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theequestrianslibrary's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
CONTENT WARNINGS: SpoilerGore/Violence, Descriptions of Blood, Descriptions of Wounds, Mild Descriptions of Starvation/Dehydration, Emotional Turmoil, Themes of being held captive, Suicidal Ideation, Lead up to Attempted Suicide, Depictions of Execution, Death of Family Members, War/Battle Themes, Bugs mentioned (specifically lice), Violence against Animals (brief), Mentions of Dead Bodies, Disrespectful Behavior towards dead bodies
**DISCLAIMER: This may or may not be a full list of every trigger/content warning found in the book, Romanov by Nadine Brandes. Please take this list with a grain of salt, as the book is a Romanov family retelling. Some triggers and content warnings may contain spoilers!
I'll start this review off by prefacing that I absolutely adore the 1997 movie Anastasia. Part of me hoped that the book was a little closer to this concept involving the conspiracies about what actually happened to Anastasia, but what the author did was also an interesting spin with adding the fantastical elements.
I think the book is very easy to read and sit through. The casual Russian words are explained in their meaning, or their definitions implied by the context of the scene, and I rather like their use throughout the novel. I think the characters were likeable enough, though some of Anastasia's thoughts irked me throughout with her constant return to the concept of forgiveness, kindness, etc. Some actions of side characters, such as her sister Maria, also irritated me, but that is more a me thing, than anything else. Most people when put through the events in the book would not return to those themes, and I think in a way, it's a nice change from the constant influx of furious and vengeful protagonists, but I also think it is unrealistic. Granted, it's a fantasy YA book, we all appreciate a bit of unrealistic traits.
Like a few of the other reviews mentioned, the events that lead up to the family being brought to the basement do take up the majority of the book. Approximately almost 200 pages of the book, give or take a little, is mostly what leads up to that fateful day. The remaining third of the book is the new adaption of the story of Anastasia, involving her brother and the book's love interest, Zash. Admittedly, I do wish their romance had been built up a little better, though the circumstances of it make that difficult and what the MC was truly focused on makes that difficult too. It did feel a bit rushed towards the end, with sudden feelings being realized despite a large plot point that should have affected things longer, or at least the remnants of it being still prevalent later on. The back and forth nature of their interactions, especially in the first 2/3 of the book, can rub the wrong way, especially with the sudden shift later on to things are all hunky-dory when they aren't, and they shouldn't have been! I still appreciate a few kisses, of course, but things felt a little too light towards the end, like all the bad things hadn't happened at all.
I don't think the book is bad, by any means, I think it was a good solid and easy read to get through. If you like the idea of the Romanovs, this would be a good book to introduce yourself into that field of literature and of retellings since it does a good job of simplifying what an average day at Ekaterinburg looked like for the family as time went on, including how things affected their servants and the soldiers guarding them, while also spicing it up a little with the spell elements involving magical ink. But, if you are more educated on what happened, then I would read this book objectively and with the means of enjoying an easy-to-read book, as many things will stick out to those more educated, and it can definitely ruin the romanticized vibe that the author might be going for.
Would I recommend the book? Sure! I would, and the cover is pretty enough to keep on my shelf to boot. But, is it one of my top favorite books? No, it's not, and that's okay!
I did appreciate the interactions between the family members, as those all felt very genuinely and real, but the interesting involvement of purifying Rasputin was also interesting. Granted, the members of the family would have garnered bias, sure, but with the concepts as we know of them, it was an interesting take on the mentions of his character.
A solid 3-star book with an overall content experience.
**DISCLAIMER: This may or may not be a full list of every trigger/content warning found in the book, Romanov by Nadine Brandes. Please take this list with a grain of salt, as the book is a Romanov family retelling. Some triggers and content warnings may contain spoilers!
I'll start this review off by prefacing that I absolutely adore the 1997 movie Anastasia. Part of me hoped that the book was a little closer to this concept involving the conspiracies about what actually happened to Anastasia, but what the author did was also an interesting spin with adding the fantastical elements.
I think the book is very easy to read and sit through. The casual Russian words are explained in their meaning, or their definitions implied by the context of the scene, and I rather like their use throughout the novel. I think the characters were likeable enough, though some of Anastasia's thoughts irked me throughout with her constant return to the concept of forgiveness, kindness, etc. Some actions of side characters, such as her sister Maria, also irritated me, but that is more a me thing, than anything else. Most people when put through the events in the book would not return to those themes, and I think in a way, it's a nice change from the constant influx of furious and vengeful protagonists, but I also think it is unrealistic. Granted, it's a fantasy YA book, we all appreciate a bit of unrealistic traits.
