Romanov

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Romanov
By Nadine Brandes
Narrated by Jessica Ball

Romanov is a fictional account of Grand Duchess Anastasia Romanov and takes place during the time of her family's exile, their slaughter, and her adventure after they are gone.  It highlights Anastasia's -- Nastya's-- impish, mischievous personality, her deep love and respect for her family, and her loyalty to her country.  Nastya is a strong, intelligent heroine who does not need a man to make decisions for her--a trope that never gets old.

I particularly love the complexity and growth of the characters in this book, specifically arcs of Zash and Nastya--both individually and together.  I found myself constantly admiring young Alexei for his bravery, his responses to his awful illness, and his wisdom.

There are at least two instances that utterly horrified me--the shocking execution of the Romanov family and the result of star crossed love.  I cried more than once, but I laughed much more than that.

I found some of the passages to be too wordy.  This led to a bit of anxiety on my part in that I would come to my own conclusions about things and want to see if I was correct, and Nastya's inner monologues would go on and on before my suspicions would be verified.  This happened a number of times.  Additionally, I would have liked to have learned more about the spell masters.  While Brandes does a complete job of describing the world of spell mastery, I would have liked a better connection between magic in the novel and in Russian history.  I did think that magic was used appropriately, if in an understated way.

I listened to Romanov in my car through Libro.fm and found myself thinking of Nastya even when I was not driving, and wishing to spend more time with her.  

Jessica Ball does a phenomenal job of narrating; her accents and the way she switches from English to Russian and back are flawless.  I found the narration a huge contribution to the world-building.

There is nothing inappropriate, as far as language or sexuality, but there is violence, alcoholism, cigarette smoking, and attempted suicide spattered throughout the book.  Romantic aspects are sweet and innocent, and do not carry the plot.    

I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to mature readers interested in historical fiction, dystopian fiction, or magic.