Romanov

by Nadine Brandes

This YA novel answers an intriguing question: What if Anastasia Romanov, the teenage Russian princess, survived the massacre of her family by using magic?

Historically accurate in many ways, Romanov weaves the true events surrounding the imprisonment and execution of Tsar Nicholas and his family into a magical retelling. Sixteen-year-old Anastasia, nicknamed Nastya, tells the story. She’s a delightfully spunky heroine, pulling pranks on her family members and even a few of her captors. But what I loved most was her deep devotion to her family, something that’s not celebrated nearly enough in YA novels.

 

At first, I had a negative reaction to the magic system, mainly because it involves “spell ink” that actually spells words. (I see what you did there, Mrs. Brandes.) Nastya’s main goal is to keep a Matryoshka doll filled with this magical ink hidden from the guards. Her father has promised it will release its power at the moment they need it most. You can guess the results aren’t exactly what she hopes for.

 

Because of the subject matter, the story can’t help being dark. Much of it reads almost like a diary of the harsh realities of the Romanovs’ imprisonment. In that way, it reminded me a little of The Hiding Place, Corrie ten Boom’s true story of surviving a Nazi prison camp. But with magic. And romance.

 

The romance is an enemies-to-lovers relationship between Nastya and one of her Bolshevik guards, Zash. I’ll admit, this was the part of the story I had the hardest time rooting for.

 

Romanov is rich with meaningful themes, but the strongest is the need to forgive those who have hurt you. There’s even a reader’s guide at the end with questions that dig deeper into forgiveness and other themes from the story.

 

If you’d enjoy a more realistic take on Anastasia than the animated movie offers, but with a thread of magic running through it, this might be your book.

 

A slightly dark, educational while also magical book unicorn.  4.5/5 stars