Bryan Turnbull has returned with another breathtaking work of historical fiction.
Much has been written about the Romanov’s and I am always fascinated by their story. This novel is very different from others I have read. The spotlight shines brightly on Olga Romanov, the eldest daughter of Nicholas, the last Tsar of Russia,
Told through her eyes and in her voice, the reader is taken within the palace walls and witnesses the family’s sheltered existence. Alexei’s hemophilia, the allure of Rasputin and the ailing Alexandra. When Olga receives invitations from her aunt to attend tea parties, she gladly accepts and frees herself from the confines of Alexander Palace if only for awhile. There she meets the charming naval officer Pavel Voronov and is instantly smitten. Pavel shares those feelings and they will share in each other’s company occasionally.
As war looms closer, Olga and her sisters change from finery to nurses uniforms attending to wounded Russian soldiers. However, Olga is struggling with a changing world, a blossoming romance and her dedication to family.
Told with wonderful prose, historical detail and great passion for the triumphs, failures and unfortunate ending of the Romanov family, this is a highly recommended read.
Thank you NetGalley, MIRA Publishing and the author for an ARC in exchange for an honest book review.

This book follows Grand Duchess Olga as the Russian revolution imprisons her family. The book alternates with a younger Olga, who works as a nurse during WWI. This book was a bit bland. It seems like every other book that I have read about the grand duchesses. Overall, 3 out of 5 stars.

‘The Last Grand Duchess’ by Bryn Turnbull was so good! I’ve read and loved many books based on the Romanov family, mostly about Anastasia, since I was a child and this is the first one I’ve read featuring Olga, the oldest of the Romanov siblings. Not only was ‘The Last Grand Duchess’ well researched, but it was beautifully written and portrayed this tragic royal family fairly as both the rulers and flawed human beings they were, as well as a family that truly loved one another, for better or worse. Poignant, fascinating, and vividly alive, ‘The Last Grand Duchess’ is absolutely perfect for lovers of historical fiction and beyond.

𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙫𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙣 𝙚𝘼𝙍𝘾 𝙘𝙤𝙥𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙗𝙮 𝙃𝙏𝙋 𝘽𝙤𝙤𝙠𝙨/𝑴𝑰𝑹𝑨 (𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙠-𝙮𝙤𝙪!). 𝘼𝙡𝙡 𝙤𝙥𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙫𝙤𝙡𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙢𝙮 𝙤𝙬𝙣.

Interest in the events leading up to the Russian Revolution of 1917 has only increased since the centenary of the last Romanovs’ assassination in 1918. Bryn Turnbull tackles this familiar story from the perspective of Emperor Nicholas’s eldest daughter, Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna (1895–1918).

Olga makes a good narrator, old enough to see what’s going on and have opinions about it but young enough to enjoy life, whether that means flirting at her coming-out party, chatting with a handsome wounded army officer, or riding a sled down Snow Mountain, a structure built at the compound where her family is imprisoned. She is intensely family-focused, devoted to Russia, and charmingly naive due to her sheltered upbringing. Indeed, if one thing comes through in this richly described and thoughtful novel, it is the love of Nicholas II, his wife, and his children for one another—even if their insistence on staying together dooms them all.

Many factors, of course, lay behind the Russian Revolution, and "The Last Grand Duchess" hints at poverty, disillusionment, the massive casualties of the Great War, and Bolshevik determination as well as Nicholas’s limitations as a ruler, Alexandra’s shortcomings, Rasputin’s ambition, and the “ministerial leapfrog” to which those failings gave rise. But the strength of fiction lies in its ability to draw us into the minds and hearts of a small group of people, and in this case, that group is Olga and her immediate family. It’s a journey well worth taking.

Podcast interview forthcoming in late February 2022 on the New Books Network (link below).

The tragic story of the last tsar of Russia and his family is well known. This novel beautifully paints a picture of the devoted family and their love for each other. Unfortunately Nicholas II's ineptitude as a ruler led to his death. The tsar and his family led a sheltered life and had no idea what was really happening in their country. That was the fatal flaw when he tried to negotiate with the Bolsheviks after his abdication for the release of his family. The fine art, the jewelry and the massive palaces could not save the family. The opulent lifestyle was stunning and the reader can see why the family was naive to their country's plight.especially during The Great War. An enjoyable, but sad novel.

