The 300-year-long Russian empire has ended, and the Romanov family is imprisoned indefinitely by the citizens it once ruled. Anastasia “Nastya” Romanov is the youngest daughter of the dynasty and, along with her orphaned best friend Andry, is plotting an escape. However, a new watcher has been instated and plans to execute the entire family, with the help of his daughter, Jovie. Yet Jovie and Nastya can’t help growing closer as their time goes on. So when Nastya finds out the White Army has abandoned them, she turns to the only person who could be her ally for help. But despite their connection, Jovie has a duty to her family and her country to kill Anastasia. Will Jovie give in to her brainwashing and betray Nastya? Or will their budding love prevail and save Nastya from meeting the same fate as her family? All the historical thrills and more in The Romanov Affair.

This was an enticing and fast-paced read! The setting was interesting, and I loved the queer-Anastasia retelling. The addition of actual historical letters gave pathos to the story as well. I genuinely wanted to believe that Anastasia survived the executions in real life. The plot pacing held up well for the majority of the book and kept me on the edge of my seat. The main characters were lovable, and you couldn’t help but root for them, even when they made poor decisions. Not to mention, they were all so young and having to face such horrid conditions. It did break my heart whenever I remembered that the majority of the characters were real historical figures. Which was a crucial aspect to maintain, as it added depth to the story. Not to mention, the historical aspect was explained at the end of the book, so you knew who was added in for the story. You can tell so much research and care went into this, as it shows in how detailed the final product is.

The characterization was great, as each one mirrored the reality of brainwashing and having to make decisions that go against your morals. Especially Jovie and her father. You can see her struggling between her love for her parent/country and her empathy for the Romanovs. But despite Jovie’s decisions, she and Nastya were adorable, and I appreciated the care and understanding they showed each other. Although these are just my thoughts, I did feel like their connection was rushed, which is somewhat understandable given the timeline. But I think if there had been maybe more resistance from Jovie’s end in the beginning, it would have felt more realistic. As well as a few more intimate emotional scenes between them. There were many “action” scenes in this book with lots of things happening, but I wanted more context and build-up. Maybe instead of the 50 pages at the end, if there were an extra 50 pages in the middle, it would’ve evened out things a bit and allowed the characters time to build more obvious relationships to the reader. But I mean, this is amazing given that the author is a teenager! When I was that age, I was not writing novels, so, again, these are just my thoughts because this was an interesting book that I devoured in a day.

All in all, this heart-pounding thriller is a great read. From the fast-paced fight scenes to the heart-warming relationships, you will not want to put this book down. Not to mention needing to double-check that Anastasia didn’t survive (or did she?). If you love relatively accurate historical fiction and creative retellings, you are in the right place. Happy reading!

CW: Alcohol, anxiety, attempted murder, blood, bullying, death, child death, death, emotional abuse, genocide, gore, gun violence, homophobia, hostages, kidnapping, murder, physical abuse, discussion of sexual assault, violence, and war.

Thank you to Rae M. Jensen for sending a copy for review consideration. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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