Like a few of the other reviews mentioned, the events that lead up to the family being brought to the basement do take up the majority of the book. Approximately almost 200 pages of the book, give or take a little, is mostly what leads up to that fateful day. The remaining third of the book is the new adaption of the story of Anastasia, involving her brother and the book's love interest, Zash. Admittedly, I do wish their romance had been built up a little better, though the circumstances of it make that difficult and what the MC was truly focused on makes that difficult too. It did feel a bit rushed towards the end, with sudden feelings being realized despite a large plot point that should have affected things longer, or at least the remnants of it being still prevalent later on. The back and forth nature of their interactions, especially in the first 2/3 of the book, can rub the wrong way, especially with the sudden shift later on to things are all hunky-dory when they aren't, and they shouldn't have been! I still appreciate a few kisses, of course, but things felt a little too light towards the end, like all the bad things hadn't happened at all.
I don't think the book is bad, by any means, I think it was a good solid and easy read to get through. If you like the idea of the Romanovs, this would be a good book to introduce yourself into that field of literature and of retellings since it does a good job of simplifying what an average day at Ekaterinburg looked like for the family as time went on, including how things affected their servants and the soldiers guarding them, while also spicing it up a little with the spell elements involving magical ink. But, if you are more educated on what happened, then I would read this book objectively and with the means of enjoying an easy-to-read book, as many things will stick out to those more educated, and it can definitely ruin the romanticized vibe that the author might be going for.
Would I recommend the book? Sure! I would, and the cover is pretty enough to keep on my shelf to boot. But, is it one of my top favorite books? No, it's not, and that's okay!
I did appreciate the interactions between the family members, as those all felt very genuinely and real, but the interesting involvement of purifying Rasputin was also interesting. Granted, the members of the family would have garnered bias, sure, but with the concepts as we know of them, it was an interesting take on the mentions of his character.
A solid 3-star book with an overall content experience.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent and Death
Moderate: Grief, Genocide, Confinement, Blood, Body horror, War, Police brutality, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Violence, and Murder
Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide attempt
Gore/Violence, Descriptions of Blood, Descriptions of Wounds, Mild Descriptions of Starvation/Dehydration, Emotional Turmoil, Themes of being held captive, Suicidal Ideation, Lead up to Attempted Suicide, Depictions of Execution, Death of Family Members, War/Battle Themes, Bugs mentioned (specifically lice), Violence against Animals (brief), Mentions of Dead Bodies, Disrespectful Behavior towards dead bodieslibbylou905's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Physical abuse, Murder, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Forced institutionalization, Death, and Death of parent
Moderate: Alcoholism, Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Grief, and War
lara_bk's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Animal death, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Gun violence
Moderate: Blood, Grief, Chronic illness, and Mass/school shootings
Minor: Alcoholism and Alcohol
margueritestjust's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
So....this book. I actually really quite enjoyed it, but there's also quite a lot going on with it that I'm not sure I can get behind entirely.
It's one of the few books that I've read in quite a while to almost not follow the Hero's Journey at all. Quite a bit of this is due to Brande's decision to stick with the historical context of the actual events almost entirely. This whole story could be described as Reality Ensues: The Book. In fact, it's written with such dedication to the history that the magic itself is barely developed. This book is a fantasy book only in the sense that it's really a historical fiction novel, and only when it's absolutely not possible to be just a historical fiction novel anymore, the magic comes out to play. It's almost as if the magic serves only as deus ex machinas, though this lessens somewhat in the second half of the book. I enjoy the author's dedication to try to stick to what really happened at Tobolsk and Ekaterinberg.
That being said, the view of history itself is somewhat questionable. We're constantly told that Nicholas II was a wonderful leader, that everything being said about him and his wife is merely propaganda and....it just isn't. Obviously, it's from the point of view of his daughter, and she also doesn't have all of the pieces to the puzzle, but as good of a man he may have been, there's no doubt that he was a weak leader. That being said, I don't expect any book/story about the myth of Anastasia's survival to be historically accurate, and I've read quite a few of the non-fiction books on the matter. Her survival itself is already going to alter the historical canon as soon as it's written, and there are certain liberties authors take. Russian history is not my history, but I have researched it a great deal. It's handled quite clumsily at times, but if you can put aside that, then it's an alright book.
(Also I digress here but the cover? Is gorgeous. Beautiful. Has nothing to do with what actually happens in the story. My expectations were totally wrong.)
I enjoyed Anastasia and her family, their relationships was one of the best parts of the book. Well explored, and her relationships with her father, Maria, and Alexei in particular are very sweet.
Onto the relationship with Zash....sigh. First of all, I just have to say why does every adaptation of the myth of Anastasia need to give her a love interest? I've only read one book that hasn't given her one. Secondly....I feel like I have to sit down with them and just say to them, "Listen. You are not Dmitri. You will never be Dmitri."