I received an ARC from the publisher and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.
I’ve read quite a bit about the Romanovs, but I don’t think I’ve ever read anything specifically about Olga, so I was intrigued by the concept of this book.
I appreciate how Bryn Turnbull was able to bring Olga, the Romanovs, and the rest of their court and intimates to life. And while a lot of material focusing on the Romanov daughters gives Anastasia more attention or centers her, Olga has a lot to recommend her too. Despite the fact that she and her siblings were all kept mostly sheltered to hide Alexei’s illness, and generally very naïve as a result, Olga is definitely the most aware of the political climate in Russia and in the wider world. Turnbull reflects this brilliantly in some of her interactions with her father, showing in light of their downfall that she believes he failed, and when she expresses her desires to marry for love to her mother, along with the belief that political marriages would soon become unfashionable, thanks to how divided Europe had become.
And with that in mind, I loved the depiction of her romances, particularly the seemingly more serious one with Dmitri “Mitya” Shakh-Bagov. Despite knowing how she would end up, I couldn’t help but become a bit invested in this sweet romance. And there’s a little twist at the end where he’s concerned that is just so sweet!
However, the book felt rather…disjointed, due to the style in which the book was told. There are two timelines: one following them from just after Nicholas’ abdication up to just prior to the family’s executions, and the other starting just prior to World War I and ending around the time Grigori Rasputin is assassinated. It just didn’t feel like it flowed that well, and it’s not like there was some big bombshell that was uncovered by doing it this way and having them converge at the end (and the converging isn’t even executed that effectively).
This book has a great concept, but it falls down in execution. I do appreciate what it does in adding to the niche of Russian/Romanov historical fiction and exploring a somewhat different perspective of the family and that time period. If you’re a fan of that time period or the Romanovs, you may enjoy it more than I did.

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Since I love historical fiction, Russian history and stories of royalty, this was a natural choice for me to read. I have read a few books about the Romanovs before, and this one matched what I knew and allowed me to learn more about this tragic family.

I appreciated that this book was told from the point of view of Olga, the oldest of Tsar Nicholas II and Alexandra's four daughters. As a shy young woman coming into adulthood during the Russian Revolution, she made for a fresh voice in telling the Romanov's story.

I have read some non-fiction about the Romanovs, so I knew some of the history. This book mainly covers the years 1914-1918 when Russia was involved in the Great War leading up to Tsar Nicholas's abdication and the revolution. It was a chaotic period in Russia's history with many lives lost during this horrible time of suffering. The book is largely based on Olga's surviving diaries, so we get to hear how she and her family were experiencing all of this. The daughters were largely sheltered and barely aware of what was going on around them. I did appreciate how Olga learned bits and pieces and how she came to terms with it.

I have not read anything by Bryn Turnbull before, and I found that I enjoy her writing style. The pacing of the book was compelling but not rushed. Obviously, I knew how this would end, yet I couldn't help hoping for a better outcome. I find the Romanov story fascinating, and the book told it beautifully. Nearly my favorite part of any historical fiction novel is the author's note, and this one gave a clear summary of Ms. Turnbull's research and an explanation of any liberties she took with the history as well as the reasons why.

I will enthusiastically recommend this to readers who like historical fiction, especially about the Romanovs.

Thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing and NetGalley for the e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

To truly enjoy The Last Grand Duchess by Bryn Turnbull there are a few things that you need to have straight in your mind.
1) This is Russian History. It’s dark, it’s dense, it’s complicated. It is epic and a huge topic to tackle.
2) The Romanov family is both loved and hated in the overall arc of Russian history. They are a pivotal family, and (as such) they are not always treated as people may expect.
3) Because of their position, and the situation they found themselves in, many documents have been destroyed. Therefore, there is possibly a lot of supposition in any story involving them.
4) From what is known, Olga was a shy introvert. Therefore, even anecdotal evidence of her is difficult to find. She is also young and, therefore, immature.
5) You will absolutely, positively need to refer to the multi-page character list that precedes the story (see point number 1).
How do I know all of this?
Because I flunked a History of Russia class in college.
Twice.
It actually totally derailed my major. But I digress. To the book review.
If you have those four points in mind, you will enjoy this book so much more because you will know what to expect. The author does what she can with scant information, filling in blanks and crafting a compelling story.
I should add here that I visited Russia in the mid-1990s, and one of our stops was the last known residence of the Romanov family. However, our tour guide was cagey about certain details. We were told this was typical. So, there is that as well.
As mentioned above, Olga is young. Her perspectives are not as informed as those of an adult. But this is what makes her interesting. We get to see the history unfold from her point of view.
I feel like this is a vital point, because she is of the age where her concerns are not political or futuristic. She wants the life that a grand duchess should enjoy. The passages involving her experiences with her aunt illustrate this brilliantly.
The author also captures the intrigue of Russian politics in a time of turmoil accurately (at least from my knowledge).
I am not quite sure what else I can say. The story itself is intricate and detailed. For this reason, this is not a book that you can read in fits and spurts, catching chapters here and there.
You need to allow yourself to be immersed in Olga’s world, embracing the atmosphere and attitudes. Only then will you be able to fully enjoy the epic story that Bryn Turnbull has crafted

Like many, the Romanov family has always held a fascination for me. Given the number of books about or from Anastasia's perspective, it felt refreshing to find one about the Grand Duchess Olga. This novel was impressively researched. I learned much about Olga's sheltered life (and really appreciated the author's notes at the back highlighting where fact and fiction occasionally blended.)

While I'm a huge fan of dual timelines, I must admit that it didn't work for me in this case. The book is told entirely from Olga's perspective but jumps back and forth between two timelines. It just didn't feel necessary to me here.

I do, however, think that the writing was well done and the research was in-depth. The author brought a very human feel to the characters, focusing on their dynamic as a family. Even though you know how the story ends, this story is a beautiful coming of age story and a slow but insightful look into Olga's life.

This book was absolutely awesome and the story was so well researched. The details were so amazing and beautiful. I really enjoyed this book. If you like historical novels this is totally for you. It gave me the vibe of Downton abbey a little bit.

Thanks to NetGalley Harlequin/MIRA for sending a copy in exchange for an honest review.

I give it 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Last Grand Duchess is Olga Romanov, eldest daughter of the last Russian Tsar Nicholas and Empress Alexandra. Like others, I've read at least a few books about the Romanovs, including "Four Sisters: The Lost Lives of the Romanov Grand Duchesses" by Helen Rappaport, that focuses on the daughters including Olga. This is, of course, a fictionalized version. Turnbull meets my high standards for this genre, having done significant research, making choices when to add a fictional character or change the truth to fit the story without stretching things so far that the "historical" part of the fiction is missing. The story is told on multiple timelines of the few years before Tsar Nicholas's abdication and during the family's period in captivity after his abdication. I really liked Turnbull's choices as to what to include to give a big picture of what was happening politically and socially in Russia while maintaining focus on Olga. These included WWI, food riots, Rasputin's hold over the family, Alexie's hemophilia, Empress Alexandra's disabilities and the ways the family were so distant from the people that they didn't see the revolution coming. During WWI, Olga, her sister Tatiana and Empress Alexandra did hands on nursing. Turnbull does a marvelous job bringing the devastation of war to us while also addressing serious class distinctions that gave officers much better care than the proletariat. In general, this is about a very privileged, unsophisticated, sheltered young woman's coming of age. It is a well known story and could have been tiresome. It was instead well organized and well told EXCEPT... I just don't like Turnbull's writing style. The conversations are often stilted and formal beyond what I'd expect from people just because they are rich or royal. She uses past perfect and future perfect tense too much.. She throws in unnecessary words that make sentences clumsy. For example: "Though Olga still shuddered when passing the guards in the halls, here in the garden they became less than they purported themselves to be." Eventually, I gave in to the rhythm of her style and read the whole book and my overall experience was that I appreciated the book overall. Had the writing been better it would be five stars as a story, in its flow (organization and timing) and for research. Due to my issues with the writing it is four stars.

