Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.79 AVERAGE
3.79 AVERAGE
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A fascinating story with an unexpected twist at the end!
My only complaint is that the first half of the book was so repetitious. The story didn't really advance and I wish the first half had just been combined into a couple of chapters. The second half redeemed the book for me, however.
My only complaint is that the first half of the book was so repetitious. The story didn't really advance and I wish the first half had just been combined into a couple of chapters. The second half redeemed the book for me, however.
All in all a great book, especially how the author tied in the ending, keeping readers enthralled until the end. The middle was semi-repetative, but it was quite an enjoyable short piece of historical fiction.
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I love every single bit of this book. My only complaint was that if you don’t know much Russian history the story is a bit hard to follow. Also the ending was really well done!
Although I can see why certain readers, particularly avid history buffs, might have a problem with some of the things Robert Alexander did with this novel, quite simply I found it really entertaining. I know people have talked about it being repetitive, and maybe I would’ve found that to be the case if I’d already been familiar with a lot of the details, but as someone who knew nothing about the Romanov family’s captivity and execution, I just felt like I was always learning. So, although it’s a work of fiction and a lot of creative licence was taken, The Kitchen Boy was the perfect introduction to this part of history because it piqued my interest, and I immediately started doing my own research after finishing it.
Was I taken aback by the ending and unsure how to feel about it? Sure. But it was also refreshing to be surprised and challenged in my thinking (is the twist wildly insensitive? I still can’t decide) by a book I didn’t exactly expect to do any of those things. A jaunt into alternate history is always going to be a literary risk and, even if I end up changing my mind a hundred times about the direction it took, I think The Kitchen Boy will remain pretty memorable.
Was I taken aback by the ending and unsure how to feel about it? Sure. But it was also refreshing to be surprised and challenged in my thinking (is the twist wildly insensitive? I still can’t decide) by a book I didn’t exactly expect to do any of those things. A jaunt into alternate history is always going to be a literary risk and, even if I end up changing my mind a hundred times about the direction it took, I think The Kitchen Boy will remain pretty memorable.
Through the eyes of Leonka, kitchen boy and sometime playmate of the Tsarevich Aleksei, the reader is transported back to the final months and days of the Romanov family, held in isolation in Yekaterinburg in 1917. Robert Alexander paints a portrait of a genuinely loving, though colossally naïve, family, the last in a long line of Russian royalty that began with Tsar Michael in 1613. Though we know full well how the situation will end despite some dramatic glimmers of hope, the narrative is not unduly bleak and contains a surprising twist. At just 229 pages, The Kitchen Boy is also a relatively rapid read for someone looking to squeeze in another book before the end of the year.
I'm usually a stickler for accuracy for anything Romanov related, but I must say I was pleased with this book. A good fiction novel for anyone interested in the subject.
This was such an interesting work of fiction about the Russian Emporer and his family in the time leading up to their deaths. It has an interesting twist to it, which made it rather like a mystery. I enjoyed it, although it is difficult to believe that humans behave in such barbaric ways.