I thought this book was a very interesting take on the Romanov family. As soon as i started reading this book i could not put it down until the end! I think i read this book in about 6 hours. I would recommend this book to anyone who like's history, magic, and twist you don't see coming! Loved this book!

With Romanov, Nadine offers us a precise take on Russian history.
I always obsessed over the myth of Anastasia, but never reseached it, so I blingly thought the animated movie version was the right one.
Oh, how wrong I was. I realized it halfway through the book, when I had to google something Romanov related.
In the first part of the book, Nadine tells us exactly what we know of the last days of the Romanov. I was (still am) impressed by the exactitude of the events. She even had some stuff the soldier said in real life to the Tsar in the book.
This book is the magic and adventure book you’re waiting for. All throughout the book, we are waiting for something to happen. For Anastasia to use magic. And when she does, it does not disapoint.
If you are an history nerd like me, this is the book you need.

I was so excited to be approved for this book. I have always had a fascination with the Romanov family and the events that led to their family being killed. The cover was beautiful and eye catching as well. This would be a book that if I saw it on the shelf at my local book store or in Walmart I would find myself picking up to see what it was about.

I liked the pacing in the first half of the book, it drew me in and swaddled me in a soft fuzzy blanket of words. However that pacing soon became tiresome as it came to the middle.

I loved the magical elements the author added to the retelling, it gave a unique spin on things. I was a little bummed out that I did not really connect with any of the characters or the love interest but overall this was a good re-telling.

This is my first Nadine Brandes book and I liked it. I have read about The Romanovs many times and I loved the magical twist in this tale.

I felt that the magic wasn't explained in greater detail but I liked it nevertheless. I also loved the Author's note in the end.

If you are a Romanov fan or want to read a Historical fiction/fantasy book, then I would recommend Romanov to you!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an eARC.

4.5 One of the greatest things about Brandes' style is her commitment to authenticity. As you read, you feel the research and history pouring through the pages, even the clearly fictionalized parts. "Romanov" carries her love of the family, and she treats their story with dignity. I marked three quotes, and only two are spoiler free, but I think they speak to the novel over all in its incredible story.

"No on could outshout a revolution."

"That was what positive moments were for- to help heal the wounds of the future."

The rating: the romance scene at the end felt in some ways forced and sudden, especially in light of the nearly unbelievable tragedy [nearly b/c it actually happened]. Additionally, while I respect Brandes decision to include her faith and write stories of faith, in some ways it was a bit too much. However, she does make note that her research showed her an insight into the Romanov beliefs, and she incorporated that accordingly. I was intrigued to hear about their faith. So really, the half is just the romance at the end. 4.5 But I would do injustice to her novel to rate it at 4, so 5 it is.

This book blended too many things together and created mish mash. I am not sure of several of the historical "facts" and I had a hard time believing much of it. Writing was pretty good, so I would definitely try the author's other books.

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

Anyone who knows me knows that I have loved Anastasia since I was a child. They also know that I really want to see Anastasia the Musical (even though my dreams have been crushed because it closes on Broadway next month and it’ll likely never come to the West End). So of course, when I heard about Romanov, I was super excited to read it. I knew it wasn’t specifically related to the Anastasia story we know and love, and Brandes does leave an author’s note at the end of the novel outlining what was true and what elements she added in to make it historical fiction. I’ve seen quite a few reviews that have had issues with how this book is being marketed as historical fiction, but I don’t agree with them. Yes, there are fantasy elements and fictional elements, but I can still see the historical basis for the novel.

As usual, I’ll give you a breakdown of the characters, the plot and a general overview.

Nastya is our main character, the nickname for our beloved Anastasia. She’s 16 years old in this book – at the start, I couldn’t help but think she was around 10 or 11, as she was portrayed as quite childish. Her evolution was great, though – she wasn’t your typical female protagonist who suddenly becomes good at everything and saves the day. She had flaws which made her a lot more realistic.