Okay, I wanted to like them together. However, the setup to me is very difficult to swallow and the end of it felt a little contrived as well. Zash is a Bolshevik soldier, even if he's not really a Bolshevik (whatever that means), and that alone made it hard for me to get into him and Nastya working. I'm really just not into the enemies-to-lovers trope, and though this is kind of set up as a Romeo and Juliet situation, it just still didn't really work for me. Also I hesitate to say this, as I'm 100% not a Russian name expert but is Zash.....even a Russian name? Granted, he's mentioned to be from a semi-nomadic tribe (and that's about all we get about his background. Sigh. Literally the words "seminomadic tribe" in the text.), and they may not follow the same kind of Russian naming traditions as, say, the Imperial family, but he has no patrynomic or family name, and Zash (as far as I know) does not happen to even be a real name. It was...distracting.Furthermore, at the moment of the family's execution, Zash is the one to point the gun at Nastya and shoot. Which. Is a little complicated. His reasons for doing so feel a little bit convoluted and contrived, but it did make for much of the plot of the second of the book, so there's that, I suppose. Nastya survives due to the magic ex machina, and spends so much of that time trying to decide whether to forgive him or not, and eventually decides to, but it feels so back-and-forth.
The ending, where it's implied eventually Zash buries Anastasia and Alexei with their family feels.....odd. Firstly, they (Alexei and Anastasia/Maria, it's unknown which, in real history) were buried at a different location to confuse anyone looking for the full number of people who were killed, as they would be two bodies short. And it's true that they were buried somewhat near their family, but.....why wouldn't Zash put them right with their family? It's confusing.
Major points to keeping Joy alive. I was rooting for that dog the whole time.
The writing itself managed to propel us forward, even though nothing happens for the longest time. I'm unsure of how interesting the book would be to people who don't know the history of it as well as I do, but it's an enjoyable enough read. I have to criticize Brande's lack of sensory details, though some of it can be excused from the first person POV, but not all. Very little imagery for any of the senses, which was such a shame. I was also expecting more from the magic, as I've said before, but for me, it was still quite enjoyable. The plot was good and kept moving forward, and the characters and their bonds really made the book work. Particularly the familial ones - loved Nastya and Alexei and their "imagine this" game in particular.
That being said, the view of history itself is somewhat questionable. We're constantly told that Nicholas II was a wonderful leader, that everything being said about him and his wife is merely propaganda and....it just isn't. Obviously, it's from the point of view of his daughter, and she also doesn't have all of the pieces to the puzzle, but as good of a man he may have been, there's no doubt that he was a weak leader. That being said, I don't expect any book/story about the myth of Anastasia's survival to be historically accurate, and I've read quite a few of the non-fiction books on the matter. Her survival itself is already going to alter the historical canon as soon as it's written, and there are certain liberties authors take. Russian history is not my history, but I have researched it a great deal. It's handled quite clumsily at times, but if you can put aside that, then it's an alright book.
(Also I digress here but the cover? Is gorgeous. Beautiful. Has nothing to do with what actually happens in the story. My expectations were totally wrong.)
I enjoyed Anastasia and her family, their relationships was one of the best parts of the book. Well explored, and her relationships with her father, Maria, and Alexei in particular are very sweet.
Onto the relationship with Zash....sigh. First of all, I just have to say why does every adaptation of the myth of Anastasia need to give her a love interest? I've only read one book that hasn't given her one. Secondly....I feel like I have to sit down with them and just say to them, "Listen. You are not Dmitri. You will never be Dmitri."
Okay, I wanted to like them together. However, the setup to me is very difficult to swallow and the end of it felt a little contrived as well. Zash is a Bolshevik soldier, even if he's not really a Bolshevik (whatever that means), and that alone made it hard for me to get into him and Nastya working. I'm really just not into the enemies-to-lovers trope, and though this is kind of set up as a Romeo and Juliet situation, it just still didn't really work for me. Also I hesitate to say this, as I'm 100% not a Russian name expert but is Zash.....even a Russian name? Granted, he's mentioned to be from a semi-nomadic tribe (and that's about all we get about his background. Sigh. Literally the words "seminomadic tribe" in the text.), and they may not follow the same kind of Russian naming traditions as, say, the Imperial family, but he has no patrynomic or family name, and Zash (as far as I know) does not happen to even be a real name. It was...distracting.
The writing itself managed to propel us forward, even though nothing happens for the longest time. I'm unsure of how interesting the book would be to people who don't know the history of it as well as I do, but it's an enjoyable enough read. I have to criticize Brande's lack of sensory details, though some of it can be excused from the first person POV, but not all. Very little imagery for any of the senses, which was such a shame. I was also expecting more from the magic, as I've said before, but for me, it was still quite enjoyable. The plot was good and kept moving forward, and the characters and their bonds really made the book work. Particularly the familial ones - loved Nastya and Alexei and their "imagine this" game in particular.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Chronic illness
Moderate: Blood, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Medical content
Minor: Animal death
Mentions of a suicide attempt that is almost carried out but isn't at the last moment.
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