The Romanov Empress - CW Gortner

The Romanov Empress by C.W. Gortner
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Maria (Minnie) Feodorovna was a Danish princess destined to marry the tsarevich of Russia during the Romanov dynasty. In her life, she saw the reign of three tsars – her father-in-law, her husband, and her son. Her son Nicholas, coming to the throne in a tumultuous time, is the last tsar of Russia. This is a fascinating look at the final years of Imperial Russia’s royalty, seen through the eyes of a daughter, wife, and mother.
This book came across my NetGalley radar. A recent read or two of the Romanovs’ story caused this book to pique my interest. Plus, I enjoy learning and immersing in a great historical fiction story. This one certainly didn’t disappoint. I also didn’t realize until I was done reading it and digging into CW Gortner a bit more that I had already read an enjoyed another book by this author.
I found there to be a good balance between description and character development/dialogue. I was glad to be reading the Kindle version, so I could just quickly click on words to learn their definition. As expected, a lot of Russian terms I wasn’t familiar with.
The whole book flowed smoothly. I was engaged throughout, anxious to get back to it and learn what happened next.
The character of Maria Feodorovna was well formed. She was complex and sympathetic. Really, all the characters were nicely fleshed out. My only complaint, which is superfluous if you want historical accuracy, is that there were so many characters, and some had similar names. I got confused a few times but nothing that was detrimental to the overall enjoyment of the book.
I’ll be the first to admit my knowledge of Imperial Russia is slight. However, based on what I do know, this book seems well researched and in line with history.
Triggers: Violence – which makes sense for the time frame, and it’s not at all gory or gratuitous.
Read if you’re a fan of the Romanovs, historical fiction, or just good books.
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House/Ballantine Books for giving me access to the ARC.