3.75 stars. Historical fiction is one of my favourite genres so it is sad for me to say that The Last Grand Duchess was just an okay read for me. The writing style is gorgeous and the setting - the last few years of the Romanov dynasty - has also been of interest to me. However, while I can objectively appreciate the narrative of the story - and the amount of research that underpinned it - I found the book slow-paced and dull at times. I also did not think that the use of the pre-1917 and 1917-18 timelines worked here - I wonder if a chronological flow to the story would have been more effective in building the tension leading to the end of the Russian royal family. In addition, I did not really engage with the main character and it felt like I was observing her from a distance. I really wanted and expected to love this one but it just didn’t quite hit the mark for me.

Thanks to Harlequin Trade and Netgalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Loved this book took me by surprise. Fell in love with the characters’ the authors writing style kept the words flowing which made me not want to put the book down.

Book: The Last Grand Duchess
Author: Bryn Turnbull
Rating: 4 Out of 5 Stars

I would like to thank the publisher, Mira Books, for sending me an ARC.

I’m just going to go ahead and be honest, I did not like the author’s first book, The Woman Before Wallis. In fact, I really considered turning this one down because of that fact. As you can see from my rating, I did end up enjoying this one a lot. The end of Imperial Russia never gets old. I was very happy to read something from Olga’s point of view. Most of what I have read about the end of the Romanovs has been from Anastasia’s point of view. So, getting into the mind of another sister was really a nice change for me.

One thing that I really loved about this book was the fact that Bryn chooses to focus on the family aspect of the Romanov life. We see how close the family was and how sheltered they way. We see how they put their complete faith into the hands of one man with the hopes of saving Russia’s heir. At the end of the day, everything was about the family and for their love of Russia. All of their choices, no matter how good or, in most cases, bad, were for these two things. At its core, these do seem like good choices and the family believes so. They were still holding onto the idea that they were chosen to rule Russia by God, which is an idea that is quickly fading away. This unwillingness to change with the time, listen to the people, and a failing war are just some of the factors that lead to their downfall.

One thing that this novel does is it shows just how terrible of rulers Nicholas and Alexandrea were. Now, granted we are getting the story from Olga, who does worship the very ground her parents walk on. However, the author allows these whispers to reach Olga. Olga also sees some of Russia and sees just how badly things are. However, she still believes that her parents are doing the best that they can and are what is best for Russia. This gives us a chance to see just how sheltered and close Olga was to her family. She really hasn’t had a lot of social experiences, she is kept behind palace walls, and really doesn’t interact with anyone outside her family. Her life experiences don’t really take off until her aunt starts inviting her to tea parties and she becomes a nurse. It is because of this sheltered life that she does come across as very immature at times.

However, there is still no denying that Olga does have a grasp on what is happening. We are able to pick up a good bit of this through the use of the duel timelines. As the years go by, we are able to see her character grow and mature. She is still loyal to her parents and does forgive them, but she sees the danger. She starts to see how her parents’ choices got them into these situations and knows that they will never be going home. She knows that there is no life for them and no place for them in this world. Seeing her realize this will make you sick. Knowing what is coming and getting to know these characters will make you sick.

I mean, going into this book, you know what is going to happen-if you know anything about history. By making these historic figures come across as being human and family unit will leave its mark on you. Seeing them as human and how close they are to each other really does make you wonder how anyone could do what was done to them.

Anyway, I did enjoy this book a lot. The only reason I gave it a four star rating was because it did drag a little bit in certain places.

This book comes out February 8, 2022.

Youtube: https://youtu.be/_AOYBL8jQUw

Thank you to Mira Books and NetGalley for the ARC.

This book was fine. I think it struggled the most, from what I gathered from the author's note at the end, from the fact that while the public has an obsession with the Romanovs (myself included), Olga might just not have been that exciting of a subject.

