Scan barcode
A review by theeditorreads
Romanov by Nadine Brandes
5.0
Synopsis:
Anastasia (Nastya) Romanov, ex-princess of Imperial Russia, is in exile along with her family. Her father, the ex-Tsar, has been sent to Ekaterinburg along with her mother and one of her elder sisters Maria. Nastya, her sickly younger brother Alexei, and her two eldest sisters, Olga and Tatiana, are to undertake the same journey in a few days. But before that, her father has entrusted her with an important matter. That of protecting the family's Matryoshka Doll, at all costs. It may well become the reason for the death of its creator, Vasily Dochkin, Russia's most respected and skilled spell master. The Bolsheviks led a revolution based on lies against the so-called dangers the spell masters were, which led to the Tsar abdicating his throne. It is Nastya's mission now, will she be able to safeguard the doll?
Review:
The book starts with Nastya burning her diaries and anything else that could get them into trouble. The Bolsheviks are keeping a close eye on them, after all.
And with such vivid imagery starts Nadine Brandes' Romanov, a fantasy retelling of the young life of the Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna Romanova. In real life, she was the youngest daughter of Tsar Nikolai II, the last sovereign of Imperial Russia. And the story takes from when she was of the age of sixteen, a month and a half before her actual death. While it is natural to try to draw parallels with the original, it would be unfair since this is a fantasy too. A fantasy where real characters are morphed into human beings possessing magic, or what they are called in this story – the spell masters. I didn't know about the real Anastasia before this book, and after reading the Wikipedia entry about her, I was very, very scared (or should I say, apprehensive) about the ending. In the story, Nastya is an amateur student of the spells, before her mentor, Grigori Rasputin, was killed. And she's desperate to perfect this ancient art since it will help her in curing her brother of haemophilia.
Written from Nastya's point-of-view, in the first person narration, I loved the bond the author showed through the entire Romanov family, and that too within the first few pages itself. In spite of an ill mother, and not so grand accommodations, their strength in their unity is worthy of envy. Though it is a little hard to believe of its existence in a royal, even if ex-royal, family. And what is more surreal is for such young minds to have seen the ravages of war, to have tended to soldiers with their young hands.
Nastya's nickname, shvibzik, is well-deserved, one who is mischievous of them all. Her humour is infectious. Staying true to all the facts, Brandes creates a magical tale set in the realm of fantasy. It was indeed a unique take on the abdication of the Tsar, because of the suspicion against spell masters. In other words, against magic. The basic human nature demands to fear what it cannot understand. The parallel drawn between mother and daughter, it all touches your heart in the span of a few short pages.
The timeline of the book conveniently ends on July 16, a day before Anastasia was killed along with her family, and it kind of drifts from there, suspended in the realm of fantasy. The author has done a splendid job of creating a fantasy out of the pages of history. The characterisation, the narrative, the quotes, it will all capture your heart. Certain scenes are so badass, my heart did a happy dance while reading them; while there are many which are complete tearjerkers, and coupled with instances where you can snigger or laugh out loud – this was a rollercoaster of a ride, with the perfect ending where the author ties up all the threads together. What a fulfilling journey this was …
When there's a void in your life after finishing a book, know that it was one of the best stories.
P.S. I read this book along with Books N Beyond's Romanov Readalong, details of which can be found on their Instagram page, as well as their Blog … BnB Blog
The discussions were really entertaining and don't read them if you haven't read the book as they all contain SPOILERS!
And when it was mentioned in passing that Nastya's mother was the granddaughter of Queen Victoria, I began reading about the entire Romanov family … ooh, history!
You can find it here, and in the subsequent links:
Anastasia Romanov
I loved the Author's Note at the end where she drew a line between fact and fiction. And the last line of acknowledgement, as a reader I felt a strong bond with the author. Thank you, [a:Nadine Brandes|8107261|Nadine Brandes|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1484497510p2/8107261.jpg]!
In two places, it reminded me of Cornelia Funke's Inkspell and Harry Potter's Portkeys. You'll know when you read it!
This is also my entry for Prompt 22 of the Reading Women Challenge 2019: A Book you picked up because of the Cover (it does have a gorgeous cover, after all).
