#step-daughter of imperial russia

[otmaaromanovas]

Mikhail Alexandrovich with his step-daughter, Natalia Sergeievna, whom he accepted as his own child

"Having kissed us both, Uncle Misha went away. He never came back. Thus, almost casually, there went out of my life a man whom I shall always love and who I regard more than anybody else as my parent. I owed and owe everything to him"

Natalia writes very fondly about Mikhail, whom she called 'Uncle Misha, in her memoirs, 'Step-Daughter of Imperial Russia'.

"Then eventually I met the Grand Duke. He came to tea one summer afternoon- I was decked out in a white silk smock, which I secretly thought rather plain, my two long straight black plaits were undone, my nails cleaned, and I was ushered in. To my immense surprise and disappointment, I did not see anybody resembling Jehovah, but a very slim and tall young man, with the thinnest waist and a charming smile, rose from a chair and said "So that's it, is it? My God, what eyes!". I was completely tongue-tied and speechless, even the gift of a large box of delicious sweets could only produce a very inaudible thank you." "Now he was part of the household and I accepted him quite normally and was told to call him Uncle Misha. I soon lost my shyness of him and used to clamber on his knee and follow him about..."

Mikhail wrote about Natalia often in his diary, affectionately calling her 'Tata':

"...we slid down the hill to the greatest pleasure of Tata and Baby." "At 9 1/4 Tata and I went to the Farm, rode from there on horseback through Remiz past the tea house. Farther along we crossed the railroad and rode past Paritz, Kolpano and to Priorat. By the guard house near Warsaw Station we got into an automobile and went home." "...In the morning Tata and I took a ride on horseback at the Zoo."

Sources:

Step-Daughter of Imperial Russia, Natalia Majolier

Michael Romanov : Brother Of The Last Tsar, Diaries And Letters, 1916-1918, Helen Azar , and Nicholas B.A. Nicholson

[the-last-tsar]

"In 1913, the Romanovs celebrated the tercentenary of the dynasty's rise to power. As expected, the planned festivities were glorious. The previous years had been one of prosperity, the industrialization continued to evolve and this economic flourishing made it possible to celebrate the family's success grandly. Politicians and aristocracy hoped that the memory of great figures of the past could strengthen the unity of the nation around the Tsar. The Imperial family left Tsarskoye Selo for the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg for celebrations that began on March 6 with a te-déum in Kazan Cathedral. The following days were full of ceremonies and festivities for the Tsars, whether receiving delegations from all parts of Russia in typical costumes, or going to balls. Alexandra attended in a court dress and wearing the Kokoshnik, the traditional head arrangement of Russian women. The daughters wore white dresses with the ribbon of the Order of St. Catherine, and all the Grand Dukes were present. Olga and Tatiana, "the big pair", already attended parties as adults and could wear beautiful long dresses. Even the Faberge egg that Nicholas gave to Alexandra that year honored the dynasty. Decorated with images of all the Romanov Tsars, it had inside as a surprise two maps of Russia, one from 1613 and the other from 1913. In May, the family boarded a ship to Kostroma in order to repeat the steps of Michael, the first Tsar of the family, from the Ipatiev monastery, where he lived, to the throne. Everywhere, peasants greeted the procession effusively, even entering the water of the Volga River to get a closer look at them or throwing themselves to the ground to kiss Nicholas's shadow. The best part of the celebration took place in Moscow, when Nicholas crossed Red Square alone and entered the Kremlin with the sound of the prayers of the priests lined up along his way. According to protocol, both the Empress and the heir were to walk behind the Tsar, but Alexei, again ill, had to be carried by one of his sailors. The success of the celebrations strengthened the belief, especially for Nicholas and Alexandra, that the autocracy remained strong and had support from the people. On the other hand, the Duma Liberals still insisted on reforms, not finding ears in the Tsar and his ministers. And behind all this, opponents of the regime continued to act, even in exile."

The Last Tsars | Paulo Rezzutti

(loose translation)

[stargazing-sapphire2]

Full Name: Gunnar Akseli Pääkkönen

Date of Birth: June 16th, 1905. Lapland, Finland

Date of Death: February 1st, 1947.

Nationality: Finnish

Occupation: Finnish Defense Forces

Rank(s): Captain

Age: 42 years old (at time of death)

Family / Relatives:

-Unnamed father (Deceased)

-Unnamed mother (Deceased)

-Svetlana Attila - Wife (Deceased)

-Lars Pääkkönen - Son (Alive)

-Aleksi and Sveta Pääkkönen - Grandchildren (Alive)

Appearance:

Hair color: Brown

Eye color: Brown

Height: 6'5 / 195 cm

Scars/ Beauty marks / blemishes: A scar across the bridge of his nose; his nose is somewhat crooked due to it having been broken when he was 15 and it never healed properly.

Faceclaim: Clive Standen

Personality:

To all those that know him, Gunnar is a closed book, metaphorically speaking. He is not one to be open with his emotions and wishing to keep them under wrap, nor is he someone you would seek comfort for. Due to his trauma from childhood, he has difficulty trusting people and opening up to them, but give him a good reason to trust you, and he will watch your back until the very end.

Background:

Gunnar was born on June 16th, 1905 in Lapland, Finland. By the time of his birth, Finland had still been under the control of Imperial Russia. His father was a soldier in the imperial Navy, while his mother was a sex worker whom his father had laid with for one night, and never saw the other again, the man being unaware of his son's existence. By the time the first World War engulfed Europe, his father would later die in combat, while his mother passed on due to illness, leaving him orphaned. He would later be brought into an orphanage with other children, of which various forms of abuse by the caretakers would take place. At age 14, Gunnar eventually ran away in the dead of night to start a new life for himself, although he would forever be left with the scars and painful memories of that place.

At age 18, Gunnar joined the Finnish Army.

In 1929, Gunnar married his wife Svetlana Attilan, a farmer's daughter who had been sweet on in their late teens. They had a happy marriage, and in 1935, they had a son, whom Gunnar would name Lars, his father's pride and joy.

In 1939, the Soviets invaded Finland, kick-starting what would be known as the Winter War, with Gunnar bidding his family goodbye to answer the call to defend his country. Into the conflict, Gunnar was captured during an ambush and sent to a POW camp in Russia, where he underwent physical and psychological torture. When the League of Nations had expelled Russian forces from the country, Gunnar was released alongside several other of his comrades, however, he would never be the same, following the Lapland War and watching many of his friends die in battle.

By the time Gunnar returned home, he was but a shell of his former self, broken and scarred from war. This dark cloud would overshadow the joy of his family, and would subsequently effect them negatively.

To cope with the grief and pain, Gunnar turned to alcohol, as a way to drown his sorrows and escape the nightmares, only for it to fuel the pain. There were times that Gunnar would become so drunk that he wouldn't recognize Svetlana's face, much less Lars'. There were times that he would also turn violent, and while Svetlana did her best to shield her son from it, Lars would still catch glimpses of it all, of his mother's tears, of his father's rage and pain. Something that would haunt him for years to come.

On February 1st, 1947, Gunnar's body would eventually be found in an old chapel a few miles away from his home, having been found by a passing hunter. The cause of his death is undetermined to this day, whether he drank himself to death, froze on the steps in the frigid air, or took his own life, but Lars speculates that his father had simply allowed himself to die, either out of guilt for what he had done or to finally rid himself of the torment.

Years after his passing, Lars looks back on his last years of his father's life, and only hopes that whatever afterlife there is, that Gunnar found peace after a lifetime of suffering.

[foreverinthepagesofhistory]

Poor Cousin Ella (CHAPTER 1)

Summary: Fan Fiction about the last weeks of Princess Elisabeth of Hesse.

Characters: Princess Elisabeth of Hesse, Grand duke Ernst Louis of Hesse, Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna of Russia, Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna of Russia, Grand Duchess Tatiana Nikolaevna of Russia, Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna of Russia, Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia, Lilian Wilson (Elisabeth’s nanny), Margaretta Eagar (OTMA’s nanny)

Ratings: everyone

“Papa, Papa, are we there yet?” Ella asked excitedly.

“Not yet darling” Ernie said affectionately to his daughter. “We will be there in just under an hour.”

The two of them (plus the imperial staff of course) were on a train to Skierniewice Poland to finish off their autumn holiday with their Romanov cousins.

Before they left Wolfsgarten, little Elisabeth was begging her Uncle Nicky to let his daughters ride in her train, but Nicky held a firm no.

Not a second went by without Ella asking if they were there yet.

“Why didn’t Uncle Nicky and Aunt Alix let Olga and Tatiana ride with us?” Ella asked her father. 

“Because they didn’t want the staff’s ears to blow off hearing three little girlies talk talk talk away.” Ernie said sarcastically.

“But father, I’m sure we wouldn’t be that loud!” The little eight year old still didn’t understand her father’s silly jokes.

“Come here Ella.” The two embraced in a tight hug.

“I’m sure next time, when you’re a little bit older, your uncle will let you three ride together.” 

If there would even be a next time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Look Papa I see Olga!” Ella screamed.

Their train was just coming to a halt at the train station. Nicky and Alix got there before Ella and Ernie so they were already on the platform.

Ella ran to the door from her spot at the window and was trying so hard to open the locked door. 

She was desperate to see her cousins.

“That door is locked Princess” one of the footman said to her.

“Why would they keep it locked if my cousins are out there and I am in here?” Ella asked.

The footman chuckled.

“Well we wouldn’t want you falling out would we.” He managed to get a little smile out of the Princess.

Ernie walked over to the two along with Ella’s nanny Miss Wilson.

“Ella I’m sure if you asked nicely then he would kindly open the door for you” Miss. W said with a smile.

Ella gave her nanny a funny look, and then gave the same look to her amused father.

“Mr. Footman would you please open the door for me so I could see my cousins?” Ella asked.

“Of course Princess.” The footman said with an smile.

He unlocked the door gently and let the little one through.

“OLGA TATIANA!” Ella yelled happily as she scampered off of the train.

“She really is what people call her, ‘Princess Sunshine.’ The footman said kindly to Ernie.

“Yes she really is.”

Ernie and Miss. W stepped off of the train to go reel in the little Princess who was already smothering her cousins with hugs

“ELLA!!” Olga and Tatiana yelled as they ran to see their cousin.

The three girls hugged each other like they never hugged before, even when just days ago they were playing in Ella’s playhouse together.

“Olya make woom fow me” little Maria said as she smushed into the hug.

“Ernie, our girls are practically like sisters!” Nicky exclaimed as he walked over to him. 

“Nicky don’t give them any ideas” Alix laughed. “Ernie, I hope your train was well.”

“Oh Alix it was splendid!” The two hugged.

When the little children stopped hugging, Ella asked “where is my Tiny Cousin?”

Ella noticed that her Auntie Alix wasn’t holding little Anastasia so she was worried. In Ella’s eyes, their little group wasn’t complete without little Anastasie. 

“Ella come, she is with Miss Eagar” Tatiana said as she led Ella to where they were sitting. 

“Tiny Cousin!” Ella exclaimed happily!

Miss Eagar let the little two year old run to her cousin.

“Ewwa!” Little Anastasia said as she ran to her cousin.