In the author's note, Turnbull notes that because the Romanov children were so sheltered by their overprotective and secretive parents, the historical records we do have of Olga Romanov indicate that she was very naive and immature. This is evident in Turnbull's characterization of her and it made me very irritated with her and her narration. While it is historically accurate, pages of a girl wondering why the public doesn't love her can be grating. Also, this attitude forces the author into a corner in which she can't really explain a whole lot of the political machinations going on during the Russian Revolution because her main character is blind to them all. Olga hardly ever leaves the Imperial Palace and is out of touch with what is going on in Russia at large.

Turnbull obviously engages with a ton of historical research, which is appreciated, and I enjoy her writing style so I will continue to be on the lookout for her books. I really enjoyed The Woman Before Wallis and I just think this particular subject was not for me.

Such a good book! If you love the Romanoff story you’ll enjoy this. This tells about Anastasia and what her life was like as a grand duchess. I always find it fascinating and often wonder what Russia would be like if the Tsar hadn’t been murdered. Anyway this book is great for those of you who love history like I do!

The Romanov family, more than most, is one in which the story of one person equals a story of them all. I cannot say that this book revealed anything new to me about Olga. Turnbull does invoke the reader to feel compassion for Olga. Between her father's indifference towards ruling, her mother's ailments and obsession with the notorious Rasputin, and her brother's affliction, Olga's life was destined to be overshadowed by others. Turnbull does a great job at humanizing Olga. We witness Olga having to admit that she isn't perfect as a nurse, see her first romantic crushes, and observe how she transitions into womanhood during all the turmoil in her life. I didn't like that Turnbull chose to have the two timelines so close. Despite that, I enjoyed reading another book about the Romanov's demise through another person's perspective.

I received a copy of this title via NetGalley.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC of this book!

I've had a lifelong interest in the Romanovs, but most of the books have always revolved around the more infamous members of the family - Nicholas & Alexandra and their love story, or Rasputin and the mythology surrounding him, or Anastasia and the women who pretended to be the deceased Grand Duchess over the years.

This was the first novel I've read about one of the older Romanov daughters. It took me a while to finish this, because every so often I'd read something extra interesting and I inevitably fell down a Google image rabbit hole.

The dual timeline, and the way they eventually meet up was heartbreaking. As we got closer and closer to July 1918, the story got harder and harder to read. It was still excellent, but having the oldest Romanov daughter as the protagonist made the reader truly understand their precarious situation. We, along with Olga, slowly began to realize Nicholas & Alexandra's failures - both as parents and as rulers. And with every mistake they made, we came closer and closer to the families tragic end - we knew it was coming and according to the author, Olga likely did as well.

Captivating story, very heartbreaking. The dual story lines was done very well and I think served nicely to tell the story. I enjoyed learning more of this story than I knew, and through a different person's eyes than the 90s obsession of Anastasia. The royals were really screwed up, but sad that the Russian Revolution put the country in arguably an even worse position (from a North American point of view at least) and interesting to think how it could have turned out differently if any number of other things happened differently. So sad to see too about lives being forced to be led in the "God given" ways that truly only served the systems in place, not the people who are behind those decisions, and then for those systems to crumble too anyway, because obviously, when will society learn people are more important than the systems and economies and the elite crushing us. How many times does history need to repeat. Such a timely read in a way with the reminiscent world we're currently in. 4.5 stars.

The Last Grand Duchess is a historical fiction documenting the fall of Imperial Russia through the viewpoint of the last Tzar’s daughter, Olga Romanov. If you love period dramas, palaces of great opulence, pageantry, forbidden love, strong female leads and tragedy then this is the book for you! The story is told across two timelines: life under the rule of the Tzar and life after the Tzar’s family is exiled to Siberia. I enjoyed learning about Imperial Russia and it’s tragic demise. This book was well researched and the characters were well portrayed. If you’re interested in the history of the Romanov dynasty, this is a book you will enjoy!
Well done @brynturnbullwrites .
Thank you to @harpercollinsca and @netgalley for this advanced copy.
The Last Grand Duchess will be out on February 8th, 2022.
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