A review by ravensandlace
The Romanov Empress: A Novel of Tsarina Maria Feodorovna by C.W. Gortner

4.0

Title: The Romanov Empress

Author: C. W Gartner

Genre: Historical Fiction

Format: hardback library book

Series: NA

Star Rating: 4 stars

tw: arranged marriage, death, child loss, injury, illness, infidelity, child abuse, blood, bombing, hanging, chronic illness (hemophilia), murder, murder of children

I have been making it a goal to read about different periods and while this book is still about the Romanovs, it’s about Tsar Nicholas II’s mother, someone who I know nothing about but I have always wondered what happened to her after the fall of tsarist Russia. I know that a lot of the royals fled to France and places like that but I did not know what happened to the extended family of Tsar Nicholas. I do not know much about the time between Catherine the Great and Tsar Nicholas so I figured why not take a crack at this book. 

I truly enjoyed this book a lot. While reading it, I often wondered what would have happened if Minnie, the main character, had been able to rule after her husband passed. Would the Romanov dynasty still exist today? I know that descendants exist but would Russia still be under imperial rule today? Those are thoughts that sometimes keep me up at night. Even though I know monarchy is bad, I still couldn’t help but feel bad for the Romanovs—so much death and destruction. I truly feel like it could have been avoided if Nicholas’ father had just taught him to rule better but that’s just my thoughts. 

Minnie was a great main character and I just loved her so much. I loved how she took no sass from anyone. She knew when to stand up for herself but also knew when to back down. She could play the court, when she was Tsarina, like a fiddle. As she got older, she got on my nerves a little bit but I could tell she was just trying to save her family dynasty. She certainly had that mentality of that the old way was the way to go but I couldn’t truly fault her for that. She did try to change but sometimes change is hard. I applaud her for at least trying. 

Overall, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. It’s from an author that I haven’t heard of nor have I read their books. It’s always a risk when I check out other periods and other authors. But I’m glad I took that chance. This was a great book, and I will be checking out more books by this author. And I'll also be checking out more books about Minnie. Because I enjoyed her and her personality so much.