I received this copy of Romanov from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I requested this book fairly certain I knew how it was going to go but I'm a sucker for all things Romanov, so cool beans!
I was wrong.
This book was beautifully written and the mixture of heartbreak and joy while the Romanovs were in exile was written so well.
They had their faith and each other so things couldn't be that bad, right?
Yes, this is a tragedy. It is also a hope (if that makes sense) and absolutely a celebration of life in the face of extreme despair.

I received an arc from Thomas Nelson through Netgalley for my honest opinion. Overall I did like this Anastasia retelling. However, at times the book seemed to get weird in a way I can't seem to explain. I really got into the magic concept however and it kept the story interesting. The book can get dark at times, and has a slight romance feel involved. I am very grateful to the publisher for getting this arc.

Romanov is a wonderful read! Nadine Brandes is a storyteller whose prose borders on magical. Brandes weaves a beautiful tale about a princess desperate to save her family at any cost. She brings the historical figure Anastasia Romanov to life – “Nastya” isn’t just a princess; she is a girl who loves her family, loves her people, is full of faith, and fights to hold onto the light while living in so much darkness. Nastya lives and breathes on the page.

Historical fiction is a new genre for me. I love YA fantasy, so I expected a little bit more from Romanov – more action, more of a fast-pace. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a beautiful book. However, the Romanov family was kept isolated in a house for much of their exile, which slowed the pacing down a lot for me. The last part of the book picks up the pace – I won’t spoil it by telling you why, though.

Romanov reminds me a lot of All But My Life by Gerda Weissmann Klein, a memoir that tells the story of Gerda’s experience living as a Jew in Poland during the Holocaust. Nadine Brandes successfully tells a story that sounds as real as it does fanciful. Much of the story is historically accurate, in fact. Romanov is a must-read for any historical fiction fan. Readers will feel as if Nastya is a friend by the end. Expect to feel all the feels when it comes to her family and friends (and the dogs!).

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas Nelson through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Nadine Brandes has done it again! Romanov is an amazing retelling of the Romanov family that is told in Anastasia’s point of view. This book is filled full of love, lost, family, and magic and it is the perfect book to anyone who loves the movie Anastasia. Romanov is definitely one of those books that you can’t put down until the end! I can’t wait to read whatever Brandes comes up with next!

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

I’ve always loved reading about the family of the last Russian tsar because a) I love historical fiction and anything about royalty, b) it’s the only unit my 9th grade history teacher actually enjoyed teaching, and c) I married a man with hemophilia. I haven’t read much historical fantasy fiction yet — mostly just Shanna Swendson’s Rebel Mechanics series and Cynthia Hand’s My Lady Jane — but after reading Romanov, I’ll be adding Brandes to my list of authors to follow and keeping up with whatever she writes!

What I liked:
- This fate of this family has been a subject of debate, speculation, and research for 100 years now. What better way to get teenagers interested in historical mysteries than with a novel to make them become attached to the characters? Definitely more engaging than a textbook!
- Anastasia battles serious hatred and unforgiveness, with motives that any of us would justify with our human natures alone. Ultimately, the decisions she makes convey powerful themes about the importance of loving others and sacrificing for them, even when it isn’t the easy path to take.
- The pacing is done well throughout the story. It’s a bit slow in parts during the middle of their long imprisonment, but it echoes the pace of their daily lives without being painful to read. Brandes keeps the slow, repetitive daily routine moving with the shaping of Anastasia’s character and the development of her interactions with their Bolshevik guards.
- I liked so much more about this book, but I can’t write more without giving away the twists on history that Brandes adds!

What I didn’t love:
- Ummmm…what do I say here? I gave it a 5-star rating on Goodreads! Characters other than Anastasia could’ve been developed more, but then it wouldn’t be as appealing to YA readers. It’s not adult historical fiction meant to immerse the readers in 1918 Russia and allow them to analyze Tsar Nicholas II’s deep inner turmoil; it’s a YA novel about a teenage girl learning about love and forgiveness, set in 1918 Russia to paint context and conflict for her to battle.

I received this book on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

So when I started this book it was slow moving, but I was hoping that it would pick up eventually....it did not. About 3/4ths of the novel took place in the same location and it was bland and over repetitive. At the very end it picked up, and the plot took off, but it took a very long time for it to get there and at that point I had almost given up reading it.

