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A review by luthereadingqueen
Romanov by Nadine Brandes
3.0
"Because I have a story I was meant to live. And not even you can unwrite it."
When I first saw this book I was so excited for it to come out because of that stunning cover and the fact that it is a Romanov's retelling. I have to admit I hardly knew the basics of what happened to the family so I was hoping to get more information through this book (which now I know wasn't the best idea). And when I got approved for an ARC, I couldn't have been happier.
"We are Romanovs. The bond of our hearts spans miles, memory and time."
This book is told from Anastasia's ("Nastya") point of view and in my opinion she was a quite great character, mainly because of her pranks and "misbehavior" which were amazing because they made me realise that she could get away with anything due to how quickly she could come up with a plan. Moreover, I really liked the dinamic between the family members and how everyone took care of each other when neccesary.
On the other hand, the main aspect of this books that prevents me from giving it 5 stars is the fact that the other characters felt very plain, they had a main characteristic and from that came all their attitudes and decisions, they did not have layers nor depth. We got to witness some backstories but they didn't feel real to me, it was as if I was just reading something that happened instead of actually feeling like I was there in that moment, which is what I look for when I read a book.
There were also other minor issues that took away from my enjoyment. First, there were smaller plot twists that didn't feel like they were because I was able to predict them, so I never actually got surprised by anything. Then, the autor also uses some Russian words to describe things or as nicknames that I couldn't understand since I don't speak the language, at first I looked them up but then it just got tedious so I just guessed what they meant by the context or acted as if they weren't there.
And lastly, the end was predictable, there was not a single moment were I feared something bad would happen to any of the characters. But it wasn't only that, it also felt unsatisfying because it ends on an open ending, unless it has a continuation but for the moment this book is a standalone and I'm not used to standalones ending like this lol.
"No one could outshout a revolution."
To end on a more happy note, what I did love throughout the book were the quotes and Nadine's writing style. The introduction to the book is incredible, so powerful that gets stuck in your mind for a while, at least that happened to me. I highlighted so many quotes that give the vibes of "just get up and do it", the three I wrote in this review are only my favorites.
Also, at the end we are told which things in the story were actually real and which ones were fiction or a stretched version of reality. I was positively surprised to see that because I wasn't expecting the author to let us into her creative journey the way she did and I really appreciate that.
When I first saw this book I was so excited for it to come out because of that stunning cover and the fact that it is a Romanov's retelling. I have to admit I hardly knew the basics of what happened to the family so I was hoping to get more information through this book (which now I know wasn't the best idea). And when I got approved for an ARC, I couldn't have been happier.
"We are Romanovs. The bond of our hearts spans miles, memory and time."
This book is told from Anastasia's ("Nastya") point of view and in my opinion she was a quite great character, mainly because of her pranks and "misbehavior" which were amazing because they made me realise that she could get away with anything due to how quickly she could come up with a plan. Moreover, I really liked the dinamic between the family members and how everyone took care of each other when neccesary.
On the other hand, the main aspect of this books that prevents me from giving it 5 stars is the fact that the other characters felt very plain, they had a main characteristic and from that came all their attitudes and decisions, they did not have layers nor depth. We got to witness some backstories but they didn't feel real to me, it was as if I was just reading something that happened instead of actually feeling like I was there in that moment, which is what I look for when I read a book.
There were also other minor issues that took away from my enjoyment. First, there were smaller plot twists that didn't feel like they were because I was able to predict them, so I never actually got surprised by anything. Then, the autor also uses some Russian words to describe things or as nicknames that I couldn't understand since I don't speak the language, at first I looked them up but then it just got tedious so I just guessed what they meant by the context or acted as if they weren't there.
And lastly, the end was predictable, there was not a single moment were I feared something bad would happen to any of the characters. But it wasn't only that, it also felt unsatisfying because it ends on an open ending, unless it has a continuation but for the moment this book is a standalone and I'm not used to standalones ending like this lol.
"No one could outshout a revolution."
To end on a more happy note, what I did love throughout the book were the quotes and Nadine's writing style. The introduction to the book is incredible, so powerful that gets stuck in your mind for a while, at least that happened to me. I highlighted so many quotes that give the vibes of "just get up and do it", the three I wrote in this review are only my favorites.
Also, at the end we are told which things in the story were actually real and which ones were fiction or a stretched version of reality. I was positively surprised to see that because I wasn't expecting the author to let us into her creative journey the way she did and I really appreciate that.