ŷ������

Y'all. I cried. I literally sobbed. Maybe it's because I'm melodramatic and hopelessly sentimental? But I know that if I were Nastya, I know I wouldn't have been able to control myself. I would have (view spoiler)[killed Yurovsky (hide spoiler)], and the fact that she didn't wrecked me. 😭 Someone help. Someone please help.

I don't know how to write a sophisticated review for this book. I can't get my thoughts together, but seriously, if you haven't read Romanov yet, you need to read it! Quit hanging around reading people's reviews about it and go read the actual thing! 😂

What this book had: Great writing, close family dynamics, bonds between sisters, forbidden love, enemies to lovers, historical references, amazing characters, a unique magic system, a strong female character, grief, lots of grief, lots of pain, a plot twist, and a happy ending.

The first half of the book is sweet and beautiful. The second half is raucous and thrilling and ever so painful. I know people are complaining about how Rasputin was portrayed in the story and how he was actually a bad guy and how the magic wasn't historically accurate, but come on! Romanov was from the Romanovs' POV (duh!). Is it so far-fetched that the Romanov family would view Rasputin kindly? Of course not. Brandes never confirms or denies Nastya's opinions on the man, but she needed to establish a main antagonist and that needed to be Yurovsky. Making both the Bolsheviks and Rasputin evil wouldn't have advanced the book in any way. Rasputin was already dead. He wasn't even in the actual story. It's not that I like the guy (I don't), but again, it's perfectly reasonable for Nastya to have thought well of him. As for the magic system, I do think that some parts of it were quite strange. It reminded me a bit of The Story Peddler, where the "magic" and "spells" were more creative and imaginative than anything else.

In the end, Romanov's themes spoke louder to me than any faults this book might have. I trust that this story will be one I'll be recommending to others for years to come.

ೄྀ�� Quotes ೄྀ��
�� ��Romanov. For that name alone, bound to my blood like a Bolshevik is bound to the Russian Revolution, I am destined to die. Because not even royal blood can stop bullets."
�� “And hope never abandoned us - only we could abandon it.��
�� “No amount of age, pride, or maturity could stop me from loving my papa with the heart of a little girl.��
�� “My blood is my crime.��
�� “I squeezed his hand, so tight it likely pained him. But sometimes comfort needed to sting more than the sorrow for it to break into the grief.��
�� “It is if you separate the two- old life and new life. But once you learn that it's all one life and each day is a new page, it gets a bit easier to let your story take an unexpected path.��
�� “Let no one call you tame.��
�� “The best place to hide an item was on your person. But when you couldn't manage that, the next best place was to hie it in plain view. People searched there last.��
�� “But there was still light - we were just learning how to find it.��
�� “Peace, quiet, and safety are all well. But community and relationships are what truly fill a person's life.��
�� “Papa always said that tears were the most fervent prayers, so I let them flow.��
�� “Nothing was more exhausting than putting forth kindness and receiving indifference in return.��
�� “Can their hearts be softened?�� “It’s not up to you to soften theirs. It’s up to you to keep yours soft.��
�� “Curse those Bolsheviks. I ought to poke holes in the soles of all their boots!��
�� “Those who cannot laugh cannot properly live.��
�� “Revenge would have shattered us both. But you've given us the opportunity to be strong. To mend our hearts instead of break them further.��
�� “The bond of our hearts spans miles, memory, and time.��