Tatiana motioned Olga and Maria to come over, and before anyone knew it, the girls were back to their usual talk about castles and fairies.

~~~~~~~~~~

The little girlies and their nannies rode in a carriage to Skierniewice while Ernie Nicky and Alix rode in a seperate one.

The girls couldn’t stop talking to each other, as always.

“Ella we prepared a nice little room for you next to ours” Olga stated. “We put nice little things in there for you”

“I put in a dolly!” Maria said proudly.

“Mama hung up some of the drawings we did in Wolfsgarten too!” Tatiana shouted.

“I brought some things for you guys too!” Ella said gleefully.

Ella was thinking about her little box full of treasures that she brought for Tatiana. They were going to have so much fun with it!

Little Anastasia was struggling to keep up with the other girls obsessive chatter.

“ELLA….” She yelled and everyone paused to hear her

“I….I..I love pwaying togever.” The little one said with a smirk.

“Oh Tiny Cousin” Ella got up from her seat with the older girls and joined Anastasia. “There will be plenty of time for us to play together.”

Ella hugged the little one.

“Maybe even at night time.” Ella whispered sneakily which made Anastasia laugh.

Miss. W managed to hear the little whisper and gave Ella one of those looks that immediately made her shut up.

“We aren’t going to do anything naughty Miss. W, right guys?”

Olga and Tatiana looked confused but nodded silently.

“But Ella, Papa said that it was okay to be naughty sometimes!” Maria shouted.

Olga elbowed her little sister in the ribs.

That was when Miss. Eagar intervened.

“Oh Maria don’t you worry, you can always be silly but not naughty. Bad things happen when we are naughty.”

“Okay” Maria said solemnly.

“But we are allowed to have fun right?” Tatiana asked?

“Of course my darling.” Miss Eagar said. “Have as much fun as you want.”

The girls all looked at each other and laughed hysterically for absolutely no reason at all, just to have fun.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I hope you guys had fun reading this! Don’t expect me to publish chapter 2 for awhile because I’m not the quickest writer, but i promise i will make it good! Thank you!

[adini-nikolaevna]

Which of Nicholas I children was his favorite? Or which one did he like more and was closer to him? Did he miss his daughter, Queen Olga of Württemberg, when she was away? Did they stay in touch? Can you tell me your 2 favorite children?

In general, the family of Nicholas I was very close-knit, and he loved all his children dearly, but I suspect that Alexander II, as his firstborn and heir, was his favorite son (although he worried that “Sasha” was too sensitive). Maria Nikolaevna, who was called Mary by those close to her, was probably his favorite daughter. She resembled him physically, especially in profile, which is why she was often painted with her head slightly turned, but her steely will was equal to that of her father—there is a story about Nicholas and Mary having an epic staredown that made everyone nervous because neither father nor daughter was willing to give in. As the emperor’s eldest daughter, Mary was expected to make a splendid dynastic marriage, but refused to leave Russia, and then she fell for Maximilian, Duke of Leuchtenberg, who was a minor prince and the step-grandson of Napoleon Bonaparte to boot. Not quite the catch that Nicholas must have had in mind, but for Mary, he agreed to the match. He granted Maximilian the style of “imperial highness, ” as well as the couple’s children, who would be Prince/Princess Romanovsky and treated as Russian grand dukes/duchesses. As a wedding gift to Mary, Nicholas gave her her very own palace, which was even named after her (the Mariinsky Palace), and after the marriage took place, he insisted that his daughter was called “the Grand Duchess Maria” rather than “the Duchess of Leuchtenberg,” which probably didn’t sit well with her husband, but no one (save for his eldest daughter) ever contradicted the Iron Tsar!

[elsalouisa]

"Easter was late that year, and it was very warm, so it was decided that we would go to Brassowo. We stopped a day in Moscow, and I remember thinking how much Granny had aged since the death of Aunt Vera. The big house at Brassowo was being entirely refurnished and redecorated, so we stayed in what  was known as the Guests’ Pavilion, just across the lawn and the front drive. I was delighted to get back there again and find all the familiar landmarks. On Good Friday we painted and dyed the usual eggs, and I heard with delight that I would be allowed to go to the midnight service at the monastery, which was some twelve versts away, That would be nothing in these days, by car, but then had to be done by horse and carriage. The thought of this long drive at night enthralled me and my happiness was complete when I was told that I could stay up for supper after we got home.  Then horror of horrors! On Saturday morning I woke up and found that I was completely speechless; my throat was not sore but I could not speak above a whisper. Motia, my maid, I knew would not say anything, and as Miss Rata had by then developed a bulge whose precise significance escaped me and presumably had other things to think about, I spent the day very successfully in avoiding to have to speak to anybody. We had a very early supper, about six, and I was sent to bad until it was time to dress and start for the monastery. I was with Mamma and Uncle Misha in their Victoria, well wrapped up and delighted that nobody had spotted my voice, or rather the lack of it. Then suddenly Mamma asked me a question, and the whole thing came out; she was very angry and said that I would be ill and that it  was dangerous to drive about in the cold night air, but we were nearly there by then and there was nothing to be done. I was told that on returning home I would be sent straight to bed, without supper, but Uncle Misha nudged me and I knew it would be all right. The service impressed me tremendously, There was a male choir, with small boys as altos and sopranos; the elder monks had baritones and basses; they all had wonderful voices, and how they sang! I had cold shivers down my back all the time. The Easter midnight service in the Orthodox Church starts on a lugubrious note. The church is hardly illuminated, the singing is sad and subdued, one is still mourning for the death of  Christ. Then starts a procession, carrying ikons and banners, most of the congregation following with lighted candles; they walk outside and right round the church, and then one can hear the choir taking on a new note, very gay and lilting, the big candelabras suddenly burst into light and the procession come back by the main door singing: ‘Christ is risen'. The clergy have light vestments on, and the whole atmosphere is one of rejoicing, and you embrace whoever is standing next to you thrice and murmur: ‘Christ is risen’. Then came a short celebration of Mass and we started off for home, Upon arrival there, to my secret relief, nobody mentioned my going to bed, and as soon as the  others arrived back in relays from church, supper was started. The whole idea of the supper is the traditional breaking of the fast after the long lenten days. The table was literally groaning with food, hams, chickens, a sucking-pig in jelly with a red egg in his mouth, a turkey stuffed with truffles, bowls of multi-coloured eggs, special Easter cakes known as koulitch and endless variety of hors d'oeuvre, and that delicious concoction of cream cheese, eggs, sugar, and ground almonds, flavoured with vanilla, and compressed into a pyramid shape, which we call paskha.  The supper went on for hours, until dawn, but I had been sent to bed long before that".

Nathalie Majolier "Step-Daughter of Imperial Russia"

[williamkergroach55]

Daria Dugina, a step towards World War III

August 20, 2022: Daria Dugina, daughter of Russian intellectual Alexander Dugin, was killed by a car bomb in Bolshie Viaziomy, a suburb of Moscow. The explosion took place while she was driving the Toyota Land Cruiser her father was supposed to have been driving. The motives remain divergent, and the instigators officially unknown or denied. It's a job for specialists, a job for spooks…

Killed to enrage Russia Saturday evening, August 20, 2022, almost a year ago, Daria Dugina, daughter of Alexander Dugin, was killed in a car bomb attack. She had just attended, with her father, a music and literature festival where she was the guest of honor. The Toyota Land Cruiser she was driving on the Mozhayskoye highway, near the village of Bolshiye Vyazemi, exploded at around 9pm. Daria Dougina had taken possession of the vehicle at the last moment. Was it, however, her father, Russian nationalist intellectual Alexander Dugin, who was targeted instead? Killing a young woman, and leaving a grieving father to howl at the annihilation of the enemy, is cynical, like many shadow operations. If the desired result is Russia's wrath, the objective has almost been achieved.

Washington's pawns Some have accused the Ukraine, others the CIA, Mossad or the Russian FSB. We won't find the formal sponsors of this odious act. It was done on purpose. And this is precisely the sign of a murder commissioned by Langley's specialized cells, which know how to set up operations that can never be traced back to them. Yes, of course, we'll find Russians, Ukrainians, Eastern Europeans, all the pawns Washington is using to lead us all into this third world war wanted by the stateless financial oligarchy that runs the United States.

Putin's supposed " mastermind "… Alexandre Douguine's life has been marked by controversy. An adept of Russian imperialism, the man has been much abusively described as "Putin's brain". Born in Moscow in 1962, Dugin has had a tumultuous career, abandoning his studies at the Moscow Aviation Institute and embarking on controversial philosophical and geopolitical works. He was a member of nationalist groups and founded the Eurasia Party, defending the idea of a telluric empire opposed to the Anglo-Saxon thalassocratic empire. It's an insult to think that the Russian president, who defended a thesis on "the principle of most-favored-nation trade in international law" and has a well-formed head, needs any master of thought. For those who need convincing, just read the two volumes of : "Putin by himself **, a collection of his speeches, speeches, interviews and speeches, to see that the man, who was already considered Anatoli Alexandrovitch Sobchak's "éminence grise" when the latter was mayor of St. Petersburg in 1991, has, to say the least, a structured way of thinking.

Not in the same category The supposed relationship between Aleksandr Dugin and Vladimir Putin is nonsense fabricated by the CIA, complacently relayed by the servile Western media. The links between the two men are not documented, because they don't exist. There was never any collaboration between them. On the one hand, there's a doctrinaire, with no responsibility other than that of his writings or declarations; on the other, there's a man of power, in charge of the fate of 142 million Russians, at the head of one of today's greatest nuclear powers. The two men are not in the same league. In any case, the latter doesn't need the former to govern.

The killer was a pro Daria Dugina may have published articles defending her father's Eurasianist ideas, but she had chosen a different destiny. She had never taken an active part in politics, choosing instead to devote herself to artistic and intellectual projects. She paid with her life, a little for her ideas and a lot for those of her father. The attack that took Daria Douguina's life had the desired effect: anger. The Russian security services identified the murderer as a woman, accompanied by a 12-year-old girl - a typical profile of a professional looking to "soften" her profile to go unnoticed. The woman had rented an apartment in Douguina's building a month before the murder: she was targeting Douguina. The professional killer was thus able to note the habits of Dugin's daughter. She had attended the nationalist festival on August 20, then, once her mission was accomplished, left the country via the Estonian border. A perfect professional job, with invisible relays and support agents all around.

Assassinations ordered by Washington If Daria Douguina's murder, like all the attacks that hit Russia, raised questions about Russia's internal security, if the drama exposed to the eyes of the world the divisions of a country that does not unanimously approve of the special operation in Ukraine, the essential lies elsewhere. The most important point behind this tragedy is that Russia is now faced with a series of terrorist attacks and assassinations that have one and the same origin: Washington*. If even the American agents in charge of the case were found, exposing them would be considered an act of Russian propaganda. The game of dupes that is the prelude to a global nuclear confrontation has begun. The prophecies of Fraudais or Alois Alois Irlmaier say that Russia will attack Europe in the third assassination. We shall see.

Achilles' heel Daria's assassination, like all the other attacks on Russia, has, once again, only one aim: to bring Russians to their boiling point. The Russian personalities who warmly applauded the intervention in Ukraine now know that they are the potential targets of the next commissioned murders. Naturally, they're screaming for an end to it all, for Ukraine to be crushed. American military strategists are therefore stirring up Russian extremists, Putin's Achilles heel. The aim is to increase the pressure on Putin's right wing so that he is forced to launch an all-out war in Ukraine. This new "slippage" will give NATO the excuse to escalate to World War III. The stateless financial oligarchy, which has ruled the United States since at least the Second World War, needs our third great global massacre to break, as it did in the two previous world wars, the current capitalist model. The idea, as we have all understood, is to rebuild a new, more profitable, more implacable one: the New World Order.

The accusations levelled against "Washington", "the CIA", "the American government", "the FBI", "Langley", etc. are in no way aimed at the American people, the first victims of the financial capitalism that has taken control of a large part of the planet. Similarly, "Macron", "parliamentarians", "the French government" or "the DGSE" in no way represent the French people and their aspirations. ** "Putin by himself. Volume 1: The Conquest of Power Volume 2: Time for reform Publisher: Jean-Cyrille Godefroy Éditions

DaryaDugina #Russia #Attack #ThirdWorldWar #Dugin #CIA #Mossad #FSB #Washington #Propaganda #NATO #NewWorldOrder

[romanovsonelastdance]

[My mother] would creep into my bedroom late at night with a luscious peach and say that the Grand Duke [Mikhail Alexandrovich] had specially sent it to me. I would eat that peach and go to sleep, lazily meditating on the omnipotence of Grand Dukes, who produced peaches in the middle of the night. Then eventually I met the Grand Duke. He came to tea one summer afternoon. I was decked out in a white silk smock, which I secretly thought rather plain, my two long straight black plaits were undone, my nails cleaned, and I was ushered in. To my immense surprise and disappointment I did not see anybody resembling Jehovah, but a very slim and tall young man, with the thinnest waist and charming smile, rose from a chair and said: 'So that’s it, is it? My God, what eyes!’ I was completely tongue-tied and speechless, even the gift of a large box of delicious sweets could only produce a very inaudible thank you.

Nathalie Majolier, Step-Daughter of Imperial Russia

[historicwomendaily]

❁ Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatiana, Maria, and Anastasia Nikolaevna were the four daughters of Emperor Nicholas II and Alexandra Feodorovna of Russia. Known collectively as “OTMA”, the tragic lives of these four grand duchesses endlessly fascinate. Here is a list of resources to get to know the Romanov sisters a bit more deeply. ❁

⮞ Primary Sources Within the last decade or so, much work has been done to translate the diaries and letters of the Romanov sisters. Additionally, primary source material from their parents and retainers provide excellent insight into their lives. These include:

The Diary of Olga Romanov: Royal Witness to the Revolution by Helen Azar • The first in an excellent series on each individual Romanov sister, Azar offers a biographical sketch and translations of the wartime diaries and letters (1914-1918) of Olga Nikolaevna in a narrative-style with additional documents of the period.

Tatiana Romanov, Daughter of the Last Tsar: Diaries and Letters, 1913–1918 by Helen Azar and Nicholas B. A. Nicholson • Translated for the first time in English with plentiful annotations, this book offers a  narrative-style approach the diaries and letters of Tatiana Nikolaevna, including a biographical sketch and additional documents of the period.