The characters in this book were the worst part of the book for me. All of the characters were two dimensional and there was no substance to the characters. The protagonist was boring and whiny and she was not really an interesting or particularly unique individual. The relationship in the book was very insta-lovey, and I didn't see any reason as to why the two of them were together. They barely interacted and when they did the interactions were about five minutes, I don't see how anyone could fall in love with such limited contact.

What I did enjoy about this book was the magical ink mentioned. Though I do wish that it was a facet in the book that was explored more as it could've really improved the novel, I still thought it was a good part of the book. I also thought that the close knit Romanov family was well-written, and I think the writing showed the love the characters had their families. I also thought the writing was very well done, because even though there wasn't an overuse of flowery words I think it was very beautifully written and Nadine Brandes has true talent in writing.

I gave this book 3/5 simply because I wasn't a big fan of the character development, world building, and I feel like the plot could've been a bit faster, but I was still hooked on the story and enjoyed the writing.

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

Where do I start my review of this book? A lot of things in this book are done right. The story is gripping from the start. It never gets boring and the pacing is excellent. It takes the time for calm moments and emotional reflection and combines it with action and political games of chess. The characters in the book are easy to like and to relate to and the writing style is really nice. The sentences flow perfectly and it's a quick read.

But, there is one big thing very very wrong with this story, especially because of the potential. It's very black and white, good versus bad. There is literally NO nuance in the book. The Romanovs are portrayed as saints and angels, the good side. The rebels are portrayed as monsters and barbarians, the bad side. It's literally impossible to understand where the rebels come from, why they started their revolution, why they hate the Romanovs so much. The sole argument this book gives for their revolution is simply too weak to spark a revolution this big.

In this case it doesn't matter whether or not the story is historically accurate. I'm not picking sides in a war I can never fully understand or grasp and I understand the appeal of the Romanov princess and the mythe surrounding her. But I just generally dislike stories that lack nuance and this was a very great example of it. I don't want good versus bad or white versus red.

And especially with the Romanovs, I think there was a lot of room for nuance without making us love the Romanovs any less. Making them nuanced and acknowledging that not everything they did was great and not everything they did benefitted all the people in the country would have made them only human. And I personally prefer human characters over saints and angels.

So, I enjoyed the read, but I don't think it was as brilliant as I had hoped it would be. It was not layered enough for that.

(This review will also be published on my instagram once I have daylight to take a nice picture to go with it)

I really loved this book. The writing truly captured the time without losing readability and the characters and relationships were so well developed.

Definitely a must read and a wonderful addition to any middle school classroom!!! This story kept me captivated and I definitely fan girled because I LOVE ANASTASIA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It had everything! Courage, hope and definitely a story worth reading, sharing and reading again!

It was okay, I am not fully into a lot of YA books. It did have some historial accuracies - like her brother's illness. For me it dragged ad was okay in other parts. If you do like anything relating to Anastasia, this can be a book to look into.

«Romanov» was a perfectly balanced book with on-point historical events, a splash of magic ink, touching characters and immersive plot line.
Nadine Brandes writing transported me right into the midst of the horrifying events of the Romanov family, making me laugh and cry with the characters, and wish for the injustice to never happen.

The author did a great job at staying as true to the actual historical facts as possible. We are told how the girls and the Empress sew jewels in their corsets and clothes to hide from the Bolsheviks. The window incident, the timed walks, the feelings of the common folk and Bolshevik soldiers, these and more were based on the real events.

At first, the love interest of Romanov sisters didn’t bother me and I actually found it to only be natural that the young girls would fall in love with the only “available” men, who showed some kindness to their family during these devastating for them time. However, as the story progressed, I felt like the romance overpowered and took attention away from other more interesting narratives. So instead of two infatuated Romanov sisters, I would have preferred to see strong and independent young women.

A very interesting and well blended take on the story of the Romanovs! I particularly enjoyed the characterisation of the main characters and then onwards to the magic woven into the story.

Whoa. Whooooooaaaa. 😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍

I have not been this googley-eyed over a book in quite awhile. I don't even often read YA books...or fantasies! BUT I could not resist the premise of this one. I've been fascinated by Russian history since fourth grade and am always so intrigued by anything relating to the Romanovs...especially (of course!) Anastasia.

And oh my goodness, I loooooved this book. I read it in less than 24 hours...I actually stayed up late last night reading, which, anymore is a mega feat for this morning person.

