Tsarina by J. Nelle Patrick

(4/5 stars)

Natalya knows a secret.
A magical Faberge egg glows within the walls of Russia's Winter Palace.
It holds a power rooted in the land and stolen from the mystics.
A power that promises a life of love for her and Alexei Romanov.
Power, that, in the right hands, can save her way of life.
But it's not in the right hands.

Anyone who knows me, knows how obsessed I am with the Romanovs. It's borderline unhealthy. But completely acceptable because it's such a fascinating subject. So this book, though it took some liberties (mainly changing Alexei's age and giving him a love interest) had me hooked from the beginning.

What I liked: As far as historical fiction goes, this is pretty historically accurate based on the skeleton alone. I believed the facts and that made the fiction story within the world seem so real and interesting. I loved Alexei and Natalya, even though they were only physically together for the first three or so chapters. Their relationship felt so real and loving, and it made me sad for the real Alexei who never got the change for anything like that. Okay, so now to the actual make up of the book. Natalya is great. She's awesome. She's a true Russian in all senses of the word--so incredibly patriotic, loyal, and fearless and I could really respect her as a character. Leo is pretty great too, he's a good antithesis to Natalya. The scenery and culture was vivid and true to the time. I'll say it again, the research that was done on this novel was extraordinary. Throughout the whole book, I felt like I was there with the characters. I was as scared for the tsar and his family as Natalya was. I loved Russia like Leo. You really felt like you were in the story.

What I didn't like: Honestly, I feel like nothing really happened. Mostly, because I think our antagonist was a bit weak and not very threatening. Our main characters just seemed to bounce from one location to the next without anything major happening. I also think that everything could have been avoided if Natalya had used her head and kept the Constellation Egg a secret in the first place. I'm not a super big fan of plot lines that run based on miscommunication or the stupidity of a character. Lastly, I had a lot of problem with Natalya and Leo's sudden romantic relationship. Maybe it has something to do with my bias, but I never felt like they really connected emotionally. Sure, I can see them being acquaintances or even friends but they want two completely different things. Major different things. The opposite of what the other wants. It doesn't make sense. Also, I never felt any romantic tension between the two of them.

I still enjoyed this book a lot. It was fascinating and I loved the background and lifestyle that Natalya led. I also saw some character development in her that I appreciated, though she kept her passion for her country the whole time which I loved. If you enjoy historical fiction, I definitely recommend this one.

-Annie