Maria Romanov: Third Daughter of the Last Tsar, Diaries and Letters, 1908–1918  by Helen Azar and George Hawkins  • The first English translation of the intimate writings of Maria Nikolaevna, this narrative-style book offers translations of Maria’s writings and letters, with a biographical sketch and additional primary source material on the third grand duchess.

Anastasia Romanov: The Tsar's Youngest Daughter Speaks Through Her Writings (1907 - 1918) by Helen Azar and George Hawkins • Here for the first time, readers can discover the real Anastasia Nikolaevna through her own letters and writings - translated into English with a biographical sketch and additional documents, illustrating in a narrative style a “surprisingly modern teenager from the dawn of the 20th century.”

Journal of a Russian Grand Duchess:  Complete Annotated 1913 Diary of Olga Romanov, Eldest Daughter of the Last Tsar by Helen Azar • This volume comprises of diary entries of Olga Nikolaevna from the full year of 1913, which allow the reader a unique glimpse into the daily domestic routines of the Russian imperial family just prior to the outbreak of the First World War.

1913 Diary of Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna: Complete Tercentennial Journal of the Third Daughter of the Last Tsar by Helen Azar and Amanda Madru • The first translation of Maria Nikolaevna’s 1913 diary in its entirety, Maria’s journal records the daily routines of the Imperial family, from the mundane to the magnificent.

Maria and Anastasia: The Youngest Romanov Grand Duchesses In Their Own Words by Helen Azar • Known to their family and friends as "The Little Pair", Grand Duchesses Maria and Anastasia Nikolaevna are the main topic of this volume on their individual writings and letters.

Correspondence of the Russian Grand Duchesses: Letters of the Daughters of the Last Tsar by George Hawkins • This book contains a wide range of letters to and from the Grand Duchesses, both from relatives and friends, but also from strangers and people from  parts of the world.

In the Steps of the Romanovs: Final Two Years of the Russian Imperial Family 1916-1918  by Helen Azar • Unique volume collection of first-hand accounts of the Romanov family exclusively through their diaries and correspondence. 

Romanov Family Yearbook: On This Date in Their Own Words by Helen Azar and Amanda Madru • A unique edition which commemorates the last Romanovs through a collection of personal documents that recount their daily lives, ranging over a decade. This book contains 365 diary entries, letters, and photographs–one for each day of the year—including some previously unpublished material.

Russia’s Last Romanovs: In Their Own Words by Helen Azar and Eva & Dan McDonald  •  In this book, you will follow the events which led up to their eventual tragic fate through personal words of each family member, as well as their close friends and associates. Their letters, diaries, and postcards – many of which have been compiled into English here for the first time. 

A Lifelong Passion: Nicholas and Alexandra: Their Own Story by Sergei Mironenko and Andrei Maylunas • A large collection of letters, diaries, and writings of Nicholas II and Alexandra Feodorovna and their five children, this volume naturally includes much first-hand information on the Romanov grand duchesses.

The Last Grand Duchess by Ian Vorres • A memoir/biography of Aunt Olga Alexandrovna, whom OTMA were particularly close, offers much first-hand information on the sisters’.

The Romanov Royal Martyrs: What Silence Could Not Conceal by St. John the Forerunner Monastery • This beautifully-illustrated, unique volume draws on letters, testimonies, diaries, memoirs, and other texts never before published in English to present a unique biography of Tsar Nicholas II, his wife, four daughters, and son.

The Life and Tragedy of Alexandra Feodorovna: Empress of Russia by Sophie Buxhoeveden • A unique first-hand account of a close friend of Empress Alexandra, who also served as a lady-in-waiting and close confidant of the four sisters. A wealth of information and anecdotes on the lives of the girls’ full up the pages of this volume, including their lives in captivity.

Six Years at Russian Court by Margaret Eager • The memoirs of the governess of the grand duchesses, Eager offers the most complete first-hand account of the sisters’ childhoods.

Thirteen Years at the Russian Court by Pierre Gilliard • The best first-hand account of the life of the last Imperial family of Russia was written by Pierre Gilliard, French tutor to the Tsar's children.

Memories of the Russian Court by Anna Vyrubova • Memoirs of Alexandra’s closest friend, a lady-in-waiting to the empress, Anna’s memoirs, like Buxhoeveden’s, offers particular insight to the life of Alexandra Feodorovna and her four imperial daughters.

The Real Tsaritsa by Lil Dehn • A memoir of the court by Alexandra’s lady-in-waiting, Dehn with close with the Imperial family and the Romanov sisters in their last few years.

⮞ Historical Novels As many Romanov enthusiasts knows, it is incredibly difficult to find quality historical fiction on the last Romanov family. There are important exceptions, however:

The Lost Crown by Sarah Miller • Olga, Tatiana, Maria, and Anastasia. Like the fingers on a hand--first headstrong Olga; then Tatiana, the tallest; Maria the most hopeful for a ring; and Anastasia, the smallest. These are the daughters of Tsar Nicholas II, grand duchesses living a life steeped in tradition and privilege. Highly praised for its historical accuracy and  individual voices given to each grand duchess, Sarah Miller’s young adult historical fiction book can serve itself as a great starting point on the Romanov sisters, fiction or nonfiction.

Anastasia and Her Sisters by Carolyn Meyer • A young adult historical fiction novel from the point of view of Anastasia, this generally accurate book follows the lives of the Romanov sisters from their childhood to young women in captivity.

Anastasia: The Last Grand Duchess, Russia, 1914 by Carolyn Meyer • A well-beloved middle-grade novel written in the style of a fictionalized     diary of Anastasia.

Rubies in the Snow: Diary of Russia's Last Grand Duchess 1911-1918 by Kate Hubbard • Another fictionalized diary of Anastasia Nikolaevna, this book follows the grand duchess across seven years.

The Last Grand Duchess: A Novel of Olga Romanov, Imperial Russia, and Revolution by Bryn Turnbull • I have admittedly not read this book yet, so perhaps it is taking a huge chance to recommend this book; however, it is a new first-person novel of Olga Nikolaevna that has been well-received by readers and I haven’t found a trace of the usual sensationalism in the book’s reviews. 

⮞ Secondary Sources While there has yet to be a definitive combined biography of the four Romanov sisters, there are a number of nonfiction works that include their lives woven into their narratives. These include:

Anastasia’s Album by Hugh Brewster • A beautifully illustrated young adult nonfiction book on Anastasia Nikolaevna and her sisters.

The Romanovs: Love, Power, and Tragedy by A. N. Bokhanov • This book provides an enthralling  description of the last Romanov family. It is Told through the diaries and family albums of the last Tsar and Tsarina, and included for the first time in print the diary entries and letters of the grand duchesses. Hundreds of unique and historic photographs from the personal photo albums of Nicholas and his family complete this volume.

Nicholas and Alexandra by Robert K. Massie • A masterful classic of nonfiction, this book is considered by many to be the standard biography of the last Imperial Family of Russia. Written by Robert Massie with much research work done by Suzanne Massie, this book is a generally great nonfiction starting point on Nicholas, Alexandra, and their five children.

The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion, and the Fall of Imperial Russia by Candace Fleming • A young adult historical biography of the last Romanov family of Russia. This well-researched and well-annotated book provides information not only on the history of Nicholas, Alexandria, and their children but also on the Russian people living at the time and on the social conditions that contributed to the family's demise.

The Resurrection of the  Romanovs: Anastasia, Anna Anderson, and the World's Greatest Royal Mystery by Greg King and Penny Wilson • This groundbreaking book serves three purposes: first, a biography of Anastasia Nikolaevna; second, a recounting of the tale of “Anna Anderson”; and third, a biography of Franziska Schanzkowska and how under the guise of Anna Anderson she falsely claimed to be Grand Duchess Anastasia Romanova.

⮞ Websites The internet has proven to be an endless mine of Romanov material on the grand duchesses and the imperial family as a whole. These websites are particularly good starting points:

Alexander  Palace Time Machine • The world’s preeminent Romanov website--a treasure trove of photos, letters, books, articles, and more.

Liviadia.org • A tribute to the Romanov children, featuring scrapbook-style biographies and photo albums of each grand duchess.

The Romanov Family • A popular Romanov history website focusing on Nicholas, Alexandra, the four sisters, and Alexei in their own words, run by translator Helen Azar.

Frozentears • A media-rich memorial to the last Imperial family.

Romanov Memorial • A virtual tour of the Ipatiev house.

Yale Beinecke Albums • Browse six of Anna Vyrubova’s personal photo albums, loaded with candid snapshots of the grand duchesses and their family.

The Romanov Royal Martyrs Project • A multimedia dedication to the last Imperial family of Russia.

⮞ Films, Documentaries, & Footage While there have been numerous films and documentaries on the Romanovs, only a small amount steer away from the sensationalism often associated with the family, particularly the imposters. Documentaries and films that focus on the real family instead includes:

The Romanov Four Sisters (2021) • A documentary on the Romanov sisters by The Romanov Royal Martyrs project, this two-part series is a purposeful remake of a far less well-received documentary. This new version features colorized pictures by Olga Shirnina (Klimbim),  newsreel footage, and a selection of photographs from the State Archive of the Russian Federation (GARF).

OTMA — Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatiana, Maria & Anastasia (Footage) •  An hour length collection of the old archival film footage with the Russian Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatiana, Maria and Anastasia Romanov of Russia from the Russian State Documentary Film & Photo Archive at Krasnogorsk (RGAKFD).

Last of the Czars (1996) • A three-part documentary on the last imperial family of Russia, Discovery Networks.

Russia’s Last Tsar (1995) • A documentary on Nicholas II and his family, National Geographic Video.

The Romanovs: An Imperial Family (2000) • A Russian historical drama film about the last days of Tsar Nicholas II and his family. It has been praised by Romanov enthusiasts for its depictions of the Romanov sisters.

Nicholas and Alexandra (1971) • The film adaptation of Robert K. Massie’s book of the same name, this historical drama focuses on the imperial couple and their family throughout Nicholas’s reign.

[alicehattera03]

How I imagined Athanasia's coronation

With Russian Imperial crown jewels and detail for thought.

Ceremonial court dress of Empress Alexandra Fedorovna, Russia, St. Petersburg, late 19th to early 20th century.

Empress Maria Feodorovna’s diamond and sapphire diadem, “Russian Beauty.”

Fountain hair pin worn by Elizaveta Petrovna, daughter of Peter the Great.

Ceylon sapphire brooch of Empress Maria Alexandrovna, 260.37 carats.

Empress Marie Feodorovna's pearl and sapphire necklace.

Sapphire and diamond gold ring with the imperial crown center made in St. Petersburg, late 1800's to early 1900's.

Russian Imperial gold orb and sceptre, regalia

“During the dancing and simply out of the crowding, the jewelry broke and you had to keep stepping on pearls and rubies. You had to see this with your own eyes to believe it.”

- Horace Vernet

[imperial-russia]

Here is a list of books you might want to read if you are interested in the Romanov dynasty and the country and society they goverened. I have read some, I own most and some may be of warying quality and reliability. Some include periods before and after the Russian Empire. Some could be fitted into more than one cathegory. A few are not available in English.I will try to update this list from time to time as I find new books or new books become published. Enjoy!

Diaries and correspondence of the Romanovs

The Memoirs of Catherine the Great

Love and Conquest: Personal Correspondence of Catherine the Great and Prince Grigory Potemkin

Chere Annette: Letters from St. Petersburg, 1820-1828: The Correspondence of the Empress Maria Feodorovna to Her Daughter the Grand Duchess Anna Pavlovna

A Lifelong Passion: Nicholas and Alexandra: Their Own Story

Romanov Family Yearbook: On This Date in Their Own Words

The Letters of Tsar Nicholas and Empress Marie

The Correspondence Of The Empress Alexandra Of Russia With Ernst Ludwig And Eleonore, Grand Duke And Duchess Of Hesse

The Complete Wartime Correspondence of Tsar Nicholas II and the Empress Alexandra: April 1914-March 1917

In the Steps of the Romanovs: Final Two Years of the Last Russian Imperial Family (1916-1918)

The Last Diary of Tsaritsa Alexandra

The Diary of Olga Romanov: Royal Witness to the Russian Revolution

Journal of a Russian Grand Duchess: Complete Annotated 1913 Diary of Olga Romanov, Eldest Daughter of the Last Tsar

Tatiana Romanov, Daughter of the Last Tsar: Diaries and Letters, 1913–1918

Maria Romanov: Third Daughter of the Last Tsar, Diaries and Letters, 1908–1918

1913 Diary of Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna: Complete Tercentennial Journal of the Third Daughter of the Last Tsar

Maria and Anastasia: The Youngest Romanov Grand Duchesses In Their Own Words

Correspondence of the Russian Grand Duchesses: Letters of the Daughters of the Last Tsar

Michael Romanov: Brother of the Last Tsar Diaries and Letters, 1916-1918

Diaries and correspondence of other people

Russian journal of Lady Londonderry, 1836-37

Letters from Russia

The Diaries of Sofia Tolstoy

Letters from St Petersburg: A Siamese Prince at the Court of the Last Tsar

The Romanovs Under House Arrest: From the 1917 Diary of a Palace Priest

Private Diary of Mathilde Kschessinska

A Countess in Limbo: Diaries in War & Revolution; Russia 1914-1920, France 1939-1947

Memoirs by the Romanovs

Once a Grand Duke

Always a Grand Duke

25 Chapters of My Life

Education of a Princess

A Princess in Exile

A Romanov Diary: The Autobiography of H.I.& R.H. Grand Duchess George

My life in Russia's service--then and now

Memories In The Marble Palace

Memoirs by other people

The Memoirs of Princess Dashkova

Lost Splendor

Memories of the Russian Court

My Mission to Russia and Other Diplomatic Memories

An Ambassador's Memoirs

The Real Tsaritsa

Thirteen Years at the Russian Court

The False Anastasia

Six Years at the Russian Court

Before the Storm

The Life and Tragedy of Alexandra Feodorovna Empress of Russia

Left Behind

At the Court of the Last Tsar

Memories of Russia 1916-1919

The Emperor Nicholas II: As I Knew Him

The Sokolov Investigation of the Alleged Murder of the Russian Imperial Family

The Russia That I Loved

Dancing in Petersburg: The Memoirs of Kschessinska

On the Estate: Memoirs of a Russian Lady before the Revolution

Theater Street

The Other Russia: The Experience of Exile

Russia Through Women's Eyes: Autobiographies from Tsarist Russia

The Fall of the Romanovs: Political Dreams and Personal Struggles in a Time of Revolution

Tommorow Will Come

Fanny Lear: Love and Scandal in Tsarist Russia

The Coronation of Tsar Nicholas II

Days of the Russian Revolution: Memoirs from the right, 1905-1917

The House by the Dvina: A Russian Childhood

Under Three Tsars

Last days at Tsarskoe Selo

Last Years of the Court at Tsarskoe Selo

The Real Romanovs

Biographies of the Romanovs and general topics concerning them

The Romanovs: Autocrats of All the Russias

The Romanovs: 1613-1918

The Romanovs

The Romanovs: Ruling Russia 1613-1917

Secret Lives of the Tsars: Three Centuries of Autocracy, Debauchery, Betrayal, Murder, and Madness from Romanov Russia

The Tragic Dynasty: A History of the Romanovs

The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion, and the Fall of Imperial Russia

Romanov Autumn: Stories from the Last Century of Imperial Russia

The Romanovs, 1818–1959: Alexander II of Russia and His Family

Alexis, Tsar of all the Russias

Sophia: Regent of Russia, 1657-1704

Peter the Great: His Life and World

Peter the Great

Terrible Tsarinas: Five Russian Women in Power

Elizabeth and Catherine: Empresses of All the Russias

Catherine the Great

Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman

Catherine the Great & Potemkin: the imperial love affair

