so little of it that I started to wonder if it was even worth being added! Just after the pivotal scene that I was talking about earlier, Magic plays an important role (and again I loved that part) but other than that it was always the same spell over and over again... I understand that the author probably wanted to stay close to the true events but at the same time the story dragged along.

So as a whole it’s a 2.5 stars review.

Nadine Brandes’ newest Historical fantasy, Romanov does not dissapoint! You can tell that her writing has evolved since Fawkes, making for an even more captivating book in Romanov! Following the former princess, Anastasia and her Romanov family in exile, the book both fascinated and captivates your imagination!

I really loved Anastasia (Nastya) as a character. I found her much more loveable than Thomas Fawkes. She was strong willed and definitely less of a complainer. Her internal struggles seemed much more understandable.

I understand that it’s not historically pinpoint accurate, but if you want a history book, go read an actual history book. This is fiction for a reason. The stories won’t completely overlap.

Overall the book was enchanting and I love the intermingling of actual history with magical fantasy. Definitely a must read for me! 4.5*.

I received a copy of Romanov from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This novel was such a surprise. What I loved most about it was the way that the author clearly took time and care to make sure that she added on to the true history and events of the Romanov story, rather than change everything. The story was a slow build towards a really satisfying conclusion. It starts during their time in confinement, so we don't get to know what the family was like before the revolution. I think this works well though because you're able to see how well the family handles captivity and their captors. The characters felt fully developed and each had their own unique quirks and personalities. It's hard to talk about the novel in any great detail because I'm so afraid I'm going to give something away! I've always been fascinated with the Romanov family and this novel was so satisfying and provided a great fantasy for what could have happened to the family (especially since there was so much mystery surrounding the family itself and their execution).

An innovative book meshing fact and fiction. The lives of the Romanov family has always been an intriguing part of history. Their execution was a horrific ending to lives that were lived by their beliefs. Forgiveness of wrongs done against them, and love of family and enemies alike.
The characters are strong, believable, and charismatic. The storyline is exceptional. I would recommend this book to anyone that loves anything about the Romanov's and a bit of fantasy. This book is a for the ages!

I was thrilled to be able to read an advanced copy of Romanov by Nadine Brandes. The moment I heard about it a magical retelling of Anastasia's story, I was hooked and pre-ordered a copy for myself. For the advanced reading, though I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This book is incredibly lovely. The first half of the book with Anastasia (Nastya) and her family coming together during hardship and finding warmth, humor, and love wherever they could, gave me strong Little Women vibes. I was really touched by the bond they shared.

I actually hadn't realized just how much of this story would be focused on the true history of the Romanov family, and as historical novels aren't usually my favorite, I might not have picked up the book if I'd known...but I'm so glad I read it. The characters were richly developed and I felt so attached to each of them. Plus Nadine's writing was so gripping I couldn't put the book down. In fact, I binge-read this one faster than anything else I've picked up this year.

This book definitely gave me ALL THE FEELS and surprised me time and again, even when I thought I knew what was going to happen. I was riveted by the magical element and the fact that it was connected to music, in a way that made me nostalgic for the old Anastasia movie where the music box was so important.

Extra tidbits:
Hogwarts House I'd put the main character in: A mix of Gryffindor and Ravenclaw.

I'd recommend it for fans of: Sky In The Deep, To Best The Boys, Diary of Anne Frank, and Little Women.

Also, this book doesn’t delve into any romantic situations beyond kissing. While there is obviously violence and death, it's not described in a graphic manner, and there's no strong language, so in my opinion it would be fine for younger YA readers who aren’t ready for more mature YA content.


(I will post this review on IG as well, with an original image on April 27th, and in my IG story today)

I found this repetitive for the first 60% since it only recounted the Romanov’s lives while kept in exile in a five room house. During that 60% we get to know the family and some of the Bolshevik guards in charge of them. I lost interest with the repetitiveness of their days in exile and wondered how it contributed to the plot filled with spells and magic. Zash’s character left me even more perplexed, especially his and Nastya’s relationship which should not have been included. It was instant love with few interactions and words and then Zash is part of the firing squad to assassinate the family. He is the last person Anastasia looks at before he points a gun at her and fires. I don’t care that he looked away while he did it, begged for forgiveness, and said he had no choice. He did. He could have shot above Anastasia’s shoulder, her head or her arm. In regards to that betrayal, Nastya ends up forgiving him and they end up together. She forgives the person who shot her. Who killed her. Who took part in her family’s assassination. What is wrong with her?! Sure, she struggles with forgiveness, but Zash did not deserve it. He should have parted ways after helping Nastya and Alexei. I’m not a person to forgive or forget so maybe this is just me being frustrated over Nastya’s and Zash’s choices due to a personal experience. But it wasn’t like he betrayed her by sharing one of her secrets. He killed her and took part in annihilating her family. I don’t know about you, but that doesn’t call for forgiveness from me.