Alexei, her brother, was slightly unrealistic for me, however. He’s slightly younger than Nastya, and struggles a lot with illness, in particular haemophilia. It was nice to see a disability written into a book that has been present from birth and not developed from a war situation, and one that is portrayed realistically. The book shows that it can’t truly be cured, which I loved, as most books nowadays tend to provide magical cures for disabilities for the convenience of plot.

Zash is a Bolshevik soldier. He is one of the elements of the story that is fictional – he’s constantly torn between serving as a soldier, and caring for the Romanov’s. He has a damaged moral compass in this book, which portrays him as quite vulnerable. Zash is very much a good character who simply struggles to choose between morality and survival.

The villain, Yurovsky was fictional too, I believe. He was honestly a decent villain in most parts, but on occasion, I found it hard to understand why he was doing certain things and what his vendetta was. Nonetheless, he was manipulative and ruthless, and I will always enjoy a villain who really aggravates me, as it means the author is most definitely doing their job right!

The plot itself started off a little bumpy. It felt a little like we were dropped into the middle of a plot and expected to just know exactly what was going on. I think it would have been slightly better to be given more history of the Romanovs, what they had done to be in this position, where they were, what everyone was like before the capture. But, once the fantasy elements came into play, the novel really picked up. I don’t think this novel would have worked purely as a historical fiction without fantasy. But the romances were very subtle, mostly existing as friendships, which is perfect. The magical elements were simply a backdrop to a beautiful (though cracked) domestic scene.

I did enjoy this book, and I have to say I cried at certain parts. This retelling was beautiful and was everything I expected from a historical fiction novel. I think I would definitely be happy to pick up another Brandes novel after this!

This is a great mix of historical fiction and magical realism. The story of Anastasia and her family has been told and retold—but this telling is the first I have read that gives a magical twist to the possible survival of the grand duchess. I thoroughly enjoyed the research and history that went in to this telling of the Romanov story. It was uplifting—though possibly at times a bit too preachy on forgiveness—but even that felt true to the characters Brandes created.

Nadine Brandes effortlessly blends history and fantasy in her latest book, Romanov.

At times heartbreaking, Romanov is an interesting look into an alternate story of what could have happened to Anastasia, had a little magic been present. I especially loved how Brandes touched on what was fact vs. what was fiction in the book. It was so interesting to see how she took elements of fact and added them to the fictional narrative.

Romanov is sweeping, historical, and magical, all rolled into one! I highly recommend this book!

I love retellings and historical fiction and glad to see more fantasies around this content. Romanovs also is an interest area for me, so I was really excited to read this.
Unfortunately, it fell on the average mark for me. I think the writer made a mix of a little bit of everything and it just didn't have any depth. Characters, magic, historical background, all were bland as it just remained on the surface.
Thanks to the publisher via NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This Anastasia retelling takes a new spin to the historical narrative. Nadine Brandes does her research so the story is rooted in history, At the same time, there is a strong magical element that fits the history. Just to make one thing clear: this is not a retelling of the animated movie: it focuses on history. It is also not a fast-paced book, which I assume some people will dislike. However, it worked, at least for this book.

Unfortunately, there are also things that do not work. I guess the ideological approach and author's opinion on the Revolution paint the story in an uncomfortable light at times. Basically: "Revolution bad, Tsar good". No. Also, the romance is not that of equals and it is problematic in many ways.

Still, there is a lot to unpack with this story. Those who know the history behind it should enjoy it more than those with only a passing knowledge of Disney's animated movie. There are many things to discuss. I can see myself including this novel in a course, and I can see it generating great discussions.

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

DNF. I wish this book was stronger! The cover is beautiful and the concept is so appealing but the execution is where it falls short. The writing was bland. The descriptions were poor and it just fell flat in my opinion. It felt like the mc rarely explained how she was feeling and explained what places/things looked like around her. The stakes were high (because of the plot) but I didn't feel that through the writing.

Back when I was a youngling the Anastasia movie was shiny and new and I thought the whole thing was rather tragically romantic. Also, what if she wasn’t really killed alongside the rest of her family? That’s basically the gist of this book, but with magic, powerful artifacts, and a dash of love story thrown in for fun.