Catherine the Great: Love, Sex, and Power

Great Catherine: The Life of Catherine the Great, Empress of Russia

The Empress of Art: Catherine the Great and the Transformation of Russia

Alexander I: The Tsar Who Defeated Napoleon

Alexander I: Tsar of War and Peace

Alexander of Russia: Napoleon's Conqueror

Nicholas I and Official Nationality in Russia 1825 - 1855

Nicholas I: Emperor and Autocrat of All the Russias

Becoming a Romanov. Grand Duchess Elena of Russia and her World

Alexander II: The Last Great Tsar

Katia: Wife Before God

Alexander III: His Life and Reign

Little Mother of Russia: A Biography of the Empress Marie Feodorovna

Nicholas II: Emperor of All the Russias

Nicholas II: Last of the Tsars

The Last of the Tsars : Nicholas II and the Russian Revolution

The Last Tsar: The Life and Death of Nicholas II

King, Kaiser, Tsar: Three Royal Cousins Who Led The World To War

A Gathered Radiance: The Life of Alexandra Romanov, Russia's Last Empress

The Last Empress: The Life and Times of Alexandra Feodorovna, Tsarina of Russia

Alexandra

Alexandra: The Last Tsarina

Nicholas and Alexandra

Alix and Nicky: The Passion of the Last Tsar and Tsarina

The Last Tsar & Tsarina

The Four Graces: Queen Victoria's Hessian Granddaughters

The Imperial Tea Party: Family, Politics and Betrayal: the Ill-Fated British and Russian Royal Alliance

From Splendor to Revolution: The Romanov Women, 1847-1928

Born to Rule: Five Reigning Consorts, Granddaughters of Queen Victoria

Queen Victoria and The Romanovs: Sixty Years of Mutual Distrust

Queen Victoria's Matchmaking: The Royal Marriages that Shaped Europe

Imperial Requiem: Four Royal Women and the Fall of the Age of Empires

The Romanov Royal Martyrs: What Silence Could Not Conceal

The Romanovs: Family of Faith and Charity

The Romanovs: The Final Chapter

The Last Days of the Romanovs: Tragedy at Ekaterinburg

The Fate of the Romanovs

The Murder of the Romanovs

The House of Special Purpose

The Murder of the Tsar

Alexei: Russia's Last Imperial Heir: A Chronicle of Tragedy

A Guarded Secret : Tsar Nicholas II, Tsarina Alexandra and Tsarevich Alexei's Hemophilia

The Romanov Sisters: The Lost Lives of the Daughters of Nicholas and Alexandra

The Grand Dukes

The Grand Dukes - Sons And Grandsons Of Russia's Tsars

The Other Grand Dukes: Sons and Grandsons of Russia's Grand Dukes

White Crow: The Life and Times of the Grand Duke Nicholas Mikhailovich Romanov, 1859-1919

The Grand Duchesses: Daughters & Granddaughters of Russia's Tsars

Once a Grand Duchess: Xenia, Sister of Nicholas II

Michael and Natasha: The Life and Love of Michael II, the Last of the Romanov Tsars

The Last Grand Duchess: Her Imperial Highness Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna

Olga Romanov: Russia's Last Grand Duchess

Ella: Princess, Saint and Martyr

Elizabeth, Grand Duchess of Russia

Grand Duchess Elizabeth of Russia: New Martyr of the Communist Yoke

Grand Duchess Marie Pavlovna

Princess Victoria Melita

A Fatal Passion: The Story of the Uncrowned Last Empress of Russia

Gilded Prism: The Konstantinovichi Grand Dukes & The Last Years Of The Romanov Dynasty

Death of a Romanov Prince

A Poet Among the Romanovs: Prince Vladimir Paley

Princesses on the Wards: Royal Women in Nursing through Wars and Revolutions

The Romanovs: The Way It Was

Behind the Veil at the Russian Court

The Flight of the Romanovs: A Family Saga

Russia and Europe: Dynastic Ties

Biographies of other people

The Tsar's Doctor: The Life and Times of Sir James Wylie

The Romanovs & Mr Gibbes: The Story of the Englishman Who Taught the Children of the Last Tsar

An Englishman in the Court of the Tsar: The Spiritual Journey of Charles Syndney Gibbes

The Forgotten Tutor: John Epps and the Romanovs

The Rasputin File

Rasputin: The Untold Story

Rasputin: Rascal Master

Rasputin: The Biography

Rasputin: a Short Life

The Murder of Grigorii Rasputin: A Conspiracy That Brought Down the Russian Empire

The Man Who Killed Rasputin: Prince Felix Youssoupov and the Murder That Helped Bring Down the Russian Empire

The Princess of Siberia

Angel of Vengeance: The Girl Who Shot the Governor of St. Petersburg and Sparked the Age of Assassination

Imperial Dancer: Mathilde Kschessinska and the Romanovs

Diaghilev: A Life

Nijinsky: A Life of Genius and Madness

The Russian Album

Russian Blood

Tolstoy: A Russian Life

The Pearl: A True Tale of Forbidden Love in Catherine the Great's Russia

Katya and the Prince of Siam

The Defiant Life of Vera Figner: Surviving the Russian Revolution

Pushkin: A Biography

Photoalbums, cofee-table books

The Camera and the Tsars: The Romanov Family in Photographs

The Romanov Family Album

Tsar: The Lost World of Nicholas and Alexandra

The Romanovs: Love, Power and Tragedy

The Regalia of the Russian Empire

The Sunset of the Romanov Dynasty

The Summer Palaces of the Romanovs: Treasures from Tsarskoye Selo

Royal Russia: The Private Albums of the Russian Imperial Family

Russia: Art, Royalty and the Romanovs

Nicholas II: The Last Tsar

Nicholas and Alexandra: The Family Albums

The Last Tsar

Romanovs Revisited

The Private World of the Last Tsar: In the Photographs and Notes of General Count Alexander Grabbe

The Jewel Album of Tsar Nicholas II: A Collection of Private Photographs of the Russian Imperial Family

Anastasia's Album

Lost Tales: Stories for the Tsar's Children

The Last Courts of Europe: Royal Family Album 1860-1914

Dear Ellen (Royal Europe Through the Photo Albums of Grand Duchess Helen Vladimirovna of Russia)

Royal Gatherings (Who is in the Picture? Volume 1: 1859-1914)

Jewels of the Tsars: The Romanovs and Imperial Russia

Jewels from Imperial St. Petersburg

Postcards from the Russian Revolution

Before the Revolution: A View of Russia Under the Last Czar

Twilight of the Romanovs: A Photographic Odyssey Across Imperial Russia

The Romanov Legacy: The Palaces of St. Petersburg

Moscow: Splendours of the Romanovs

Fabergé, Lost and Found: The Recently Discovered Jewelry Designs from the St. Petersburg Archives

Art of Fabergé

Faberge: Treasures of Imperial Russia

Artistic Luxury: Fabergé, Tiffany, Lalique

Russian Imperial Style

A Smolny Album: Glimpses into Life at the Imperial Educational Society of Noble Maidens

Konstantin Makovsky: The Tsar’s Painter in America and Paris

Anna Pavlova: Twentieth Century Ballerina

Tamara Karsavina: Diaghilev's Ballerina

General history and specific events

Russian Chronicles

Russia's First Civil War: The Time of Troubles and the Founding of the Romanov Dynasty

The Court of Russia in the Nineteenth Century; Volume 1

The Court of Russia in the Nineteenth Century; Volume 2

The Crimean War: A History

Internal Colonization: Russia's Imperial Experience

The Conquest of a Continent: Siberia and the Russians

Red Fortress: History and Illusion in the Kremlin

Sunlight at Midnight: St. Petersburg and the Rise of Modern Russia

St Petersburg: Three Centuries of Murderous Desire

The Shadow of the Winter Palace: Russia's Drift to Revolution 1825-1917

Society and lifestyle

Land of the Firebird: The Beauty of Old Russia

Serfdom, Society, and the Arts in Imperial Russia: The Pleasure and the Power

Lord and Peasant in Russia from the Ninth to the Nineteenth Century

A Bride for the Tsar: Bride-Shows and Marriage Politics in Early Modern Russia

Origins of the Russian Intelligentsia: The Eighteenth-Century Nobility

The Icon and the Axe: An Interpretive History of Russian Culture

The Court of the Last Tsar: Pomp, Power and Pageantry in the Reign of Nicholas II

Scenarios of Power: Myth and Ceremony in Russian Monarchy, Vol. 1

Scenarios of Power: Myth and Ceremony in Russian Monarchy, Vol. 2

Pavlovsk : The Life of a Russian Palace

Entertaining Tsarist Russia: Tales, Songs, Plays, Movies, Jokes, Ads, and Images from Russian Urban Life, 1779-1917

A Social History of the Russian Empire, 1650-1825

Slavophile Empire: Imperial Russia's Illiberal Path

Russia at Play

Women In Russian History: From The Tenth To The Twentieth Century

St. Petersburg: A Cultural History

Russian Peasant Women

Romanov Riches: Russian Writers and Artists Under the Tsars

The Magical Chorus: A History of Russian Culture from Tolstoy to Solzhenitsyn

Family in Imperial Russia

Village Life in Late Tsarist Russia

Imperial Crimea: Estates, Enchantments and the Last of the Romanovs

Russia on the Eve of Modernity: Popular Religion and Traditional Culture Under the Last Tsars

The Martha-Mary Convent: and Rule of St. Elizabeth the New Martyr

The Way of a Pilgrim

Icon and Devotion: Sacred Spaces in Imperial Russia

Natasha's Dance: A Cultural History of Russia

Valse Des Fleurs: A Day in St. Petersburg in 1868

Murder Most Russian: True Crime and Punishment in Late Imperial Russia

What Life Was Like in the Time of War and Peace: Imperial Russia, AD 1696-1917

When Miss Emmie Was in Russia: English Governesses Before, During and After the October Revolution

From Cradle to Crown: British Nannies and Governesses at the World's Royal Courts

What Became Peters Dream: Court Culture in the Reign of Nicholas II

Faberge's Eggs: The Extraordinary Story of the Masterpieces That Outlived an Empire

Beauty in Exile: The Artists, Models, and Nobility who Fled the Russian Revolution and Influenced the World of Fashion

Revolution and its general aftermath

Spies and Commissars: The Early Years of the Russian Revolution

A People's Tragedy: The Russian Revolution: 1891-1924

Interpreting the Russian Revolution: The Language and Symbols of 1917

The Russian Court at Sea: The Voyage of HMS Marlborough

Former People: The Final Days of the Russian Aristocracy

The Downfall of Russia

Doomsday 1917: The Destruction of Russia's Ruling Class

Caught in the Revolution: Petrograd, Russia, 1917

To Free the Romanovs: Royal Kinship and Betrayal in Europe 1917-1919

The Race to Save the Romanovs: The Truth Behind the Secret Plans to Rescue Russia's Imperial Family

Students, Love, Cheka and Death

Red Victory: A History of the Russian Civil War, 1918-1921

Conspirator: Lenin in Exile

Hidden Treasures of the Romanovs

Romanoff Gold: The Lost Fortunes of the Tsars

Russia Abroad: Prague and the Russian Diaspora, 1918–1938

Bread of Exile

The Many Deaths of Tsar Nicholas II: Relics, Remains and the Romanovs

Saving The Tsars' Palaces

Catalogues

Kejserinde Dagmar

Nicholas And Alexandra: The Last Tsar And Tsarina

Russian Splendor: Sumptuous Fashions of the Russian Court

At The Russian Court: Palace And Protocol In The 19th Century

History of Russian Costume from the Eleventh to the Twentieth Century

Collections of the Romanovs: European Arts from the State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg

Magnificence of the Tsars: Ceremonial Men's Dress of the Russian Imperial Court, 1721-1917

Conspiracy and pretenders

Imperial Legend: The Mysterious Disappearance of Tsar Alexander I

The File on the Tsar

The Escape of Alexei, Son of Tsar Nicholas II: What Happened the Night the Romanov Family Was Executed

The Romanov Conspiracies

I am Anastasia; The Autobiography of the Grand Duchess of Russia.

The Resurrection of the Romanovs: Anastasia, Anna Anderson, and the World's Greatest Royal Mystery

A Romanov Fantasy: Life at the Court of Anna Anderson

The Secret Plot to Save the Tsar: The Truth Behind the Romanov Mystery

The Quest for Anastasia: Solving the Mystery of the Lost Romanovs

[otmaaromanovas]

I've read every single book I can find on the Romanovs but would like some help finding more books. I just found your blog and I love it!

Hello, thanks for your question. Here are some of my favourite more obscure books for those of you who have read all you can find and raided the libraries!

The Romanovs Under House Arrest: From the 1917 Diary of a Palace Priest edited by Marilyn Pfeifer Swezey 

A short, but interesting and beautifully illustrated book that translated the diaries of Archpriest Afanasy Belyaev into English. It gives an insightful look into the last few months and weeks the Romanovs spent at the Alexander Palace and their faith.

LUNCH ON THE BALCONY: Recipes from the table of Russia’s last imperial family by Helen Azar

Can you tell I'm hungry right now? This book has some nice information about the Romanov's food, showing menus they used, letters and diary entries referencing food, and recipes used in the imperial kitchen that you can try at home.

Last Years of the Court at Tsarskoe Selo Volumes I and II by Count Alexander Spiridovich, edited and translated by Katherine Alexandra Hines

A lengthy look at the Count's role as a member of court and security duties. These volumes have some interesting passages about OTMA, though they focus more on the political activities of the Romanovs.

The Forgotten Tutor: John Epps and the Romanovs by John Epps and Dr. Gabriella Land

John Epps, an English tutor to the imperial children, remains a somewhat elusive figure in literature about the Romanovs, with very little information available about him in comparison to fellow tutors Gilliard and Gibbes. I have personally found it very difficult trying to track down this book as it was published a decade ago and seems to have only had one limited print run. The extracts that I have read have been very interesting. If you're interested in OTMA's childhood and education, this book is perfect for you - but good luck finding it! :(

A Few Years Before the Catastrophe: The memoirs of Sofia Ivanovna Tyutcheva edited and translated by George Hawkins

A very short but interesting read directly from the recollections of Sofia Ivanovna Tyutcheva who looked after the children. It gives a short but enlightening look at how things were run in the nursery.

When Miss Emmie Was in Russia: English Governesses Before, During and After the October Revolution by Harvey Pitcher

This book has a more sweeping view of Russian nannies in general, but has some nice tidbits of information about OTMA's nannies, such as Margaret Eagar (though she was Irish, not English!). If you enjoyed Charlotte Zeepvat's book on royal nannies that has some great info and sources on OTMA, this is a good follow up read.

Step-daughter of Imperial Russia by Natalia Mamontova Majolier

Recollections from Natalia "Tata", Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich's beloved stepdaughter. Lots of information about growing up with Mikhail and experiencing the Revolution.

Russia, My Native Land: A U.S. Engineer Reminisces and Looks at the Present by Gregory Tschebotarioff (Chebotaryov)

Written by the son of Grand Duchess Olga and Tatiana Nikolaevna's fellow nurse and friend, Valentina Ivanovna Chebotaryova, this memoir gives a greater picture of Valentina's life by including extracts of her diary. It also has details about Gregory's experience serving in WWI.

Anastasia's Sisters: Their Diaries, Letters and Memories edited by Raegan Baker and translated by Catherine Hamel

A short book with extracts from Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatiana, and Maria's writings. I always find it interesting to read different translations of the same sources and find various changes made my each translator. As always, translations rely on the translator's discretion and interpretations.

The Many Deaths of Tsar Nicholas II by Wendy Slater

This book is an academic, somewhat cold and clinical, look at the deaths of the Romanov family. The compilation of scientific analysis (though this was published in 2007, so not accurate to recent discoveries) during the middle sections is the best part of this book, as the fictionalised narrative at the start doesn't appeal to me and the analysis during the latter stages veers off focus.

The Jewel Album of Tsar Nicholas II and a Collection of Private Photographs of the Russian Imperial Family by Alexander von Solodkoff

A lovely illustrated book - if you can afford it!! This regularly sells for over $100, but is very detailed and beautiful, including high-quality full-colour copies of Nicholas' "Jewel Album" with his annotations and marvellous drawings.

My Father by Maria Rasputina

For fans of the infamous Rasputin, this glimpse into how daughter Maria perceived her father is an interesting read. Rasputin is one of the most contentious and well-researched figures in this area of history, and reading his daughter's experiences and how she viewed his healing of Tsarevich Alexei is a unique viewpoint.

The Emperor Nicholas II: As I Knew Him by John Hanbury-Williams

Major-General Sir John Hanbury-Williams provides an intimate look at life during WWI in Russia, from the perspective of his role as an English representative at Stavka. Some interesting observations about Nicholas and Alexei.

Lost Tales: Stories for the Tsar's Children by Gleb Botkin

Gleb Botkin, only seventeen, composed and illustrated this series of tales (collected here as one book) for the imperial children during their imprisonment at Tobolsk. A lovely look into Gleb's artistic skills, and the interesting parallels between his animal characters and the revolution. Not necessarily a history book, but an interesting insight into life at Tobolsk.

