The Rebel Romanov

The Rebel Romanov
by Helen Rappaport
 
Book: Stand Alone
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Pub Date: April 15, 2025
Genre: Historical, Nonfiction, Biography
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
Book Links: Goodreads  Amazon  Bookshop
 
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Romanov Sisters comes the story of a courageous young Imperial Grand Duchess who scandalized Europe in search of freedom.

In 1795, Catherine the Great of Russia was in search of a bride for her grandson Constantine, who stood third in line to her throne. In an eerie echo of her own story, Catherine selected an innocent young German princess, Julie of Saxe-Coburg, aunt of the future Queen Victoria. Though Julie had everything a young bride could wish for, she was alone in a court dominated by an aging empress and riven with rivalries, plotting, and gossip―not to mention her brute of a husband, who was tender one moment and violent the next. She longed to leave Russia and her disastrous marriage, but her family in Germany refused to allow her to do so.

Desperate for love, Julie allegedly sought consolation in the arms of others. Finally, Tsar Alexander granted her permission to leave in 1801, even though her husband was now heir to the throne. Rootless in Europe, Julie gave birth to two―possibly three―illegitimate children, all of whom she was forced to give up for adoption. Despite entreaties from Constantine to return and provide an heir, she refused, eventually finding love with her own married physician.

At a time when many royal brides meekly submitted to disastrous marriages, Julie proved to be a woman ahead of her time, sacrificing her reputation and a life of luxury in exchange for the freedom to live as she wished. The Rebel Romanov is the inspiring tale of a bold woman who, until now, has been ignored by history.
 
 
My Review:  I love a good historical read.
 
At first I was a bit confused. It read as if your reading someone's history paper. Plus your given A LOT of history information at once. 
 
It would have been better if it was ingrained into the story here and there. I want it to be more Julie focused than that of her entire family history.  
 
I didn't get enough substance from this book.
 
Yes, its very detail heavy. However, its about everything and everyone else and not enough Julie to keep me engaged.
 
It does take a few chapters before the story really starts and you get more Julie centered. 
 
Had to put the book on hold and took picking up 3 times to finally get through it, though at that point, it should've ended up a DNF.
 
While I like the story enough. I'm not sold on this. It was nice to know more about a lesser known person in this family. Her life, marriage, finally getting that divorce and being a rebel in her own way.
 
Many parts I did really enjoy. Some parts did pull me in. Those moments were worth it. But there wasn't enough of those moments to full pull me in. Overall, its just okay to me. 
 
I'm not going to jump for anything else by this author currently. While its not the worst thing out there, it's not my favorite. Give it a read if you like historical reads that are very fact heavy then maybe you'll end up loving this.

 

My Rating:

✪