This book follows the general events and timeline of the Romanovs’ capture and final days at the hand of the Soviets. Anastasia is entrusted with the protection of a nesting doll that holds vast magics that may save the Romanov family, but can only be used in the direst of circumstances. A significant amount the plot is dedicated to her hiding/losing/finding/trying to use this item, which upon reflection does make sense since it may be the only thing that can save her family. The remainder of the plot revolved around interactions amongst the family and Anastasia’s suspicion of a particular handsome guard turning towards friendship. The ending portion of the book was definitely stretched a bit far into the fantasy realm, but props to the author for her creativity.

Overall I enjoyed magical retelling of the most well-known royal downfalls in history. It seems to have been written with a great deal of historical research and a creative flair that helped to bring the characters to life. There’s a brief section at the end of the book that describing which events and characters were true to life and what was stretched or outright invented. I enjoy historical fictions that bring forth my curiosity on a particular subject or event – it often ends with hours digging through Wikipedia.

Retellings and historical fiction have been popular lately, as have fantasy stories. This book combines all three elements. Nadine Brandes takes the rumors surrounding Anastasia Romanov—did she survive her family’s execution—and merges it with spells and magic. I was intrigued by the premise as all three genres involved here are favorites of mine.

Unfortunately, this story falls flat. Brandes attempts to cover too many ideas and elements of history and magic without giving any of them their due diligence. It’s a shame because there is promise in the premise.

Disclaimer: This ARC was provided to me free by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

A historical fiction story of the Romanovs with a magical twist. Told from the perspective of Anastasia. Anastasia and her family are hoping that the White Army will rescue them from exile, but her father stresses how important it is for them to be kind and respectful to the Bolshevik's who are holding them captive. Anastasia holds a magic Matryoshka doll that could hold the key to her families escape. However, one of the Bolshevik commanders knows she has the Matryoshka doll and will do anything take it from her.

I received my copy as an arc from Netgalley.

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

In reality this was a heartbreaking story! The book did show quiet many of those horrible moments the family had to live through. I really enjoyed the idea of Anastasia 'escape' the way the author painted it!
Stories too far away from the truth make it hard to like, but the author did her research well.

It is a YA Love story with some bloody pages. If you are aware of this and the fact that magic is a thing in this story, you will have a great time with Nastya.

The only issue I had with this story, is that I missed the explanation for the spells. I get that it is magic and we have a certain imagination of that. But either I missed it, or it was not explained, how these spells work. How do they look? How do they work? That was all up to my imagination. Which is fine in a way, but I would have liked to know more about this whole spellthing.

Knowing the history of the Romanovs well was not bad for the reading experience. The book takes another turn, obviously.

Also I liked the writing style of the Author. I literally flew through the pages.

Historical based YA story with some magic and blood! I enjoyed it very much.

I really liked the plotting and politics in this book. It was full of intrigue and I did not predict where the story was headed. I enjoyed the familial aspects and the love interest. I hope to see more books from this author. The descriptive writing is amazing!

📚 BOOK REVIEW- ROMANOV by @nadinebrandes.Thankyou @netgalley and publishers for this copy.
✏️
'Romanov' is a historical fiction retelling about the Romanov royal family, part history and part fiction to all Anastasia fans with an alternative ending.
✏️
Grand Dutchess Anastasia Nikoleavna was Tsar Nikolas Romanov's daughter.Romanav family was executed in 1918 without any trial during Russian Revolution.But the real mystery came when their grave excavated in 20th century with only nine bodies with two were missing.
Anastasia as well as her brother Alexie were missing which led to so many questions.This novel gives answers to those questions in a fictional way. ✏️
The novel begins with the execution of Romanov family with the Tsar and Tsarina has been taken for trial leaving their son and daughters.
Anastasia Nastya has been given a single mission of smuggling an ancient spell for the salvation of her family while they gets exile to Siberia.But the Bolshevik officer Yurovsky was hunting the spell masters and the spells which made threat to Anastasia too.
.What happened to them in Siberia?
.Will Nastya be able to help her family??
✏️
I am in total love with Nastya and the whole Romanov family. I have heard vaguely about their history but after reading this I wanted to know more about them. The novel keeps our grip from the very first page until the end.Although the exile and prison life was stretched too much but it doesn't matter as that's the truth of their suffer. I love the romantic scenes in between, the twists and turns. The twist at the very end was created very well that the way Anastasia fans would love to. I highly recommend this book.
Rating ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Disclaimer: I received this book from Netgalley. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Rating: 3/5