In case I missed any, if you search #q and #answered on my blog it will come up with a list of previous questions, a lot of which relate to reading recommendations, so you might find some more suggestions there.

For information of a compilation of primary source writings written by the Romanovs that have been translated into English, see here

Happy reading!

[cielrouge]

YA SFF Books by Asian Authors

Ash by Malinda Lo: In this variation on the Cinderella story, Ash grows up believing in the fairy realm that the king and his philosophers have sought to suppress, until one day she must choose between a handsome fairy cursed to love her and the King’s Huntress whom she loves.

Along the Indigo by Elsie Chapman: Marsden yearns to take her sister and escape Glory, a town famous for seedy businesses, but her friendship with Jude yields secrets that may chain them to the Indigo River forever.

Alpha Goddess by Amalie Howard:  In this sci-fi retelling of Ramayana, Sera is a Hindu goddess incarnate and must battle between her good and evil sides in order to save the world from becoming hell on earth.

Angelfall (Penryn & the End of Days #1) by Susan Ee: It's been six weeks since angels of the apocalypse descended to demolish the modern world. When warrior angels fly away with a helpless little girl, her 17-year-old sister Penryn will do anything to get her back. Anything, including making a deal with an enemy angel, Raffe. 

The Archer at Dawn (The Tiger at Midnight #2) by Swati Teerdhala: Set in an Indian & Hindu-inspired world, long-held secrets will force Kunal and Esha to reconsider their loyalties—to their country and to each other.

The Athena Protocol by Shamim Sarif: After being fired from the Athena Protocol, an organization of female spies who enact vigilante justice, Jessie Archer investigates a human trafficking case in Belgrade, while her former teammates have been tasked with bringing her down.

Blood of a Thousand Stars (Empress of a Thousand Skies #2) by Rhoda Belleza: Rhee risks her crown to negotiate peace terms with villainous media star Nero, while framed assassin Aly plots revenge and Kara seeks technology that will erase her royal past.

The Bone Witch by Rin Chupeco: Tea’s gift for death magic means that she is a bone witch, a title that makes her feared and ostracized by her community, but when an older bone witch trains her to become an asha - one who can wield elemental magic - Tea will have to overcome her obstacles and make a powerful choice in the face of danger as dark forces approach.

The Bronzed Beasts (The Gilded Wolves #3) by Roshani Chokshi: With only ten days until Laila expires, the crew will face plague pits and deadly masquerades, unearthly songs, and the shining steps of a temple whose powers might offer divinity itself, but at a price they may not be willing to pay.

The Beast Player by Nahoko Uehashi: An epic YA fantasy about a girl with a special power to communicate with magical beasts and the warring kingdom only she can save.

The Beautiful by Renee Ahdieh: In 19th century New Orleans where vampires hide in plain sight, half-Asian Celine Rosseau, a dressmaker from Paris, becomes embroiled in a murder mystery, connected to the glamorous supernatural cohort, known as the Court of Lions, and catching the eye of their mysterious, charismatic leader, Sèbastien Saint Germain.

Broken Web (Shamanborn #2) by Lori M. Lee: With Queen Meilyr bent on destroying the magical kingdoms, Sirscha becomes caught between a war in the east and the Soulless in the west.

The Candle and the Flame by Nafiza Azad: Set in the city of Noor, along the Silk Road which has become a refuge for those of all faiths, Fatima becomes embroiled in a war between two clans of powerful djinn who threaten to destroy her peace in different ways, forcing her to make unlikely alliances to survive.

Caster by Elsie Chapman: In this Chinese-inspired, magical Fight Club, Earth is already at the brink of environmental disaster due to the magic overuse. And 16-year-old spell caster Aza Wu must navigate through an illegal, underground battle magic tournament, while evading local gangs and police scouts to save her family from ruin.

Catalyst by Lydia Kang: Zelia Benten has lost her father, the love of her life, and any future she might have imagined for herself. Now she, her sister, and the band of illegal genetic outcasts they’ve come to call their family are forced to run when the safety of their foster home is compromised.

A Clash of Steel (A Treasure Island Remix) by C.B. Lee: Set in 1820s China, Xiah joins Anh and her motley crew in pursuit of the hidden treasure of the legendary Dragon Fleet.

Chainbreaker (Timekeeper #2) by Tara Sim: In 1876, someone is destroying the clock towers that control India’s time. Teenage mechanics Danny Hart and half-white, half-Indian Daphne Richards as they travel to Agra to investigate a series of clock tower bombings.

The Chariot at Dusk (Tiger at Midnight #3) by Swati Teerdhala: In the final book of this epic fantasy trilogy, the lands’ fate, their people’s livelihoods, and the bond that sustains their world all depend on what Kunal and Esha can offer—to the gods and to each other.

Champion (Legend #3) by Marie Lu: June and Day have sacrificed so much for the people of the Republic--and each other--and now their country is on the brink of a new existence. Just when a peace treaty is imminent, a plague outbreak causes panic in the Colonies, and war threatens the Republic's border cities.

Circle of Shadows by Evelyn Skye: Love, spies, and adventure abound as apprentice warriors Sora and Daemon unravel a complex web of magic and secrets that might tear them—and the entire kingdom—apart forever.

Control by Lydia Kang: In 2150, when genetic manipulation has been outlawed, seventeen-year-old Zelia must rescue her kidnapped sister with the help of a band of outcasts with mutated genes.

Court of Lions (Mirage #2) by Somaiya Daud: After being swept up into the brutal Vathek court, Amani, the ordinary girl forced to serve as the half-Vathek princess Maram’s body double, is desperate to continue helping the rebellion But can she bear to remain separated, forever, from Maram's fiancé, Idris? 

Cross Fire (Exo #2) by Fonda Lee: When the peaceful alien-run government withdraws from Earth, it seems that the terrorist group Sapience is going to get the "free" Earth it wanted; but Donovan Reyes, member of the security forces, and once a prisoner of Sapience, realizes that freedom comes with a price. 

The Crown’s Game by Evelyn Skye: Vika Andreyeva can summon the snow and turn ash into gold. Nikolai Karimov can see through walls and conjure bridges out of thin air. They are enchanters—the only two in Russia. The Tsar needs a powerful enchanter by his side.And so he initiates the Crown’s Game, an ancient duel of magical skill—the victor becomes the Imperial Enchanter and the Tsar’s most respected adviser. The defeated is sentenced to death. 

The Crown’s Fate (The Crown’s Game #2) by Evelyn Skye: Vika struggles with dangers in her new role as the Imperial Enchanter while Pasha faces disputes about his legitimacy and Nikolai considers how far he is willing to go to return to the world.

A Crown of Wishes (Star-Touched Queen #2) by Roshani Chokshi:  Gauri, princess of Bharata, has been captured by her kingdom's enemies and faces a future of exile and scorn--she has nothing left to lose. But Vikram, the notoriously cunning prince of a neighboring land, promises her freedom in exchange for her partnership on his team to win the Tournament of Wishes.

The Damned (The Beautiful #2) by Renée Ahdieh: Sébastien Saint Germain is now cursed and forever changed. The price of loving Celine Rousseau was costly. But as Bastien and Celine begin to uncover the danger around them, they learn their love could tear them apart.

Dark Goddess (Alpha Goddess #2) by Amalie Howard:  In this Indian-inspired fantasy, a girl who is the avatar of the goddess Lakshmi must work to prevent the apocalypse at the hands of demons. 

Dark Goddess (Templar Chronicles #2) by Sarwat Chadda: Billi SanGreal, a teenaged member of the Knights Templar, must prevent a young girl, who is being hunted by werewolves because of the dangerous powers she possesses, from falling into the hands of the ancient Russian witch, Baba Yaga.

Daughter of Dusk (Midnight Thief #2) by Livia Blackburne: After learning the truth about her bloodlines, Kyra can’t help but feel like a monster. As tensions rise within Forge’s Council, and a vicious Demon Rider attacks continue in surrounding villages, Kyra knows she must do something to save her city. 

Descendant of the Crane by Joan He: In this Chinese-inspired fantasy, Princess Hesina of Yan is thrust into power when her beloved father is murdered, and she’s determined to find his killer–whatever the cost.

The Devil’s Kiss (Templar Chronicles #1) by Sarwat Chadda: 15-year-old Billi SanGreal has grown up knowing that being a member of the Knights Templar puts her in danger, but if she is to save London from catastrophe she must make sacrifices greater than she imagined.

The Devil’s Thief (The Last Magician #2) by Lisa Maxwell: Esta and Harte set off on a cross-country chase through time to steal back the elemental stones they need to save the future of magic.

Divided (Dualed #2) by Elsie Chapman:  When the Board goes after West Grayer for refusing to kill her next target, West must uncover the truth of the past to survive.

Dove Arising by Karen Bao: On a lunar colony, 15-old Phaet Theta does the unthinkable and joins the Militia when her mother is imprisoned by the Moon's oppressive government. 

Dove Exiled (Dove Chronicles #2) by Karen Bao: Phaet’s past catches up with her when the Lunar Bases attack the community and reveal that Phaet is a fugitive. She’s torn between staying on Earth with Wes—whom she’s just discovered her feelings for—and stowing away on a Moon-bound ship to rescue her siblings.

Dove Alight (Dove Chronicles #3) by Karen Bao: Shy, introverted Phaet Theta has gone from being a top student to an interplanetary fugitive to the reluctant but fierce leader of a revolution. But as the death tolls rise, the cost of the war weighs heavily on Phaet. Phaet started this war because she lost someone she loved. Will she have to lose another to end it?

Eclipse the Stars by Maura Milan: Criminal mastermind and unrivaled pilot Ia Ccha and her allies make unpredictable choices as they fight to keep darkness from eclipsing the skies.

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir: Set in a terrifyingly brutal Rome-like world, An Ember in the Ashes is an epic fantasy debut about an orphan, Laia, fighting for her family and a soldier, Elias, fighting for his freedom.

Empress of All Seasons by Emiko Jean: During a once-in-a-generation competition to find the new empress, Mari, who hides a terrible secret, Taro, the prince who would denounce the imperial throne, and Akira, a half-human outcast, will decide the fate of Honoku.

Empress of a Thousand Skies by Rhoda Belleza: Two sisters, Rhee and Kara—sole survivors of a murdered royal lineage - must reunite from opposite ends of the galaxy to salvage what’s left of their family dynasty and save the universe from a greater threat.

End of Days (Penryn & The End of Days #3) by Susan Ee: After a daring escape, Penryn and Raffe are on the run, but a startling revelation about Raffe’s past unleashes dark forces that threaten them all. When the angels release an apocalyptic nightmare onto humans, both sides are set on a path toward war. Forced to pick sides in the fight for control of the earthly realm, Raffe and Penryn must choose: Their own kind, or each other?

The Epic Crush of Genie Lo by F.C. Yee: 15-year-old Genie Lo wonders if she’s qualified enough to gain admission to an Ivy League school, then becomes powerful enough to break through the gates of Heaven with her fists.

The Eternity Cure (Blood of Eden #2) by Julie Kagawa: Cast out of Eden and separated from the boy she dared to love, Allison Sekemoto will follow the call of blood to save her creator, Kanin, from the psychotic vampire Sarren. But when the trail leads to Allie's birthplace in New Covington, what Allie finds there will change the world forever--and possibly end human and vampire existence.

The Ever Cruel Kingdom (The Never Tilting World #2) by Rin Chupeco: To break the cycle of sacrifice, twins Haidee and Odessa need answers that lie beyond the seven gates of the underworld, within the Cruel Kingdom itself. The shadows of the underworld may hunger to tear them apart, but these two sisters are determined to heal their world—together.

Exo by Fonda Lee: For a century now, Earth has been a peaceful colony of an alien race, and Donovan Reyes is a loyal member of the security forces, while his father is the Prime Liaison–but when a routine search and seizure goes bad Donovan finds himself a captive of the human revolutionary group, Sapience, terrorists who seem to prefer war to alien rule, and killing Donovan just might be the incident they are looking for.

Fair Coin by E.C. Myers: When evil versions of himself and best friend Nate appear one day, teenaged Ephraim embarks on a dangerous odyssey through parallel worlds to make things right.

Firestarter (Timekeeper #3) by Tara Sim: Colton, Daphne, and the others must choose between those striving to take down the world’s clock towers so that time can run freely, and terrorists trying to bring back the lost god of time.

Five Dark Fates (Three Dark Crowns #4) by Kendare Blake: In this conclusion to the Three Dark Crowns series, three dark sisters will rise to fight as the secrets of Fennbirn’s history are laid bare. Allegiances will shift. Bonds will be tested, and some broken forever.

Flame in the Mist by Renee Adhieh: The daughter of a prominent samurai, Mariko is promised to Minamoto Raiden. But en route to the imperial city of Inako, Mariko narrowly escapes a bloody ambush by the Black Clan. Dressed as a peasant boy, Mariko sets out to infiltrate the ranks of this gang. But she’s quickly captured and taken to the Black Clan’s secret hideout, where she meets their leader, the rebel ronin Takeda Ranmaru. 

For A Muse of Fire by Heidi Heilig: 16-year-old shadow puppeteer Jetta Chantray performs with her family’s traveling troupe, the Ros Nai. But as rebellion seethes and as Jetta meets a young smuggler, she will face truths and decisions that she never imagined—and safety will never seem so far away.

Forest of Souls by Lori M. Lee: Sirscha Ashwyn, while training to become the queen’s next royal spy, discovers she’s a rare and powerful lightwender and is summoned to the realm of the Spider King, where her newly awakened abilities are needed to cull the bloodthirsty Dead Wood.

Forest of a Thousand Lanterns by Julie C. Dao: A reimagining of the evil queen from Snow White based on Asian mythology in which 18-year-old Xifeng must unleash a jealous god on the world and set free the viciousness of her own soul in order to become Empress.

The Forever Song (Blood of Eden #3) by Julie Kagawa: Allie will embrace her cold vampire side to hunt down and end Sarren. But Sarren has left many surprises for Allie and her companions as his trail leads straight to the one place they must protect at any cost -- the last vampire-free zone on Earth.

Fury of the Phoenix (Kingdom of Xia #2) by Cindy Pon: When Ai Ling leaves her home and family to accompany Chen Yong on his quest to find his father, haunted by the ancient evil she thought she had banished to the underworld, she must use her growing supernatural powers to save Chen Yong from the curses that follow her.

Gates of Thread and Stone by Lori M. Lee: A teenage girl must keep her ability to manipulate the threads of time a secret, but when her brother goes missing, she risks getting caught up in a revolution in order to save him.

Gearbreakers by Zoe Hana Mikuta: Eris Shindanai and Sona Steelcrest, two girls on opposite sides of a war fought with Windups, giant mechanizes weapons, discover they’re fighting for a common purpose–and falling for each other.

The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi: Paris, 1889: Treasure-hunter and wealthy hotelier, Séverin Montagnet-Alarie gets the chance of a lifetime when the all-powerful society, the Order of Babel, seeks him out for help in exchange for a priceless treasure: his true inheritance.

The Girl From Everywhere by Heidi Heilig: From modern-day New York City to nineteenth-century Hawaii to places of myth and legend, 16-year-old Nix has sailed across the globe and through centuries aboard her time-traveling father’s ship. But when he gambles with her very existence, it all may be about to end.

The Girl From the Well by Rin Chupeco: Okiku has wandered the world for centuries, but when she meets Tark she knows the moody teen with the series of intricate tattoos is not a monster and needs to be freed from the demonic malevolence that clings to him.

The Girl King by Mimi Yu: Sisters Lu and Min become unwitting rivals in a war to claim the title of Emperor.