Originally posted on:
https://sassyshaina.wordpress.com/2019/06/14/romanov-by-nadine-brandes/
Anastasia (Nastya) Romanov, ex-princess of Imperial Russia, is in exile along with her family. Her father, the ex-Tsar, has been sent to Ekaterinburg along with her mother and one of her elder sisters Maria. Nastya, her sickly younger brother Alexei, and her two eldest sisters, Olga and Tatiana, are to undertake the same journey in a few days. But before that, her father has entrusted her with an important matter. That of protecting the family's Matryoshka Doll, at all costs. It may well become the reason for the death of its creator, Vasily Dochkin, Russia's most respected and skilled spell master. The Bolsheviks led a revolution based on lies against the so-called dangers the spell masters were, which led to the Tsar abdicating his throne. It is Nastya's mission now, will she be able to safeguard the doll?
Review:
Because not even royal blood can stop bullets.
The book starts with Nastya burning her diaries and anything else that could get them into trouble. The Bolsheviks are keeping a close eye on them, after all.
Pages curled in on themselves, like spider legs accepting death.
And with such vivid imagery starts Nadine Brandes' Romanov, a fantasy retelling of the young life of the Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna Romanova. In real life, she was the youngest daughter of Tsar Nikolai II, the last sovereign of Imperial Russia. And the story takes from when she was of the age of sixteen, a month and a half before her actual death. While it is natural to try to draw parallels with the original, it would be unfair since this is a fantasy too. A fantasy where real characters are morphed into human beings possessing magic, or what they are called in this story – the spell masters. I didn't know about the real Anastasia before this book, and after reading the Wikipedia entry about her, I was very, very scared (or should I say, apprehensive) about the ending. In the story, Nastya is an amateur student of the spells, before her mentor, Grigori Rasputin, was killed. And she's desperate to perfect this ancient art since it will help her in curing her brother of haemophilia.
But I was no worm, and despite Olga's tender heart, she could brandish a tongue of fire hotter than a crackling hearth.
Written from Nastya's point-of-view, in the first person narration, I loved the bond the author showed through the entire Romanov family, and that too within the first few pages itself. In spite of an ill mother, and not so grand accommodations, their strength in their unity is worthy of envy. Though it is a little hard to believe of its existence in a royal, even if ex-royal, family. And what is more surreal is for such young minds to have seen the ravages of war, to have tended to soldiers with their young hands.
The bond of our hearts spans miles, memory, and time.
Nastya's nickname, shvibzik, is well-deserved, one who is mischievous of them all. Her humour is infectious. Staying true to all the facts, Brandes creates a magical tale set in the realm of fantasy. It was indeed a unique take on the abdication of the Tsar, because of the suspicion against spell masters. In other words, against magic. The basic human nature demands to fear what it cannot understand. The parallel drawn between mother and daughter, it all touches your heart in the span of a few short pages.
Honesty was the most efficient – and the most dangerous – rescuer (from mischief).
The timeline of the book conveniently ends on July 16, a day before Anastasia was killed along with her family, and it kind of drifts from there, suspended in the realm of fantasy. The author has done a splendid job of creating a fantasy out of the pages of history. The characterisation, the narrative, the quotes, it will all capture your heart. Certain scenes are so badass, my heart did a happy dance while reading them; while there are many which are complete tearjerkers, and coupled with instances where you can snigger or laugh out loud – this was a rollercoaster of a ride, with the perfect ending where the author ties up all the threads together. What a fulfilling journey this was …
And hope never abandoned us – only we could abandon it.
When there's a void in your life after finishing a book, know that it was one of the best stories.
P.S. I read this book along with Books N Beyond's Romanov Readalong, details of which can be found on their Instagram page, as well as their Blog … BnB Blog
The discussions were really entertaining and don't read them if you haven't read the book as they all contain SPOILERS!
And when it was mentioned in passing that Nastya's mother was the granddaughter of Queen Victoria, I began reading about the entire Romanov family … ooh, history!
You can find it here, and in the subsequent links:
Anastasia Romanov
I loved the Author's Note at the end where she drew a line between fact and fiction. And the last line of acknowledgement, as a reader I felt a strong bond with the author. Thank you, [a:Nadine Brandes|8107261|Nadine Brandes|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1484497510p2/8107261.jpg]!
In two places, it reminded me of Cornelia Funke's Inkspell and Harry Potter's Portkeys. You'll know when you read it!
This is also my entry for Prompt 22 of the Reading Women Challenge 2019: A Book you picked up because of the Cover (it does have a gorgeous cover, after all).
Originally posted on:
https://sassyshaina.wordpress.com/2019/06/14/romanov-by-nadine-brandes/