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!

📚 BOOK REVIEW- ROMANOV by @nadinebrandes.Thankyou @netgalley and publishers for this copy.
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'Romanov' is a historical fiction retelling about the Romanov royal family, part history and part fiction to all Anastasia fans with an alternative ending.
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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??
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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.
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I’ve always found the lore and history around Rasputin and the Romanov family crazy interesting and I really enjoyed Brandes take on integrating spells and magic while keeping to the historical fiction genre. It made the story fantastical without making it fantasy.

I enjoyed Nastya immensely; her courage and drive are something to look up to. I enjoyed how she’s able to handle herself and confident in her abilities, while at the same time having moments of weakness and failure. Her struggle with forgiveness was a great theme for the book. I anxiously turned the pages wanting to know what happens next. Now I gotta go pick up Fawkes.

As someone who loves fiction books/novels based on historical events I found Romanovs utterly fascinating!! I LOVE show the book was pretty accurate on a lot of points but still made you think “what if”? I think a lot of people who are fascinated with the Romanovs and especially the Anastasia twist will love this book!! I sure did!!

Since I was a child I loved the movie Anastasia so when I saw the announcement for this book I knew I have to read it. Then I saw it on here and was so happy to be able to read it before it even comes out.
I love the take Nadine Brandes takes on the story and can't wait to get a physical copy and live through the magical story of Anastasia again.

This book was right up my alley. As a person with two degrees in history, an emphasis in European wars, and a fascination with conspiracy theories, I have long loved the truth, myth, fantasy, and reality of the end of the Romanov line.

My background knowledge made me hesitant, but very curious, to read Romanov by Nadine Brandes, worried if it would hold up to my expectations and how it would handle what was real.

As with most historical fiction, what’s happened has happened. We cannot change history, no matter how unfair, unjust, or messy it is. I found this book to do an excellent job honoring the past, while weaving a memorable and believable fiction throughout.

I have read another of Ms. Brandes books. As in that book, here she builds worlds so well – descriptive without getting lost in the details – and creates characters with such talent that the reader is loving this one, questioning that one, and feeling absolute terror for that one over there. Her words suck you in and make you want to race through the book to find out what happens, but also pause because you don’t want the end to come.

At one point I found myself internally screaming at the characters, “No! Don’t do that! Don’t you know what’s coming?!?!” But, no. They did. History remained as it was. But, what came next was also so well done I couldn’t put the book down, wanting to know the ultimate fate and end of the story.

I really did love this book.

Favorite Line(s):
- I have a story I was meant to live. And not even you can unwrite it.
- Until you provide me with a believable alternative, I will hold to my own opinions.

Favorite Chapter:
Chapter 15 -
It can be a little strange or difficult to pick a favorite chapter out of a fiction book, but it tends to happen for me. Before I even finished reading this chapter for the first time I knew it was my favorite. Now, once you read this chapter you might gasp and think, “What is she thinking?!?” Let me explain, without giving anything away. I love this chapter because it is the absolute turning point in the story. It is here that the author fully demonstrates her incredible talent for storytelling, character development, suspense. The raw emotions set forth on the page are so well handled that I felt each one along with the characters and both loved and hated Ms. Brandes for making me feel so much.

Would I Recommend?
Yes

Thank you to Netgalley for providing an eARC of this novel in 2019 in exchange for an honest review. My deepest apologies for my review being so egregiously late.

I tandem read a physical library copy of this book while listening to a library copy of the audiobook.

I knew of Anastasia from the heartbreaking and hilarious animated movie from my childhood. You know the one, with the haunting ‘Once Upon a December’ song that gets ingrained into your soul, and the little bat who famously said, “I’ll give her a ha, and a hiya, and a wooah, and I’ll kick her, sir.”

Despite this movie being a childhood favorite, as I got older I never looked further into the history of Anastasia. When this book popped up on Netgalley many years ago, I was excited by the prospect of learning more about this character that I had so deeply loved growing up. Fast forward to the present, and instead of excitement, I now felt an intense sense of anxiety at the prospect of reading Anastasia’s story, especially once I realized the book starts with her entire family still alive.

At first I could only read this book in short bursts, naturally stopping a page or two before tragedy struck, instinctively knowing I wasn’t ready to see Anastasia’s world torn apart. It wasn’t until my own world, and the external forces that had been heightening my own anxiety in January 2025, had crested, that I was able to sit down and read two thirds of the novel in one go.

I highly recommend the audiobook of this novel. While the writing is masterful, weaving history and fantasy together as if they were a recollection of actual historical events, the narrator should be credited for bringing the atmosphere of this story to life. They expertly added what I assume are Russian accents, and spoke the various languages written throughout this novel. It heightened Nastya’s story in ways I couldn’t have achieved on my own; stuck in my own head with my very American accent, stumbling my way over new-to-me words and phrases.

I had no idea going into this novel that it would feature two disabled characters. Both Nastya’s younger brother, and their mother, suffered from disabilities and chronic conditions that left them confined to their beds, or a wheelchair, more often than not. I appreciated the disabled representation, and the way both characters were portrayed realistically. Physically they were weaker than their peers, but mentally and emotionally they proved how incredibly strong they had become in the face of such physical adversity.

This story was incredibly touching and topical. The message of Nastya’s father, his unwavering ability to show love not only to his family, but also to his captors, was a deeply profound message and theme throughout this novel. While I won’t pretend to have a good grasp on the current politics in today’s Russia, I do believe the political themes that run throughout this novel, including the trials Nastya, her family, and the soldiers forced to oversee their imprisonment, are timeless and still extremely poignant in today’s political climate world wide.

This was a challenging novel to read. I can’t ascertain whether I believe this has a happily ever after, but it did end on an unmistakable feeling of hope for the future. There are so many beautiful messages and exploration of the human experience woven into Nastya’s story. It left me wondering what I would do in Nastya’s situation? In Zash’s? And above all, it made me ponder if I’m doing enough to send love out into the world, even if in the end the outcome results in unforetold tragedy.