Girl, Serpent, Thorn by Melissa Bashardoust: As the day of her twin brother’s wedding approaches, Princess Soraya must decide if she’s willing to step outside of the shadows for the first time.

Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan: When Lei, seventeen, is stolen from her home to become one of nine Paper Girls, the Demon King's concubines, she proves to be more fire than paper.

Girls of Storm and Shadow (Girls of Paper and Fire #2) by Natasha Ngan: After escaping the Hidden Palace, Lei and her warrior love Wren must travel the kingdom to gain support from the far-flung rebel clans.

Girls of Fate and Fury (Girls of Paper and Fire #3) by Natasha Ngan: The last Lei saw of the girl she loved, Wren, was fighting an army of soldiers in a furious battle to the death. With the two girls torn apart and each in terrorizing peril, will they find each other again or have their destinies diverged forever.

The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh: A feminist retelling of the Korean folktale The Tale of Shim Cheong, set in a town where every year a girl is sacrificed to the sea to stop torrential rains, but when a brave teen girl dives in herself to protect a loved one, she discovers a spirit kingdom in need of saving.

The Great Destroyers by Caroline Tung Richmond: set in alt-history, 1960s America where WWI & WII were fought with giant mechs, biracial Chinese American teen Jo Linden is Team USA’s most unlikely pick in the annual Pax Games, an Olympic-style competition that pits mecha pilots against each other.

The Heartforger (Bone Witch #2) by Rin Chupeco: With a thirst for vengeance, a band of terrifying daeva at her command, and her resurrected lover Kalen by her side, dark asha Tea is ready to face her adversaries.

A House of Rage and Sorrow (Celestial Trilogy #2) by Sangu Mandanna: As gods, beasts, and kingdoms choose sides, Alexi seeks out a weapon more devastating than even Titania. The House of Rey is at war. And the entire galaxy will bleed before the end.

Huntress by Malinda Lo: 17-year-olds Kaede and Taisin are called to go on a dangerous and unprecedented journey to Tanlili, the city of the Fairy Queen, in an effort to restore the balance of nature in the human world.

Ignite the Stars by Maura Milan: When outlaw Ia Ccha is captured by the Olympus Commonwealth and revealed to be a 16-year-old girl, they force her to serve them by joining the Commonwealth's military academy where new acquaintances cause Ia to question her own alliances.

The Immortal Rules (Blood of Eden #1) by Julie Kagawa: Allison Sekemoto survives in the Fringe, the outermost circle of a vampire city, until she too becomes an immortal vampire. Forced to flee into the unknown, outside her city walls, she joins a ragged band of humans who are seeking a legend -- a possible cure to the disease that killed off most of humankind and created the rabids, the mindless creatures who threaten humans and vampires alike.

Inferno (Talon #5) by Julie Kagawa: Ember Hill has learned a shocking truth about herself: she is the blood of the Elder Wyrm, the ancient dragon who leads Talon and who is on the verge of world domination. With the stakes rising and the Elder Wyrm declaring war, time is running out for the rogues and any dragon not allied with Talon. The final battle approaches. And if Talon is victorious, the world will burn.

The Infinity Courts by Akemi Dawn Bowman: Japanese American teen Nami Miyamoto finds herself in a limitless world where the human consciousness goes after death, where she battles an AI entity posing as a queen that has hacked its way into the afterlife.

Isle of Blood and Stone by Makiia Lucier: Mysterious maps from opposite ends of the sea cast doubt on the whereabouts of two princes, presumed dead.

Jade Fire Gold by June C.L. Tan: A debut fantasy inspired by Chinese mythology, in which peasant girl Anh, cursed with the power to steal souls enters a tenuous alliance with exiled prince Altan, bent on taking back the dragon throne, and save the empire from a cult of dangerous priests.

Journey to the Heart of the Abyss (Light in the Abyss #2) by London Shah: Leyla McQueen has finally reunited with her father after breaking him out of Broadmoor, the illegal government prison—but his freedom comes at a terrible cost. As Leyla celebrates his return, she must grapple with the pain of losing Ari. Now labeled the nation’s number one enemy, Leyla must risk illegal travel through unchartered waters for the truth behind her father’s arrest.

Hunted by the Sky by Tanaz Bhathena: Set in a world inspired by medieval India, the story tells of a girl, Gul, with a star-shaped birthmark who is prophesied to be the downfall of a tyrant king, the warrior women who come to her aid, and the boy she falls in love with.

The Keeper of the Night by Kylie Lee Baker: set in 1890s Japan, half-British reaper, half-Japanese Shinigami Ren Scarborough flees London and enters the Japanese underworld under the service of Izanami, the goddess of death.

King (Dragon King Chronicles #3) by Ellen Oh: Girl warrior, demon slayer, Tiger spirit of the Yellow Eyes - Kira is ready for her final quest! She must save her cousin, the boy fated to be the future king, uncover the third lost treasure, and face innumerable enemies in order to fulfill the famed prophecy.

A Kingdom for the Stage (For A Muse of Fire #2) by Heidi Heilig: The rebels are eager to use Le Trépas’s and necromancer Jetta’s combined magic against the invading colonists. Soon Jetta will face the choice between saving all of Chakrana or becoming like her father, and she isn’t sure which she’ll choose.

Kingdom of the Blazing Phoenix (Rise of the Empress #2) by Julie C. Dao: Princess Jade has grown up in exile while her stepmother, the ruthless Xifeng, rules Feng Lu. Ready to reclaim her place, Jade embarks on a quest to raise the Dragon Lords and defeat Xifeng and the Serpent God once and for all.

Legend by Marie Lu: In a dark future, when North America has split into two warring nations, 15-year-olds Day, a famous criminal, and prodigy June, the brilliant soldier hired to capture him, discover that they have a common enemy.

Legion (Talon #4) by Julie Kagawa: The legions are about to be unleashed, and no human, rogue dragon or former dragon slayer can stand against the coming horde in book 4 out of the Talon series.

The Library of Fates by Aditi Khorana: Amrita must unravel the mysteries of her past to save her kingdom, but in doing so, she herself might come unraveled.

The Light At the Bottom of the World by London Shah: Set in a future where the Earth is underwater, Leyla McQueen must navigate the treacherous abyss to find her missing father, but discovers a world drowning in lies.

Live in Infamy by Caroline Tung Richmond: 80 years since the Axis won World War II, and America was divided between the victors: the Nazis in the East and Imperial Japan in the West; but now resistance is growing in the Eastern territories and 16-year-old Chinese American Ren Cabot finds himself drawn into a resistance group. 

The Lost Girl by Sangu Mandanna: 15-year-old Eva is the clone of a girl living far, far away on another continent--and when this 'other' dies, Eva must step in and take over her life.

The Infinite (Gates of Thread and Stone #2) by Lori M. Lee: Kai always believed the only danger to the city came from within. Now, with a rebel force threatening the fragile government, the walls have become more of a prison than ever. To make matters worse, as Avan explores his new identity as an Infinite, Kai struggles to remind him what it means to be human. 

Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao: blending Chinese history and mecha science, Wu Zetian offers herself up as a concubine-pilot to assassinate the ace male pilot responsible for her sister’s death. Features a poly F/M/M main romance.

The Iron Will of Genie Lo (Epic Crush of Genie Lo #2) by F.C. Yee: Along with a few other contenders for the throne,  heaven-appointed guardian Genie and her friends embark on a Heavenly quest to an in-between world.

The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen: An intergenerational story of a mother and son struggling to relate to each other—the mother an immigrant to America who wants to make a home for her family in an unfamiliar country; the son Tiế  trying to figure out the best way to come out to his parents. Through telling each other fairy tales, they’re able to find common ground.

The Magnolia Sword: A Ballad of Mulan by Sherry Thomas: When her ailing father is conscripted to fight invaders from the north, Mulan dresses as a man to take his place in the army, but an old enemy and an attraction for her troop's commander complicate her mission.

The Memory Keepers by Natasha Ngan: Seven is a thief with a difference - he steals downloadable memories from banks and memoriums to sell onto London’s black market. But one night, as Seven is breaking into a private memorium in a wealthy part of London, he is caught in the act by one of its residents; Alba, the teenage daughter of London’s most famous criminal prosecutor. 

The Memory Key by Liana Liu: In the not-so-distant future, everyone is implanted with a memory key to stave off a virulent form of Alzeimer's. Lora Mint fears her memories of her deceased mother are fading, but when her memory key is damaged she has perfect recall--of everything-- which brings her mother's memory vividly back--but may also drive Lora mad. 

The Mermaid, The Witch, and The Sea by Maggie Tokuda-Hall: A desperate orphan turned pirate, Flora, and a rebellious imperial daughter, Lady Evelyn Hasegawa, find a connection on the high seas abroad the Dove, in a world divided by colonialism and threaded with magic.

The Midnight Star (Young Elites #3) by Marie Lu:  Adelina is forced to revisit old wounds when a new danger appears, putting not only Adelina at risk, but every Elite. In order to save herself and preserve her empire, Adelina and her Roses must join the Daggers on a perilous quest—though this uneasy alliance may prove to be the real danger.

The Midnight Thief by Livia Blackburne: Kyra, a highly skilled 17-year-old thief, joins a guild of assassins with questionable motives. Tristam, a young knight, fights against the vicious Demon Riders that are ravaging the city. 

Mirage by Somaiya Daud: In a star system dominated by the brutal Vathek empire, 18-year-old Amani is forced to work as a body double for the princess who is hated by her conquered people.

The Never Tilting World by Rin Chupeco: In  a world ruled by goddesses that has been split in two—one half existing in perpetual scorching Day, the other in freezing Night—twins separated at birth Odessa and Haidee embark on a quest across the great divide and rule a reunited world.

Mooncakes by Wendy Xu & Suzanne Walker: Teen witch Nova Huang runs into her childhood crush, Tam Lang, battling a horse demon in the woods. Pursued by dark forces eager to claim the magic of wolves and out of options, Tam turns to Nova for help. 

Moribito, Guardian of the Spirit by Nahoko Uehashi: The wandering warrior Balsa is hired to protect Prince Chagum from both a mysterious monster and the prince's father, the Mikado.

Moribito II, Guardian of the Darkness by Nahoko Uehashi: The wandering female bodyguard Balsa returns to her native country of Kanbal, where she uncovers a conspiracy to frame her mentor and herself.

Night of the Dragon (Shadow of the Fox #3) by Julie Kagawa: As darkness rises and chaos reigns,  fierce kitsune shapeshifter Yumeko and her shadowy protector Kage Tatsumi, will face down the greatest evil of all.

Not Your Sidekick by C.B. Lee: Resigned to a life without superpowers in a world full of them, Jess takes a paid internship where she helps a heinous supervillain and works with her longtime crush Abby, but stumbles on a massive plot.

Not Your Villain (Sidekick Squad #2) by C.B. Lee: After discovering a massive cover-up by the Heroes’ League of Heroes, shapeshifter Bells Broussard and his friends Jess, Emma, and Abby set off on a secret mission to find the Resistance.

Not Your Backup by C.B. Lee (Sidekick Squad #3): As the Resistance moves to challenge the corrupt League of Heroes, Emma Robledo realizes where her place is in this fight: at the front.

On This Unworthy Scaffold (Shadow Players #3) by Heidi Heilig: Jetta’s home is spiraling into civil war.Le Trépas—the deadly necromancer—has used his blood magic to wrest control of the country. Meanwhile, Jetta’s love interest, brother, and friend are intent on infiltrating the palace to stop the Boy King and find Le Trépas to put an end to the unleashed chaos.

The Only Thing to Fear by Caroline Tung Richmond: After 70 years since Hitler's armies won the war, 16-year-old Zara St. James lives in the Shenandoah hills, part of the Eastern American Territories, under the rule of the Nazis--but a resistance movement is growing. 

The Ones We’re Meant to Find by Joan He: In a near future when life is harsh outside of Earth’s last unpolluted place, Cee tries to leave an abandoned island while her sister, STEM prodigy Kasey Mizuhara, seeks escape from the science and home she once trusted.

One Dark Throne (Three Dark Crowns #2) by Kendare Blake: Preparing for the queens' sixteenth birthday celebration and navigating the fallout of the Quickening, sisters Arsinoe, Katharine, and Mirabella reassess their strategic paths to the throne using new understandings of their powers and destinies.

Our Violent Ends (These Violent Delights #2) by Chloe Gong: In 1927, Shanghai tethers on the edge of revolution. After sacrificing her relationship with Roma to protect him from the blood feud, Juliette has been a girl on the warpath. Then a new monstrous danger emerges in the city, and while secrets keep them apart, Juliette must secure Roma’s cooperation if they are to end this threat.

Prodigy (Legend #2) by Marie Lu: June and Day make their way to Las Vegas where they join the rebel Patriot group and become involved in an assassination plot against the Elector in hopes of saving the Republic.

Quantum Coin (Fair Coin #2) by E.C. Myers: Ephraim, Jena, and Zoe embark on a mission across multiple worlds to learn what's going wrong and how to stop it. They will have to draw on every resource available and trust in alternate versions of themselves and their friends, before it's too late for all of them.

Ravage the Dark (Scavenge the Stars #2) by Tara Sim: After escaping the city of Moray, Amaya and Cayo head to the port city of Baleine to find the mysterious Benefactor and put a stop to the counterfeit currency that is spreading Ash Fever throughout the kingdoms.

The Reader by Traci Chee:  Set in a world where reading is unheard-of, Sefia makes use of a mysterious object to track down who kidnapped her aunt Nin and what really happened the night her father was murdered.

A Reaper At the Gates (An Ember in the Ashes #3) by Sabaa Tahir: Beyond the Empire and within it, the threat of war looms ever larger as the Blood Shrike, Helene Aquilla, Laia of Serra, and Elias Veturius all face increasing dangers.

Rebel (Legend #4) by Marie Lu: Brothers Eden and Daniel Wing struggle to accept who they’ve each become since their time in the Republic, but a new danger creeps into the distance that’s grown between them. Eden soon finds himself drawn so far into Ross City’s dark side, even his legendary brother can’t save him. At least not on his own.

Rebelwing by Andrea Tang: At a prestigious prep school, scholastic student Prudence Wu, who smuggles censored media in a futuristic North America divided by culture wars and becomes an unlikely revolutionary, after being imprinted by Rebelwing, a sentient cybernetic dragon.

Renegade Flight (Rebelwing #2) by Andrea Tang: Pilot-in-training Viola Park, a probationary student at GAN Academy, enters a mech combat tournament that becomes a fight for the future of Peacekeepers everywhere.

Rising Like a Storm (The Wrath of Ambar #2) by Tanaz Bhathena: Gul and Cavas must unite their magical forces―and hold onto their growing romance―to save their kingdom from tyranny.

The Righteous (The Beautiful #3) by Renée Ahdieh: Pippa Montrose is tired of losing everything she loves. When her best friend Celine disappears under mysterious circumstances, Pippa resolves to find her, even if the journey takes her into the dangerous world of the fae, where she might find more than she bargained for in the charismatic Arjun Desai.

The Rise of Kyoshi by F.C. Yee: The never-before-told backstory of Avatar Kyoshi, from a girl of humble origins to the merciless pursuer of justice who is still feared and admired centuries after she became the Avatar.

Rogue (Talon #2) by Julie Kagawa: Unable to forget the human boy who saved her from a Talon assassin, Ember is determined to save him from execution with the help of rebel dragon Cobalt and his crew of rogues.

Rogue Heart (Rebel Seoul #2) by Axie Oh: Two years after the Battle of Neo Seoul, telepath Ama must use her telepathic abilities to infiltrate the base of the Alliance’s new war commander, Alex Kim, her first love who betrayed her.

The Rose and the Dagger (Wrath and the Dawn #2) by Renee Adhieh: Unsure who to trust, Shahrzad takes matters into her own hands to try and break the curse and reunite with her one true love.

