Book Review: Romanov

Romanov
Nadine Brandes

Overview

Ok so first of all, I think I gave it more stars than I probably should have because I love the Romanov family and I love the cover. I appreciated a lot of the historical accuracy despite it being a tragic story, I felt a little bit of The Book Thief there. But unlike The Book Thief, I don't really think this book has the substance to be a classic. It was a short but enjoyable, and I could feel a building sense of tragedy, but I never really felt like this tragedy was addressed. It was just too happy for it to really reflect how sad the Romanov history has always made me, and it was just minimized to nothing.
I loved the concept of the spell ink and the Matryoshka doll, but I do feel like there was more potential for it. The book was like 80 percent their captivity, which would have been fine if there was more to it afterwards. I felt like the relationships were too easily created, not a lot of background to them. It all felt very surface level.

Why Four Stars?

Honestly, I feel a little bad giving it four stars compared to other books that I have rated. But I loved the concept and the characters so much previous to even reading it that the shortness of it didn't irritate me as much as it would have with other books. I don't think it has enough loose-ends for a sequel, but I wish everything had been extended a little. If a book is advertised with such an emphasis on firing squad and rebellion, the firing squad and rebellion should take up more of the book.

Would I Recommend?

I think it's a great book if you love the Romanov family and Anastasia and wish that the fairy tale element of it all was actually real. It's a much happier ending than the actual history, though I don't like how Brandes breezed over the deaths actually included in the book. I would recommend it though just for the history.