Romanov, by Nadine Brandes

 Hey guys, this is Abi here, 

And today I'm back with a review of Romanov, by Nadine Brandes. 

I finished this a few days ago, and I an very excited to share my thoughts on this book with you all! 

Enjoy! 

Title: Romanov 

Author: Nadine Brandes 

Genre: Historical fiction, fantasy. 

Status: Standalone

Pages: 338

Blurb: "The history books say I died. They don't know the half of it. 

Anastacia "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 saving herself and her family are either to release the spell and deal 

with the consequences, or to enlist help from Zash, the handsome soldier who doesn't act like 

the average Bolshevik. Nsstya has only dabbled in magic, but it doesn't frighten her half as 

much as her growing attraction with Zash. She likes him, She thinks he might even like her. 

That is, until she's on one side of the firing squad... and he's on the other." 

My Thoughts 

I have so many points for this, I'm wondering where to start. 

...Okay. 

I was hesitant, going into this. Romanov had been a book that had been on my radar, ever since I heard about it, I don't know, a few years back. It was only when I re-watched Anastasia that I finally bit the bullet and ordered it. But anyway, after reading a few of the non-spoiler reviews on Goodreads, I wasn't sure what I was going to think. Some people that had read this thought that because it was centred around the Romanov family, about their family dynamics and their relationships, that not much happened plot wise. I was very cautious in the opening chapters of this book, checking so much for any disinterest, any reason why I might want to put the book down, but thankfully, there was none. 

Honestly, those people are exactly right. The Romanov family is the foundation of this story. The love that they have for one another sells the story, and it's really refreshing to see, as so many of the books I read never seem to have a complete family at it's core. The pacing is a little slower than most fantasy novels, but it was just perfect for a historical fiction fantasy, in my opinion. 

Of course, I completely disagree with the opinion that not much happened. A lot did happen, it just took a bit for it to get going. But there was never a time when I considered DNF'ing. 

Romanov appealed to me because I heard it was an Anastasia retelling, and I loved the film so much, (and I've always been fascinated by Russian history). But when I started reading I realised that it's actually more based on their actual historical events that surrounded the family during their part of history, as opposed to the classic Pixar film. Romanov takes place around the time of the family's exile sentencing, and then at the Ipatiev House- so it is pretty accurate (though there are more aspects to the story- romance, friendship, magic etc). 

Speaking of, I really liked the way magic was woven into the story. It would have been easy just to have written a historical fiction novel about the Romanov family, but the fantasy elements were written in just enough for them to be noticeable, but never be the most driving theme. Nastya was mostly trying to 1) smuggle out the spell that could potentially be her family's salvation and 2) trying to figure it out and trying not to be caught with it by the harsh Bolshevik guards. 

The best part of the novel, however, was the characters, and the bond that the Romanov family have, as well as with a few others. They felt so realistic, they felt like real people. From a writer's perspective, it would have been hard to create characters off of people that genuinely existed. But Brandes actually does a really good job of it. 

Some of my favourite relationships are: 

-Nastya and her father- the love and trust that they share, even when Nastya has no idea what her father is planning- unrelenting trust. 

-Nastya and Alexei- the bond between these two is so endearing and caring, I fell in love with this duo as soon as I read about them. 

Nastya and Maria- two sisters! It was wonderful to read a story where two sisters get along (all the Romanov siblings did, but these two just stood out amongst all the Romanov sisters.)  

Maria and Ivan- these two genuinely made me cry- I had a sneaky suspicion what was going to happen, but I really hoped it wouldn't be the case. 

Nastya and Zash- Thank Iisus. 

Another part I absolutely loved- was the cover! 

I can't not mention the cover. Such a gorgeous design- regal colours: red and gold that basically shimmered, the cover was unlike nothing I've seen before- it was the reason why I couldn't let it go from the back of my mind until I had finished it. 

All in all, Romanov was a wonderful story about hope, family love and dynamics, romance, magic, and Russian history. It wasn't all perfume and roses, the Romanov went through so much during their exile, but it was the love for eachother that made this such a wonderful story. Their family was their hope. They believed that if they stayed united, never gave up, that one day, they would see happiness again. 

Okay! That's my review of Romanov, by Nadine Brandes. I hope you enjoyed it, I certainly did, and I had a lot more thoughts than I thought I was going to have! 

I hope you have a wonderful day, and I'll see you next week for my wrap up! 

Byeeee! 

-Abi xxxx