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3.94 AVERAGE
3.94 AVERAGE
DNF at 43%, Chapter 10
Sometimes giving a lot of details is a bad thing.
Learning about the lives of the sisters and the political unrest that caused the assassination of the entire Romanov family was really intriguing, but wow this book goes more in depth than I thought. The descriptions got to the point that it was just boring.
I decided to stop once it started listing off outfits the girls got for a trip and how much each one cost.
Sometimes giving a lot of details is a bad thing.
Learning about the lives of the sisters and the political unrest that caused the assassination of the entire Romanov family was really intriguing, but wow this book goes more in depth than I thought. The descriptions got to the point that it was just boring.
I decided to stop once it started listing off outfits the girls got for a trip and how much each one cost.
informative
sad
slow-paced
I enjoyed this read. I’ve always been interested in the Romanov sisters and this certainly gave me the information I was craving. Everything was thoroughly researched and mostly well written. I felt that Olga and Tatiana dominated much of the text and the younger two, Maria especially, could have done with a bit more focus but this may be the limitations of sources. Overall an enjoyable read if not very unique.
emotional
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
While providing sympathetic insight to the Russian Imperial family and their basic desire to be normal, more or less, I would have enjoyed this book so much more if there were some analysis at the end. How did the public react to the murders? What was the thought process behind moving the family around sop many times before the execution? Knowing the outcome, for me, made the story a big build up that fell flat.
5 stars
1st read
I have been interested in the Romanov sisters lives for almost a year now, my interest began somewhere around the end of February/beginning of March. I've fallen love with them and despised the people who caused such terrible end for them. I started following many profiles on Instagram which focused on the lives of the Russian Grand Duchesess, posting old coloured or black and white photographs. During the time of quarantine I've got to know quite a lot, my favourite of the sisters became sweet Maria and when I heard of this book I wanted to read it as soon as possible.
It took me several months to get my hands on the copy of this book (ten or nine maybe?) and I don't even regret it because it's amazing. Rappaport was able to bring the personalities of each sister, each so different, alive and most of the time I forgot that I was reading a non-fiction book and not a novel.
I loved how the author also focused on the things that happened before their birth, like Alexandra's mother Alice and Alix's childhood and meeting with Nicholas. All of the later events were also amazing and I really can't decide which part was my favourite. Maybe the times spent on Standart or in England or Crimea. On the other hand I wish that Rappaport would also focus more the sister's childhood because she seemed to fly it through but I understand it, other wise the book would be too long and she had to focus on the war more. But what really surprised me is when we were barely in the third of the story and it already talked about events after 1910.
Sometimes I also felt that she focused most of the time only on Olga and Alexey and don't get me wrong, I love both of them but I want to know more about the other sisters.
Otherwise it was a wonderful book. It really seemed that Rappaport did her thorough research first and I discovered plenty of new things and facts that I didn't know before. I'll be happy to come back to some of her works, either rereading this one or reading some others. Right now I'm really interesting in Ekaterinburg and The Race To Save the Romanovs and some of her Queen Victoria works.
I can't believe that this is my third book in the 2021 and every book seems to get a five star rating from me. I don't know what happened, who am I?
2nd read
This reread was so much fun! I was mainly reading it for school and my thesis which will be based on the Romanovs. This really helped me refresh all my memory and knowledge of them, the sisters and their family and I can't wait to read more.
1st read
I have been interested in the Romanov sisters lives for almost a year now, my interest began somewhere around the end of February/beginning of March. I've fallen love with them and despised the people who caused such terrible end for them. I started following many profiles on Instagram which focused on the lives of the Russian Grand Duchesess, posting old coloured or black and white photographs. During the time of quarantine I've got to know quite a lot, my favourite of the sisters became sweet Maria and when I heard of this book I wanted to read it as soon as possible.
It took me several months to get my hands on the copy of this book (ten or nine maybe?) and I don't even regret it because it's amazing. Rappaport was able to bring the personalities of each sister, each so different, alive and most of the time I forgot that I was reading a non-fiction book and not a novel.
I loved how the author also focused on the things that happened before their birth, like Alexandra's mother Alice and Alix's childhood and meeting with Nicholas. All of the later events were also amazing and I really can't decide which part was my favourite. Maybe the times spent on Standart or in England or Crimea. On the other hand I wish that Rappaport would also focus more the sister's childhood because she seemed to fly it through but I understand it, other wise the book would be too long and she had to focus on the war more. But what really surprised me is when we were barely in the third of the story and it already talked about events after 1910.
