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A review by brisingr
The Last Romanov by Dora Levy Mossanen
2.0
This is actually more of a 2.5/5 read for me, but it leans more on the two stars part than third stars.
I was pretty excited to read this, especially because the romanian edition has a really pretty cover. Plus, I've really been into historical fiction lately.
We follow the story of the last people in the Romanov dinasty, from the peak of their life, popularity and luxury and slowly descending as we move forward into the story, as told by Daria Borisnova, so called witch and close friend of the imperial family, also the person who was taking care by the emperor and empress' son, Alexei, who was very ill.
First of all, I must say I am not a big fan of characters inserted by the author in a story that follows important people in the history. I am picky, I usually like things to be as close to the truth, and this book just... wasn't my cup of tea. Also, all the mystic and magical touches to the story did little to make me enjoy it. It could have been just as great and just as nice without butterflies, magical seeds, reincarnations and powerful amber. Yes, it does give the story an interesting touch and it might have been catchy and nice to somebody else. In my case, it just warded me off from the actual story.
But the historical parts were quite enjoyable and nice! I really liked the way the love between the tsar and the tsarina was potrayed, it was nice and pure and they sincerely cared about each other. The romance parts are the one I enjoyed the most, even those between Daria and Avram, taking in consideration I don't like the main character... like at all. It still was amazing to see the devotion she had to finding the last romanov and the way the book ended... I am not sure what to think of it. I wanted it to happen, but at the same time, not in that way?
The writer says in the notes at the end that she wanted to portray the monarchy coming slowly to ruin, but most of the time where the royal family actually was in desperate situations, was too fast paced and the scenes were not detailed as much as I would have liked them to be.
I had problems with most of the characters in this book. The main ones were mainly annoying, except the tsar which was an absolute sweetheart and amazing man up until the end, and those who were promising were not developed enough. Sighs.
Also, the style was bothering me through the whole reading process. It's in present tense and it would have been magnificent... if i had read this book in english. Reading it in romanian, the magic of present tense disappeared and most of the true style has been lost in the translation. Such a pity!
Yet, it had some details and things that I really enjoyed and I hoped until the last page that this book was not going to disappoint me, that it's going to become better. Sometimes I am wrong.
Still, I don't really regret reading this, I still found out some things I did not know, but I really feel disappointed because I really wanted to like this book!
I was pretty excited to read this, especially because the romanian edition has a really pretty cover. Plus, I've really been into historical fiction lately.
We follow the story of the last people in the Romanov dinasty, from the peak of their life, popularity and luxury and slowly descending as we move forward into the story, as told by Daria Borisnova, so called witch and close friend of the imperial family, also the person who was taking care by the emperor and empress' son, Alexei, who was very ill.
First of all, I must say I am not a big fan of characters inserted by the author in a story that follows important people in the history. I am picky, I usually like things to be as close to the truth, and this book just... wasn't my cup of tea. Also, all the mystic and magical touches to the story did little to make me enjoy it. It could have been just as great and just as nice without butterflies, magical seeds, reincarnations and powerful amber. Yes, it does give the story an interesting touch and it might have been catchy and nice to somebody else. In my case, it just warded me off from the actual story.
But the historical parts were quite enjoyable and nice! I really liked the way the love between the tsar and the tsarina was potrayed, it was nice and pure and they sincerely cared about each other. The romance parts are the one I enjoyed the most, even those between Daria and Avram, taking in consideration I don't like the main character... like at all. It still was amazing to see the devotion she had to finding the last romanov and the way the book ended... I am not sure what to think of it. I wanted it to happen, but at the same time, not in that way?
The writer says in the notes at the end that she wanted to portray the monarchy coming slowly to ruin, but most of the time where the royal family actually was in desperate situations, was too fast paced and the scenes were not detailed as much as I would have liked them to be.
I had problems with most of the characters in this book. The main ones were mainly annoying, except the tsar which was an absolute sweetheart and amazing man up until the end, and those who were promising were not developed enough. Sighs.
Also, the style was bothering me through the whole reading process. It's in present tense and it would have been magnificent... if i had read this book in english. Reading it in romanian, the magic of present tense disappeared and most of the true style has been lost in the translation. Such a pity!
Yet, it had some details and things that I really enjoyed and I hoped until the last page that this book was not going to disappoint me, that it's going to become better. Sometimes I am wrong.
Still, I don't really regret reading this, I still found out some things I did not know, but I really feel disappointed because I really wanted to like this book!