The Rose Society (Young Elites #2) by Marie Lu: Adelina Amouteru’s heart has suffered at the hands of both family and friends, turning her down the bitter path of revenge. Now known and feared as the White Wolf, she and her sister flee Kenettra to find other Young Elites in the hopes of building her own army of allies. Her goal: to strike down the Inquisition Axis.

Ruse (Want #2) by Cindy Pon: In near-future Shanghai where society is divided between the fabulously wealthy business elite and the masses they exploit, Jason Zhou must play a dangerous cat and mouse game with the ruthless CEO of an all powerful corporation which has an ever-growing choke hold on the polluted metropolis.

Scavenge the Stars by Tara Sim: In the city-state of Moray, Amaya, orphaned by a powerful merchant’s greed and condemned to seven years aboard a debtor’s ship, returns to seek revenge only to encounter the merchant’s son in this gender-swapped retelling of The Count of Monte Cristo.

Serpentine by Cindy Pon: Although 16-year-old Skybright feels lucky to be the handmaid and companion to the daughter of a wealthy family, she is hiding a secret that threatens to destroy her position and her closest relationships.

Sacrifice (Serpertine #2) by Cindy Pon: When Zhen Ni discovers that her new husband, the strange and brutish Master Hou, may not be all he seems, Skybright and Stone must travel through the terrifying underworld to save her.

Seven Deadly Shadows by Courtney Alameda & Valynne Maetani: Set in contemporary Japan, Shinto temple priestess Kira Fujikawa, must seek the aid of seven ruthless shinigami, in order to protect Kyoto from an ancient evil.

Shatter the Sky by Rebecca Kim Wells: Maren, desperate to save her kidnapped girlfriend Kaia, plans to steal one of the emperor’s dragons and storm the Aurati stronghold, but her success depends on becoming an apprentice to the mysterious dragon trainer, which proves to be a dangerous venture.

Talon by Julie Kagawa: In a world in which near-extinct dragons pass as humans to grow their numbers secretly, siblings Ember and Dante Hill prepare for destined positions in the world of Talon only to be hunted by a dragon-slaying soldier.

The Ship Beyond Time (Girl From Everywhere #2) by Heidi Heilig: Nix has escaped her past, but when the person she loves most is at risk, even the daughter of a time traveler may not be able to outrun her fate—no matter where she goes.

The Shadow Mission (The Athena Protocol #2) by Shamim Sharif: Jessie Archer faced down death to prove her dedication to Athena, the elite organization of female spies she works for. Now she’s back on the team, in time to head to Pakistan to take down the man whose actions spurred Athena’s founders to create the secretive squad. 

The Shadow of Kyoshi (Kyoshi #2) by F.C. Yee: Kyoshi’s place as the true Avatar has finally been cemented. With her mentors gone, Kyoshi voyages across the Four Nations, struggling to keep the peace. But while her reputation grows, a mysterious threat emerges from the Spirit World. To stop it, Kyoshi, Rangi, and their reluctant allies must join forces.

Shadow of the Fox by Julie Kagawa: Demons have burned the temple Yumeko was raised in to the ground, killing everyone within, including the master who trained her to both use and hide her kitsune shapeshifting powers. Yumeko escapes with the temple’s greatest treasure—one part of the ancient scroll. Fate thrusts her into the path of a mysterious samurai, Kage Tatsumi of the Shadow Clan. Yumeko knows he seeks what she has…and is under orders to kill anything and anyone who stands between him and the scroll.

Shadow Girl by Liana Liu: When Mei arrives at the beautiful home on Arrow Island, she can't help feeling relieved. She's happy to spend the summer tutoring a rich man's daughter if it means a break from her normal life. Yet she can't shake her fear that there is danger lurking in the shadows of this beautiful house, a darkness that could destroy the family inside and out...and Mei along with them. 

Shadowsong (Wintersong #2) by S. Jae-Jones: Liesl is working toward furthering both her brother’s and her own musical careers. But when troubling signs arise that the barrier between worlds is crumbling, Liesl must return to the Underground to unravel the mystery of life, death, and the Goblin King—who he was, who he is, and who he will be.

Smoke in the Sun (A Flame in the Mist #2) by Renee Ahdieh: After Okami is captured in the Jukai forest, Mariko has no choice—to rescue him, she tricks her brother, Kenshin, and betrothed, Raiden, into thinking she was being held by the Black Clan against her will. But each secret Mariko unfurls gives way to the next, ensnaring her and Okami in a political scheme that threatens their honor, their love and very the safety of the empire.

Sisters of the Snake by Sasha & Sarena Nanua: an Indian-inspired fantasy where twins separated at birth—one now a princess, the other a street thief— must switch places in a bid to stop a catastrophic war that threatens to tear their kingdom apart.

Silver Phoenix (Kingdom of Xia #1) by Cindy Pon: With her father long overdue from his journey and a lecherous merchant blackmailing her into marriage, 17-year-old Ai Ling becomes aware of a strange power within her as she goes in search of her parent.

The Silvered Serpents (The Gilded Wolves #2) by Roshani Chokshi: Séverin and his team members might have successfully thwarted the Fallen House, but at a terrible cost. Desperate to make amends, Séverin pursues a dangerous lead to find a long lost artifact rumored to grant its possessor the power of God. Their hunt lures them far from Paris, and into icy heart of Russia.

Six Crimson Cranes by Elizabeth Lim: The Wild Swans meets East Asian fantasy where an exiled princess, Shiori, must unweave the curse that turned her brothers into cranes, assisted by her spurned betrothed, a mercurial dragon, and a paper bird brought to life by her own magic.

A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) by Sabaa Tahir: Laia of Serra is now allied with the Blood Shrike, Helen Aquilla. Determined to stop the approaching apocalypse, she throws herself into the destruction of the Nightbringer. In the process, she awakens an ancient power that could lead her to victory–or to an unimaginable doom.

Skyhunter by Marie Lu: Robbed of her voice and home, Talin Kanami knows firsthand the brutality of the Federation. Their cruelty forced her and her mother to seek asylum in Mara. When a mysterious prisoner is brought from the front, Talin senses there’s more to him than meets the eye. 

The Shadow Glass (Bone Witch #3) by Rin Chupeco: Bone witch Tea’s dark magic eats away at her, but she must save the one she loves most, even while her life—and the kingdoms—are on the brink of destruction.

Song of the Abyss (Towers of Wind #2) by Makiia Lucier: When menacing raiders attack her ship, navigator Reyna must use every resource at her disposal, including placing her trust in a handsome prince from a rival kingdom.

Song of the Crimson Flower by Julie C. Dao: After cruelly rejecting Bao, the poor physician’s apprentice who loves her, Lan, a wealthy nobleman’s daughter, regrets her actions. After learning that Bao’s soul has been trapped inside a flute by a witch, Lan vows to make amends and help break the spell.

Soul of the Sword (Shadow of the Fox #2) by Julie Kagawa: As the paths of Yumeko and the possessed Tatsumi cross once again, the entire empire will be thrown into chaos.

A Spark of White Fire by Sangu Mandanna: In this sci-fi retelling of the  Mahabrahata, Esmae learns that the King of Wychstar is offering the unbeatable warship Titania to the winner of his competition and she sees her chance to return home and help her brother win back his kingdom.

The Speaker (Sea of Ink and Gold #2) by Traci Chee: Having barely escaped the clutches of the Guard, Sefia and Archer are back on the run, slipping into the safety of the forest to tend to their wounds and plan their next move.

Spin the Dawn by Elizabeth Lim: 17-year-old Maia Tamarin poses as a boy to compete for the role of imperial tailor, and embarks on an impossible journey to sew three magic dresses, from the sun, the moon, and the stars, with help from the mysterious court magician, Edan.

Spell Starter (Caster #2) by Elsie Chapman: Yes, Aza Wu now has magic back, but now she’s in the employ of the gang leader, St. Willow. Who soon decides that having Aza as a fighter is much more lucrative than as a fixer.

Star Daughter by Shveta Thakrar: Inspired by Hindu mythology, half-mortal, half-star Sheetal enters a celestial competition to save her human father’s life.

The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi:  Treated with scorn and fear in her father's kingdom because of a formidable horoscope, 16-year-old Maya commits herself to her education only to land in an arranged marriage that culminates in her sudden elevation to the throne, a situation that is threatened by dark secrets and Otherworldly magic.

Star-Touched Stories by Roshani Choski:Three lush and adventurous stories in the Star-Touched world.

Steelstriker (Skyhunter #2) by Marie Lu: After the fall of Mara, and with the fate of a broken world hanging in the balance, Talin and Red must reunite the Strikers and find their way back to one another.

Storm the Earth (Shatter the Sky #2) by Rebecca Kim Wells: Maren and her girlfriend Kaia set out to rescue Sev  in Zafed, and free the dragons from the corrupt emperor.

The Storyteller (Sea of Ink and Gold #3) by Traci Chee: Sefia is determined to keep Archer out of the Guard’s clutches and their plans for war between the Five Kingdoms. As Sefia and Archer watch Kelanna start to crumble to the Guard’s will, they will have to choose between their love and joining a war that just might tear them apart.

Stronger Than A Bronze Dragon by Mary Fan: In this steampunk fantasy set in Qing dynasty-inspired China, warrior girl Anlei teams up with a thief to save her village from shadow spirits, but after arriving at the Courts of Hell, a discovery challenges everything they know about who the real enemy is.

The Suffering (Girl From the Well #2) by Rin Chupeco: When an old friend disappears in Aokigahara, Japan's infamous 'suicide forest,' Tark and the ghostly Okiku must resolve their differences and return to find her. In a strange village inside Aokigahara, old ghosts and an ancient evil lie waiting. 

These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong: In 1920s Shanghai, starcrossed heirs to rival gangs, Juliette Cai and Roma Montagov, must work together to face a monster that hunts the city streets before the outbreak of the Chinese Civil War.

Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake: A fantasy about triplet sisters separated at birth, where one of the sisters will grow up to be queen of their magical island, but in order to ascend to the throne she must hone her magic for a dark purpose: assassinating her other two sisters before they kill her first.

A Thousand Beginnings and Endings edited by Ellen Oh & Elsie Chapman: 15 bestselling and acclaimed authors reimagine the folklore and mythology of East and South Asia in short stories that are by turns enchanting, heartbreaking, romantic, and passionate.

A Thousand Fires by Shannon Price: In modern-day San Francisco where three gangs rule the city streets, half-Filipina teen Valerie Simons enters the Red Bridge Wars to seek vengeance for her younger brother’s death, but soon finds herself torn between old love and new loyalty.

The Tiger at Midnight by Swati Teerdhala: In ancient India, soldier Kunal hunts the “Viper,” rebel girl Esha accused of killing his General, embarking on a dangerous cat and mouse game and where both must decide—loyalty to their old lives or to a love that’s made them dream of new ones.

Timekeeper by Tara Sim: set in an alternate Victorian era where clock towers control time, about a teen clock mechanic who is assigned to repair a damaged tower and finds himself falling in forbidden love with the boy he mistakes for his apprentice, but is actually the tower’s clock spirit, and whose life is threatened by a mysterious attacker planting bombs in clock towers across England.

A Torch Against the Night (An Ember in the Ashes #2) by Sabaa Tahir: Laia and Elias fight their way north to liberate Laia’s brother from the horrors of Kauf Prison. Hunted by Empire soldiers, manipulated by the Commandant, and haunted by their pasts, Laia and Elias must outfox their enemies and confront the treacherousness of their own hearts.

Two Dark Reigns (Three Dark Crowns #3) by Kendare Blake: A victorious Katharine sits on the throne, Mirabella and Arsinoe are in hiding, and an unexpected renegade is about to wage a war of her own. The crown has been won, but these queens are far from done.

Unravel the Dusk (The Blood of Stars #2) by Elizabeth Lim: With a war brewing, master tailor Maia Tamarin will stop at nothing to find her love Edan, protect her family, and bring lasting peace to her country.

Vicious Spirits (Gumiho #2) by Kat Cho: With the support of Somin and Junu, Miyoung and Jihoon might just have a shot at normalcy. But Miyoung is getting sicker by the day and her friends don’t know how to save her. With few options remaining, Junu has an idea but it might require the ultimate sacrifice and, let’s be honest, Junu isn’t known for his “generosity.”

Want by Cindy Pon: Set in a teeming, pollution choked Taipei which follows a group of teens living on the seedy fringes of a highly divided society that works only for the elite as they decide to risk everything to take down the powerful company which controls the city. 

Warcross by Marie Lu: When teenage coder Emika Chen hacks her way into the opening tournament of the Warcross Championships, she glitches herself into the game as well as a sinister plot with major consequences for the entire Warcross empire. 

Warrior (Dragon King Chronicles #2) by Ellen Oh: Kira, the yellow-eyed demon slayer of Hansong, continues her quest to find the lost treasures of the dragon king's prophecy, save her cousin, the prince, unite her kingdom, and defeat the demon lord

We Hunt the Flame (Sands of Arawiya #1) by Hafsah Faizal: In a world inspired by ancient Arabia, 17-year-old huntress Zafira must disguise herself as a man to seek a lost artifact that could return magic to her cursed world.

We Free the Stars (Sands of Arawiya #2) by Hafsah Faizal: When Zafria, the Hunter, and Nasir, the Prince of Death both embark on a quest to uncover a lost magic artifact, they encounter an ancient evil long thought destroyed - and discover that the prize they seek may be even more dangerous this time.

Where Dreams Descend by Janella Angeles: Showgirl Kallia, haunted by a dark past, must compete in a magician’s competition in order to secure her ambition and freedom from the handsome, enigmatic keeper of the club, Jack, even as mysterious accidents seem to plague her every move, while crossing paths with another talented magician, Demarco.

When Night Breaks (Kingdom of Hearts #2) by Janella Angeles: The competition has come to a disastrous end, and Daron Demarco’s fall from grace is now front page news. But little matters to him beyond Kallia, the contestant he fell for. With time running out, Kallia must embrace her role in a darker destiny.

Wicked Fox by Kat Cho: After 18-year-old Miyoung Gu, a nine-tailed fox surviving in modern-day Seoul by eating the souls of evil men, kills a murderous goblin to save Jihoon, she is forced to choose between her immortal life and his.

Wildcard (Warcross #2) by Marie Lu: Emika Chen barely made it out of the Warcross Championships alive. Knowing the truth behind Hideo's new NeuroLink algorithm, she is determined to put a stop to his plans. 

The Wild Ones by Nafiza Azad: A a multi-perspective feminist narrative about a fierce band of magic-wielding girls—the Wild Ones—who have collectively survived unspeakable things, and together are determined to save other girls from the cruelties and tragedies they’ve had to endure in their own past lives.

Wintersong by S. Jae-Jones: After her sister is kidnapped by the Goblin King, Liesl journeys to the Underground and is faced with an impossible decision when she finds herself captivated by the strange world and its mysterious ruler.

Wicked As You Wish by Rin Chupeco: A girl descended from Filipina mythological heroine Maria Makiling, finds herself caught up in a war between two fairy tale kingdoms, where the fate of Avalon is at stake.

Windborn by Mary Fan: With magicians hot on their trail, air nymph Kiri and magician’s apprentice Darien embark on a treacherous journey through dangerous lands to freedom.

World After (Penryn & The End of Days #2) by Susan Ee: Penryn's search for her kidnapped sister, Paige, leads her into the heart of the angels' secret plans, while Raffe must choose between reclaiming his wings--and his role as the angels' leader--or helping Penryn survive.