Publication Date: May 7, 2019

Genre: YA Fantasy

Recommended Age: 15+ (violence, death, attempted suicide)

Publisher: Thomas Nelson

Pages: 352

Amazon Link

Synopsis: 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.

Review: So for the most part I really liked this book. I loved Nadine’s take on the Romanov’s story and how the book is so heavy in history. I already knew the history of their last days, but this book made it feel more personal and real. The plot was intriguing and the writing was well done. The characters were all well developed and I loved the magic in this book.

However, I did have some issues with the book. I don’t agree with how Rasputin was shown. From my research and knowledge of Rasputin I believe him to be… incredibly creepy and I can see evidence of where he might have been inappropriate of the kids. While his visits have been regarded as innocent, I find it creepy that a grown man would go into a nursery while the four girls were in their nightgowns (which were the equivalent of underwear in this time). I’ve just always had this weird feeling that there was more to the story than what was released and since the Romanovs were incredibly secretive it’s not hard to believe that there might have been more to the story. I worked with kids and have seen them in awful situations, the things that would give you nightmares. Second, I didn’t like the romance. It felt a little forced and off. Third, I didn’t like how the magic system wasn’t fully explained. It seemed to have really cool rules and I would have loved to see it more in the book and have it fully explained. It seemed that things happened at whims. And fourth, the book was a recap of the Romanov’s time in captivity until after halfway through the book. The main focus of Anastasia’s story is after the murders, but that didn’t happen until about 53% in the book. While the book was great and I liked it, I wish that more of the story focused on after the murders, because then the rest of the book felt really fast paced and confusing.

Verdict: A great fantasy retelling of Anastasia that any fan would appreciate.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas Nelson through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Thank you to Netgalley, Thomas Nelson and Nadine Brandes for my arc of Romanov in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis: a retelling of the story of Anastasia Romanov princess of Russia. A cross between historical fiction and fantasy, interwoven with spells and magic. Anastasia was given the mission to smuggle an ancient spell into Serbia under the noses of her family's guards, Anastasia doesn't have much experience with magic but she intends to do her best, and hopefully with the help of her handsome guard Zash.

My god I wanted to like this book so badly. I loved Nadine's other book Fawkes which retold the story of the Gunpowder plot with a magical element. I have always been fascinated with the Romanov's story since first watching Anastasia when I was little (I know it's so factually incorrect but I love it, no judgement). Anyway as I got older I researched the family and the history more and of course it is an incredibly interesting but heartbreaking story. The one thing I will give the author is that she kept very close to fact, I know some people have criticised her opinion of Nicholas as a kind and caring Tsar contrary to popular belief and historical fact but we need to remember this was from the POV of his young daughter who probably did believe that. She was a child.

So what was wrong with this story? Exclusively? It was just boring. Nothing happened. The first like 200 Pages was just a repeat of them going in the garden, sitting in their rooms, going in the garden, sitting in their rooms and while this may have been the case, I imagine being imprisoned was extremely tedious, it's just not what a reader wants to read, it's hard to immerse yourself in a world which isn't very exciting and where literally nothing is happening.

By the time it did pick up, I had in all honesty lost interest. The romance element made no sense except for in a Stockholm syndrome kind of way. The plot was all over the place and there was none of the Russian cultural and historical immersion I was expecting to find in there. If I'm reading historical fiction I usually like to learn something but I really didn't from this.

I'm really disappointed with how this turned out as I really, really wanted to love it!