Things I loved most:

-The history!! I really, really loved how the author wove in the actual events—and harsh realities—of the Romanovs' exile...right down to Joy the spaniel. :) I wondered how she'd tie in Rasputin and the rumors surrounding him and the tsarina...I love how she chose to frame those characters (in such a perfectly bittersweet, heart-tugging way, too!) and other pieces of the Romanov story that we can only guess at now.

-The character of Nastya. She felt so true to her age—a perfect mix of impish and vulnerable, strength and uncertainty. Her journey toward forgiveness was so well-done, too. (I especially appreciated one spot where she acknowledges that forgiveness has to be a daily choice.)

-Zash! Loved watching his struggle to pick a side...I won't say anymore than that. Other than, wow, talk about a great romantic obstacle between a hero and heroine.

-The whole Romanov family...all their interactions...Alexei Papa most of all! 💗

-And ohhhh such a roller coaster ride of emotions! The plot was jam packed—particularly in the latter half—but I tend to be a reader who needs great dialogue and above all, characters that climb inside my heart, in order to really care about the action. This book satisfied on all counts. And I just love how this story made me feel. so. much. My heart could barely handle a couple of the saddest moments in the book...even when I knew they were coming...TEARS.

-THE ENDING! Loved, loved, LOVED how this ended.

And now I'm just over here like, uh, hello, Melissa...why have you never read a Nadine Brandes book before now?!

I super loved it and I super recommend it! (And I am super heading over to Amazon right now to check out Fawkes!)

*I received an ARC of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

I have always been intrigued by the Romanov story, an entire royal family wiped from the playing board like chess pieces to make way for the modern Russian history we know today. This story gave a wonderful voice to remaining months of the Romanov lives before the family was executed. I really enjoyed the small adventures of this story; for most of the first half of the book, the setting doesn’t change much, but I was enthralled nonetheless. Things that would normally seem small are large and intriguing events told from the perspective of Nastya (Anastasia). Great historical fiction with a little bit of magic.

To be completely honest, I mainly requested this review copy off of the cover but after realising it is based on the Romanov family (you would think the clue was in the title but sometimes it takes a while for me to put 2+2 together!) my interest intensified.
I didn't really know what to expect going in because I don't read too much historical fiction but this completely exceeded and expectation I had and I absolutely loved this tale. It was the perfect blend of fact and fiction woven together beautifully.
Several times I had to put the book down and a have a little breather, it's very intense in places. I also think the pacing of the book is great, during the prison parts you could really feel the slow down of time and the despair the Romanov family were experiencing.
I enjoyed this book so much and I definitely recommend it to everyone, this was my first 2019 release that I have read and it's set the bar seriously high.

The cover of this book is absolutely stunning. It's one of those books I probably would have picked up just for the cover alone. And then I find out it's by Nadine Brandes, author of Fawkes, and an Anastasia re-telling and it became the easiest decision. Romanov is a book about magic and family. At the same time it's a book about forbidden romance, finding your own courage, and forgiveness. At the heart of Romanov is a story about loyalty, seeing beyond the binary of enemy and ally, and giving people second chances.
Anastasia

At the beginning, Nastya still sees the world in black and white. As her family versus the guards who took her away from her home. It isn't about animosity, in fact her family makes friends with the guards, but it's still about two sides. Throughout Romanov Nastya begins to see the shades in between. The question the facts she thinks she knows about her life, and to see beyond the soldier's faces. Into their hearts, especially as she begins to fall in love with one of them. All while seeing, first hand, the destruction forbidden love can bring.

Before I start my review I don’t want to give away to much since this book isn’t going to be out until next year, if you haven’t been following my reviews or if this is the first one of mine that you have stumbled on, I just wanted to say that I don’t normally read historical books because I usually find them to be a snooze fest but if there are more like this one out there then I would defiantly read them.

I know that this being a re telling not many people will read this because there not a fan of them but this one is one is one to look out for when it comes out in a few months. Here is a little back story of the book if you don’t already know. The infamous Romanov family. As we all know, it was believed for a time that Anastasia, fourth daughter of Russian Tsar Nikolai Romanov, and her younger brother Alexei had survived the rebellious revolution to overthrow the family's reign. In the years following the Romanovs' murders, speculation arose as to whether Anastasia and her brother might have survived the execution.

