BOOK REVIEW

“Romanov” by Nadine Brandes. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2019. 340 pages, $17.99 (Hardcover).

If I am completely honest with myself, my feelings about this book are just a jumbled mess of love and uncertainty. While reading it, I enjoyed the story, the context and the history, but once finished I was bothered by how the end of the story played out. I have loved researching the story of Anastasia in the past. As a young girl, I was a fan of the Disney movie and, when I was studying history, I found out the truth of what happened to the family. Since then, I’ve enjoyed hearing different stories about what could have happened, and was excited about this book and its magical additions.

The best thing about the novel is how well Nadine Brandes shows the family dynamic of the Romanovs and their love for one another. By all accounts, the family certainly did love one another, and it was this support that helped them cope with being held prisoner for so long a time. The buildup of the first half of the novel to the firing squad, and what many will know is coming, is enough that I would recommend it to others. You can feel the tension in the air, as the Romanovs try to decide if they will attempt to escape and you can see the hope drain out of them, or hope the flicker barely survives. Brandes’ writing is excellent in this area.

Magic is always something I loved, and the concept of spell ink and power in words were all something I enjoyed. I would love for Anastasia to be a spell master, and I think adding in magic to this story gave it a great twist. The character of Anastasia (or Nastya, nickname) was the highlight of this story. I think her internal struggle to do what she could to help her family was believable. As the story progressed, it was easy to see the toll that living in a cramped space took on her and her perspective. She was a brave young girl, who tried to keep up her family’s spirits and found joy in the small things that she could. The idea of spending 16 years of your life as a grand duchess, and then suddenly be a prisoner in a house, would make most girls lose all hope. Brandes portrayed Nastya’s own struggle very vividly.

The research is evident in what was portrayed through the first half of the novel and for some of the second. It is clear to see the relationships being built between the Romanov family and their captors. Many reports showed that guards often had to be replaced. To see that friendship, and love, grow between the family and the people keeping them held hostage must have been a challenge.

I do wish that the book had started at a different point, or perhaps even with an introduction to explain the history. If someone who has very little context of the Russian Revolution picks up this novel to read why the Romanovs were held prisoner or why they were hopeful they would be let go, this book will be more difficult to understand. There are terms throughout, from talking about the Bolsheviks to the White Army, which could use explanation. It also could use a glossary of Russian words. A few pages to explain the backstory and give context to this story would make all the difference for some readers.

On that note, I do wish that Anastasia’s father, Nicholas II, had been portrayed in a more realistic light. Knowing that most of this book was from Anastasia’s point of view, it makes sense she would idealize her father. However, there were opportunities in which Brandes could have shown his weak leadership, and issues with his wife. This would have helped the book progress. The story behind Rasputin was also romanticized within the book, declaring him to be helpful and loving to the family, where most portrayed him as an almost madman, and even Nicholas II did not wish him to be around his family. Losing this changes the story, and I do not think it was necessary.

Anastasia at one point finally confronts her mother about the rumors that she hears from the soldiers, and I wish there had been more of this. Anastasia also thinks about how their willingness to keep secrets for the family helped push them off the throne. Although it is quite possible that a 17-year-old girl would have spent little time on these kinds of thoughts, with very few distractions, it seems plausible that more focus could have played on what brought them to where they were.

Although I mostly liked the character Zash, I think the romance added a layer to this book that was not needed. We forget, perhaps, that not every story needs romance added into it. This is certainly a story where a simple friendship would have been more plausible (especially as her sister took care of the romance side in the book and in history). Nastya’s own battles with whether she could like Zash did not help the matter.

My biggest issue with the book, and why it leaves me feeling unfulfilled, is that the end does not play into history at all. SPOILER ALERT – several years ago, Alexei’s body and that of his other sister were finally found close to where the rest of the family was buried. The end of this book gives you the idea that they escaped and lived long full lives, then were buried by their family in the end. The skeletons, however, do not give that credence, and though it is a tie back into history, it just does not work for me. Alexei also apparently goes off to his destiny, in a way that is not reflected in history. As far as a fantasy novel goes, their escape as well as the use of magic was perfectly fine by me, as it could mesh with the story. I just cannot get behind this ending when so much of this story was carefully researched.

– Reviewed by Fallon Willoughby, first-year experience instructor, Southcentral Kentucky Community & Technical College.