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

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

Romanov by Nadine Brandes is an alternate history version of the execution of the Romanov family, the last royal family of Russia with magic.
Here’s the summary 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 survival 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’s never dabbled in magic before, but it doesn’t frighten her as much as her growing attraction for 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.
So here are my thoughts! I gave Romanov a 4.5/5 stars. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. To be completely honest, I have been fascinated with the Romanovs and the last Tsar of Russia, and specifically Anastasia. I think this dates back to be reading the Royal Diaries book on Anastasia and then other historical fiction books about her including one called My Anastasia, and it has always struck me as heartbreaking what happened to that family. I know that it is probably a romanticized sentiment, but I can’t help the way I feel. I will always love to read about this family and I will always be heartbroken by it, and you will always catch me reading retellings of this story or alternate takes. This hit all of those notes. It’s a retelling of what happened, and is clearly based on the real history of the event, and it gave a bit of an alternative take with the magic system that it included.
I loved the main characters in this book. Anastasia was wonderfully well developed and I empathised with her as she had to make her major decisions and circumnavigate the problems that developed. I also just enjoyed her as a character. She felt real, and like someone I might encounter in my everyday life. She felt also like the historical figure that she is. Perhaps that’s a weird point to make, but it is how I felt. I was also really intrigued by Zash. I wanted to know what he was up to and what his deal was. He was very engaging. The main villain, Yurovsky, was also quite interesting. I’m the kind of reader who has a gut reaction of dislike towards villains, and that was immediately here for him. However, he’s one of the scarier type of villain because again he seems like the type of person you could encounter in real life. I would never want to meet a Yurovsky in real life, so nicely done on the characterization there. Outside of those main three characters, there was a variety of side characters. Some of them were more well developed than others, but I was a little sad that Anastasia’s sisters didn’t play a bigger role in the story aside from Maria. Alexei was a big part, and his characterization was also quite intriguing to me. The characters that we did get a decent look at were always really well done.
Storywise, I felt that the book had a rather slow start. It felt like it took a really long time to get into the actual story, or more specifically the exciting part of the book. The blurb on Goodreads led me to believe that the firing squad/execution scene would be happening a lot sooner into the story than it actually did. It didn’t actually happen til about 50% of the way through the book, and there was a part of me that felt that the book was dragging its feet to get to the exciting part. Once it got to that firing squad scene, the book got a lot more fast paced and I blew through the end of the story because I just needed to know how it all played out. Additionally, I should clarify that when I say it was slow to start, I didn’t necessarily mind all that much. That slow start allowed time to develop Anastasia, the other characters, and the romance. I liked the way that Brandes wrote the novel and the writing was engaging enough to keep me going. Also when you know what happens to the Romanovs (the firing squad) and you know that scene is coming, it’s enough to keep most people reading.
Something that was kind of iffy for me was the romance that was featured in this book. Both of the newly developed ones (ie not Alexandra and Nicholas) were between a prisoner and guard, and that’s something that’s always made me a little bit uncomfortable. It’s an unequal power balance that makes me uncomfortable. However, because of the way the Romanovs interacted with their initial guards made it slightly better. Nicholas and his children were very good at arousing sympathies from their guards which made things a little bit better. That being said, I still couldn’t really get behind things with Anastasia and Zash until things equalled out between them.
I really loved the ending of the book. I’m not going to get into detail or go into specifics, but it made me really happy and I felt like it was perfect. It was just the kind of ending I wanted.
I also liked the added historical notes at the end so you can see where Brandes stuck to history and where she fidgeted and fudged it. I liked that even though she had a magical take on the story, she still incorporated a lot of historical details into the story. Initially though, I had the impression that she was being a bit of a Rasputin apologist and making him out to better than he was, because let’s be real, Rasputin was sketchy as fuck, but in the end it turned out he was still just as sketchy as in real life, and I appreciated that she stuck to that.
Anywho, on the whole I really quite enjoyed this book. It was fun and adventurous and had great characters. It comes out on May 7th, so when it hits the shelves you should get yourself a copy. It is a totally awesome story. Thanks again to the publishers and Netgalley for this opportunity.

This was the best Anastasia retelling I have picked up. The world felt right and infused with just the right touch of magic. I loved the message and the family dynamics. I highly recommend this book.