I found this book to be truly compelling, I didn’t want to stop reading until the book was finished, but then when I was done reading it, I wanted more. I didn’t want it to end. I loved the YA twist that was added into the book.

Have you watched the Anastasia movie? Even if you have this is different. Its much darker with violence in it, so I wouldn’t compare this to the movie, but it at least gives you an idea of what you want is in store when you read it.

This was an amazing journey through part of Russian history with an added bit of magic.
I thoroughly enjoyed the characters and the plot lines. Following the story of Anastasia Romanov and her family as they were being held captive by the Bolsheviks was a very interesting premise. I haven’t read much on Russian history but fell in love with this family and the setting in which their story was told. This book has definitely made me want to learn more.

This book was provided to me for free in exchange for an honest review.
#netgalley

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

Many people are familiar with the story of the Romanov family. Most famous are the ones about the youngest Romanov daughter, Anastasia, who in some stories, escaped the same ill-fated death as the rest of her family.

In Romanov, Nadine Brandes fills the gaps in Anastasia’s history with her own unique and magical interpretation of the story. A story which is both tragic but beautiful, and entrances the reader from page one.

Brandes has become a go-to author for me, and I can’t wait to see what she what she creates next!

Romanov by Nadine Brandes is a work of historical fiction that will leave you clinging onto hope into the final pages of the text. It is a retelling of the Romanov family and Anastasia which is far more closely aligned to the real story than previous adaptations. Therefore, if you know history, you will know what to expect, to a degree. Regardless of this, Brandes is a magnificent story teller who has the power to weave a magical, cohesive narrative which is raw and emotive.

In this retelling, Antastasia (otherwise known as Nastya) is focused upon attempting to smuggle a spell, in the form of a Russian doll, into her suitcase while travelling on her way to exile in Siberia. But she has the head of the Bolshevik army on her tails and he is determined to see the back of herself, her family and all magic in Russia. Nastya, over time, has to make a big decision, whether to release the spell (which is a mystery to her) or come to terms with the consequences of her actions if she does not use it.

This book is full of action and magic, which keeps the reader occupied until the very last page. I thoroughly enjoyed how the author tried to keep as true to the real life events as possible, excluding the inclusion of magic, as it allows the reader to imagine life in Russia in 1918 and witness firsthand, the events which unfolded. While it is still a work of fiction, so many previous adaptations have twisted the story completely and I admire the author and how she aimed to keep it true with some new elements in between. One of those inclusions was the use of magic. By including magic, Brandes was able to add another layer to the plot which turned the narrative into not only a survival narrative, but one with the spirit of hope as well. Magic gave Nastya and the rest of the Romanov’s the hope they needed to get through the torturous exile they were subjected to. They all know that magic was well and truly alive in Russia and remained optimistic that it would have the ability to save them (as well as the white army).

The descriptions in this book were also extremely well done. The descriptions of setting made the reader feel as though they were there, in 1918 in Siberia/Russia. They were so detailed and vivid, giving further depth to the story. The characters were also very complex and well thought out. They each had their own personalities, strengths and weaknesses were made evident throughout the book. By having such detailed characters, the reader is able to understand them better and what may trigger their actions.

Another aspect of the book which really stood out was the strong bond that the Romanov family had. Despite being a large family and being royalty, the parents and siblings stuck together to ensure that they would have the emotional strength to overcome the Bolshevik’s. Though they were subjected to harsh living conditions and even stricter company, they remained optimistic that they would ultimately survive. The love that each of them had for one another was admirable, especially how they each doted on Alexei due to his disability. The development of the relationship between Nastya and Alexei was heart warming as she did everything she could for the tsarevitch.

One part of the book I thought was extremely well done was the slow development of the relationship between Nastya and Zash. Due to the circumstances that both characters were placed in, the pacing of this relationship was extremely important. Brandes created this relationship in such a way that it seemed incredibly natural which is rare in many books these days.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed Romanov and the way it was beautifully written while it focused upon some of the darkest days of Russia’s history. It captured the raw, true events of the Romanov family, while intertwining some fictional elements as well. I would highly recommend for anyone who enjoys historical fiction or stories of survival, love and family.


4 Stars

Romanov will be released on the 7th of May 2019 in the United States and the 13th of June 2019 in Australia

*I was kindly provided with a copy for review from the publishers, Thomas Nelson, through NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.