Sometimes I also felt that she focused most of the time only on Olga and Alexey and don't get me wrong, I love both of them but I want to know more about the other sisters.
Otherwise it was a wonderful book. It really seemed that Rappaport did her thorough research first and I discovered plenty of new things and facts that I didn't know before. I'll be happy to come back to some of her works, either rereading this one or reading some others. Right now I'm really interesting in Ekaterinburg and The Race To Save the Romanovs and some of her Queen Victoria works.
I can't believe that this is my third book in the 2021 and every book seems to get a five star rating from me. I don't know what happened, who am I?
2nd read
This reread was so much fun! I was mainly reading it for school and my thesis which will be based on the Romanovs. This really helped me refresh all my memory and knowledge of them, the sisters and their family and I can't wait to read more.
Simply stellar. Rappaport is one of the best authorities out there when it comes to the Romanovs and the last days of the Last Tsar. She honors and does a service to the memory of Olga, Tatiana, Maria, and Anastasia
dark
informative
medium-paced
I gave this three stars because it wasnt exactly what i’d gone in expecting. But that’s probably a little unfair as it was easy to read and gave just enough detail to really flesh out the Romanov sisters without giving so much detail that you became overwhelmed. It really fleshed out the girls and i think that was the books purpose although i went in wanting to know more about the downfall and politics of the Romanov family. That was definitely there but the spotlight was on who the girls were as people which gave it a lovely human element. May have to read her other book for more information of the nature i was looking for.
challenging
informative
sad
slow-paced
Alexei, boy, you better stop fucking up that leg!!!
Great PSA against inbreeding. Even though this was very sad and I’ve always been an Anastasia girl, I could not get over how often this family was mortally ill. I’m actually truly and unironically bewildered they didn’t die of some wasting illness instead of being killed.
It was very touching to read about how much this family loved each other (even though they fat shamed Maria constantly, Jesus). It felt like listening to a fairytale because the sisters were so charming and beloved. I actually did want more about Rasputin, but I have a giant book about him I’ll pick up next month.
I really felt the book spent a little too long on the girls’ hospital work. I found myself daydreaming during that section. But it picked up again.
Well researched, a bit dry, but a fascinating and sad story.
Note for the audiobook narrator: please drink some water, I beg of you.
Great PSA against inbreeding. Even though this was very sad and I’ve always been an Anastasia girl, I could not get over how often this family was mortally ill. I’m actually truly and unironically bewildered they didn’t die of some wasting illness instead of being killed.
It was very touching to read about how much this family loved each other (even though they fat shamed Maria constantly, Jesus). It felt like listening to a fairytale because the sisters were so charming and beloved. I actually did want more about Rasputin, but I have a giant book about him I’ll pick up next month.
I really felt the book spent a little too long on the girls’ hospital work. I found myself daydreaming during that section. But it picked up again.
Well researched, a bit dry, but a fascinating and sad story.
Note for the audiobook narrator: please drink some water, I beg of you.
I enjoyed the book but I found the parts about the sisters’ early years a little bit slow. I learned allot about Alexandra which I did not know; both that she was close to Queen Victoria and that she had a lot of health problems and was somewhat eccentric.
I found the story of the princesses sad. To me they were the poor little rich girls. They led very restrictive lives because of worries about their security. They were in some ways overshadowed by their little brother Alexey. Their mother was sick a lot of the time and not available to them. The sisters did not go to school or have a normal social life.
The story about their end of life was tragic and I wondered if more could have been done to take them out of the country.
I am waiting for a biography of the last Tsar, Nicholas II where his two sides (nice family man and political despot) are reconciled.
When I visit Russian supermarkets in the states, I will see a lot of products with Nicholas and Alexey pictures which make me think there is some nostalgia for the Tsar in the Russian community.
I found the story of the princesses sad. To me they were the poor little rich girls. They led very restrictive lives because of worries about their security. They were in some ways overshadowed by their little brother Alexey. Their mother was sick a lot of the time and not available to them. The sisters did not go to school or have a normal social life.
The story about their end of life was tragic and I wondered if more could have been done to take them out of the country.
I am waiting for a biography of the last Tsar, Nicholas II where his two sides (nice family man and political despot) are reconciled.
When I visit Russian supermarkets in the states, I will see a lot of products with Nicholas and Alexey pictures which make me think there is some nostalgia for the Tsar in the Russian community.