The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Adhieh: In this reimagining of The Arabian Nights, Shahrzad plans to avenge the death of her dearest friend by volunteering to marry the murderous boy-king of Khorasan but discovers not all is as it seems within the palace.

Zeroboxer by Fonda Lee: As 17-year-old Carr 'the Raptor' Luka rises to fame in the weightless combat sport of zeroboxing, he learns a devastating secret that jeopardizes not only his future in the sport, but interplanetary relations.

[dragonrajafanfiction]

What is Bondarev (BSB ver) actually like in the novels? In my WIP, I’m trying to be as close to the lore as I can with certain parts, so it’s hard to write in a character that I have no clue what his personality actually is like. Also does he have a full name? Is Bondarev his first or last name? I noticed Herzog has a full name thanks to the Fandom wiki you and Hectab are working on :3

Ask and Ye shall receive. (very long post below with allllllllllll of the stuff you asked for.)

VERY HANDSOME

This was a man who was a sight to behold, handsome and straight, with iron gray hair neatly combed back and styled with hairspray, and a muscular body that was defined and supple. Many would describe him as sexy. The sentry had seen such handsome young officers in Moscow, but this one was too unbelievable. He was actually wearing only military shorts and sleeveless undershirt, sweating in the -10 degree wind. The man fished out a lighter from his shorts and lit it with aplomb, the sterling silver case etched with the words "70th anniversary of the October Revolution".

The sentry could not refuse this kindness and went over to light the cigarette.

"Here you go." The man tossed the lighter to the sentry, "In such a cold place, you need to use aviation kerosene with low freezing point, you should save that for the summer."

The sentry then realized that he still had the unlit lighter in his hand, the man's insight was actually keen to this point. Furthermore, people should be eager to find a warm place to rest at this moment. This also shows that he still has energy left for skiing in such extremely cold weather. The man took out a dark gray officer's uniform from his military duffel bag, and after a few moments, he finished putting it on and solemnly pinned a "Red Flag Medal" on his chest. A minute ago he was a skier, a minute later he had a frown of determination, a young man of power from Moscow.

"KGB Major Bondarev, I'm from Moscow." The man pulled out his papers, "Take me to Dr. Herzog and tell him that this is the moment of survival."

"Yes! Comrade Major!" The sentry saluted.

The man stated his identity in the simplest terms; he was an envoy from Moscow, a key member of the secret intelligence service. In the days of the Tsar, such a man was called a "minister".

********ICE PROOF*************

He pressed the detonator in his hand, after a short dull explosion, the marble base in the snow was blown up, Lenin bronze statue slanted in the snow. The noise of this micro-acoustic thunderstorm was so small that it was muffled by the wind within a few steps. The Black Swan Harbor is notoriously heavily guarded, but the most important aspect is the extreme cold, and standing outside for ten minutes on a night like this can lead to severe frostbite. Because of the blizzard, visibility was less than five meters. The soldiers did not expect anyone else to dare to move outside, and they ignored the fact that Bondarev had an extraordinary tolerance for the cold.

-----

"I sometimes think that people who like to drink can't be bad. So I like you a lot, you know vodka." Dr. Herzog removed the Makolov pistol and handed over a cold glass.

A light struck down from above, enveloping the Doctor and Bondarev. The glass reflected the light, as clear as the most expensive crystal glassware, but it was carved from a whole block of solid ice, pure ice, without any air bubbles, with cornflower patterns carved on the outer wall. The two men gently clinked their glasses and drank the wine in one gulp.

　　Bondarev played with the ice carved glass: "It's wonderful, the spirits wrapped in ice, as moving as a stunning young woman under the appearance of an iceberg. I think my hands will freeze and to it."

　　"Usually people who drink from such an ice glass have to wear leather gloves, and only people like you, Major, who are not afraid of the cold can hold it in their hands. It is carved from old ice in the -30 degree strata and also kept at -30 degrees, making it the coldest drinking vessel for the warmest of wines." The doctor said, He said so, but he was also holding the glass with his empty hand, his slender hand was stable and did not tremble at all because of the low temperature.

****** SUPPOSED ROYAL FAMILY and EXTREMELY RICH ***************

　　"Bondarev, a KGB major, from Moscow, these are the truth. I only concealed from you the name of my great-grandmother, her name was Nastasya Nikolaevna Romanova." Bondarev slowly pronounced this long, awkward name, like a magician reciting a forbidden spell.

　　The doctor was stunned: "Was it the last royal daughter of the Romanov dynasty?"

　　Nastasia was the last princess of the Romanov dynasty, the last dynasty to rule Russia until it was overthrown by the October Revolution in 1917. in 1918, the last Tsar Nicholas II and his entire family were secretly executed by the Red Army. Nastasia was the youngest daughter of Nicholas II, and although she was young, she was given the title of "Grand Duchess", which made her more honored than other royal princesses in Europe at the time, and princesses were required to curtsy and address her as "Your Imperial Highness" during their audiences. It was rumored that she was the only one who escaped execution, and that her name Nastasia meant "resurrection".

　　"Since there is still me, the grandson of the emperor, I can't say that she is the 'last' royal daughter." Bondarev smiled.

　　"How do you prove yourself?" The Doctor asked.

　　"I saw Rasputin's signature at the end of the tunnel, and that heretic who had been canonized had been here before, so I should say he was the one who found this cave, right?"

　　"Yes." The Doctor said, "This cave is his legacy."

　　"Then you must know that Rasputin was a guest of the Tsar and a close friend of Princess Nastasia. The fact that I could find this place means that I have Rasputin's secrets, secrets that he told my great-grandmother. This is the proof of my status as the last royal grandson of the Romanov dynasty." Bondarev held his head up proudly.

　　"So, what were the secrets that Rasputin revealed to Her Imperial Highness?"

　　Bondarev smiled slyly: "I think there are certain things I know that you do not know, and of course there are things you know that I do not, so we might as well exchange information about each other. Then we might be able to sit down and talk about cooperation."

　　"After you." The Doctor raised his muzzle.

　　"This matter begins with my great-grandmother's escape. A Red Army bullet did go through her heart and her body was thrown into an abandoned mine, but three days later she awoke and the wound miraculously healed. It was then that she remembered what Rasputin had told her, that Rasputin said he was willing to share the secrets of the world with his great-grandmother because she, like himself, was God's chosen one. Like Rasputin, she had an unparalleled power of life and could even return from hell. She later married a Red Army officer, and in those days the only way she could gain refuge was to marry a Red Army officer. My great-grandfather, who later stepped into the high ranks of the military, was a very good man and always protected my great-grandmother from revealing her identity. Great-grandmother would sometimes wake up in a dream and shout, 'The Red Army is coming with guns,' and great-grandfather would reassure her, 'I am the Red Army, and as long as I live, the Red Army guns will only protect you.'"

　　"Touching love." The doctor said faintly.

　　"Great-grandmother decided to give up her past identity, so she rarely talked about the past of the Romanov dynasty, with the exception of one thing. She bade her great-grandfather that there were relics of God in the north of Siberia, which the saint Rasputin had told her about. That saint found the cave where God created life on the shore of the icy sea. But he did not announce it to the world, but sealed the miracle with iron water, because the miracle had degenerated into the cradle of the devil, and inside it were hidden fallen angels. Generations of our family descendants have to be on guard against the reopening of that cave, and the day it reopens, the end comes with it."

　　"So you are here to check if we are guarding the miracle properly?"

　　"No, no, my great-grandmother was a good and devout Orthodox Christian, but I am not. I have a great curiosity about everything, and after I inherited the secret, I am bent on finding the miracle. If I were to find it, I would definitely open it and take a look. Not long ago I found an engineering map from the ruined archives." Bondarev drew out the map roll and rolled it along the ice toward the Doctor, "It marks the elevator that leads deep into the tundra."

　　The Doctor scanned the map, "It's not the original map, someone drew it from memory."

　　"It was drawn by a madman who used to be the engineer battalion commander of the 13th Konrad Infantry Division and was ordered to participate in the excavation of the tunnel, after which he was brainwashed by drugs and became a regular in a mental hospital. All he remembered was that he was engaged in a big project on the northern coast of Siberia, and the project was to dig a cave. Suddenly I realized I had found a breakthrough. But as the investigation progressed, I found that the matter was becoming more and more mysterious. Many years ago, the army had built a port in the almost unnavigable northern part of Siberia, about which there was no information, and even the coordinates had been erased. Below that port, sappers had dug through the hard permafrost and opened a long-closed cave. So I decided to come and see for myself. As a KGB officer, I easily applied for a charter to investigate this mysterious port, so that I could drive in as the 'Minister of the Admiralty'. Sure enough, I found Rasputin's signature at the end of the passage, and I finally arrived at the place I had dreamed of since childhood." Bondarev looked around, "But it doesn't look like there's anything interesting here."

　　"I'm sure you noticed when you came here that the closer you got to the door where Rasputin signed, the more bones there were in the tundra, and they all crawled out through a gap in the rock wall. It was those things that Rasputin was talking about when he said this cave would breed demons. But now the cave is dead, and the mysterious forces in the cave have dissipated."

　　"I don't think so. If this cave was no longer valuable, you would have left long ago."

　　"If this cave was really valuable, I should have shot you and monopolized the secrets of this place."

　　"Wait a minute! I have brought you a gift! Won't you take a look at the gift before shooting?'' Bondarev took an envelope from inside his clothes and slid it along the ice toward the Doctor, by which he showed that he had absolutely no intention of resisting.

　　The doctor tore open the envelope, inside was a Swiss bank cashier's check - a cashier's check for $200 million.

　　"This is a rare and large check, what do you want to buy from me with this check?" 'Doc asked.

　　"Not a purchase, just a gift." Bondarev smiled, "We believe this gift will be useful to you. Your research has been going on for decades, consuming huge amounts of state funds every year, and it must not be finished yet, right? But now that the Soviet Union is about to split, your backers have fallen, which means you no longer have access to funding to complete your research, and no one to help you keep it secret."

　　"It does sound like I'm facing a lot of trouble." The doctor said.

　　"Then why not work with my family? We know politics, we know technology, and we know war, and we're willing to invest in this cave as long as its secrets pay off. We can continue to support you in this project and share with you all the benefits it brings. I have already shown my sincerity and told you everything I know. Shouldn't you also tell me what I don't know? After that you will still have time to shoot me."

　　"You are very calm, Comrade Major. You think I won't shoot you if you produce this $200 million cashier's check, don't you?" There was a hint of sarcasm in the Doctor's tone.

　　"There are not many people in the world who can refuse two hundred million dollars." Bondarev smiled, "And killing me wasn't the best option. If I do not return safely to Moscow, the family will know that something has happened to me, and they will not spare you. At that time the secret of Black Swan Harbor will be made known to the world."

　　"Ten times." The doctor threw the cashier's check back to Bondarev.

　　Bondarev froze: "What did you say?"

　　"Your family needs to increase the bid tenfold. I need three years and two billion dollars to complete this research. At that time we will share the whole world."

　　"That amount is beyond my expectations and not easy to raise even for my family."

　　The Doctor laughed coldly: "It seems you really don't know the secret of this cave, in front of which two billion dollars is too small a figure, what is here no one can afford, it is priceless! Your family should be proud to offer this two billion dollars."

　　"Everything has a price, weapons, women, secrets, even souls." Bondarev said.

　　"But who can put a price on God?" The Doctor asked.

-------

The Lenin's mooring is only 40 kilometers from Black Swan Harbor, and they will be here soon. This new flare is so great that American spy satellites will recognize it as an aurora borealis." Bondarev said.

　　"You had said that the Lenin would not come." The doctor said.

　　"Moscow is not prepared to send the Lenin to Black Swan Harbo, but we can, and now the Lenin is at my family's beck and call."

　　Black shadows rose above the sea level, the roar of a giant bee on its wings approaching at high speed, snow dust twisted into a tornado by the helicopter's rotors, red five stars flashing in the white tornado. It was the "MiG 26" heavy helicopter, codenamed "Halo", one of the pride of the Soviet military industry. The helicopter hovered over the cast iron dock, the searchlights broke through the haze of the night, the hatch opened, and five captains lined up, saluting Bondarev. The communication lights below the belly of the plane blinked up, signaling greetings to Bondarev in Morse code.

　　"Glad to see you're safe and sound, Your Imperial Highness!" The doctor read out the greeting.

　　The fact that they called Bondarev "His Imperial Highness" instead of "comrade" meant that the helicopter and the Lenin on the icy sea were no longer loyal to the Soviet Union, but to the heir to the Romanov dynasty. The name Romanov is about to shine again after almost a century of obliteration in history, and with the power of the Dragons, it is not impossible for them to re-establish hegemony on Earth.

　　Bondarev handed a letter to the Doctor: "This is a letter I wrote to the family, please read it."

　　The Doctor scanned it and handed the letter back to Bondarev.

　　"If things go well, we will be able to relocate within a few weeks." Bondarev handed the letter to a captain who descended down the zip line, "We will build you a brand new research base in the warm and pleasant Baltic Sea, along with a vacation villa."

　　The captain placed a mouthful of boxes at the doctor's feet, containing a case of aged Red Label vodka.

　　"A small gift, so you don't have to worry about running out of booze until we leave Black Swan Harbor." Bondarev said.

　　"I guess I picked the right partner." The Doctor smiled.

***** HE VERY STRONG AND CAPABLE ***********

Bondarev looked alert, his muscles bulging under his uniform. He was a highly trained soldier, capable of breaking a wolf's neck with his bare hands, and had no need to fear this delicate boy, but not daring to take it lightly in the presence of something supernatural, he adjusted himself to a state of immediate danger.

------

Bondarev noticed a transparent figure flashed from his side. It was just a short blink of an eye, a fraction of a second, but Bondarev was trained to the rigors of the KGB and he was absolutely certain it was a person!

-------- IS A HYBRID THAT HAS NO ISSUE KILLING PEOPLE, INCLUDING KIDS ------------

The lieutenant on duty in the boiler room collapsed on the duty desk, a bottle of Red Label vodka still in his hand. A steel-core bullet had penetrated his heart, and Bondarev stood behind the lieutenant with his Makolov pistol.

---

At that moment the doctor heard the wind change behind his head, and the beam of the searchlight struck him. He turned sharply and saw huge black shadows hovering in the air, their rotor blades churning the snow into a flurry. It was Halo, the heavy helicopter from the Lenin, which had ventured to Black Swan Harbor in such bad weather.

　　"Didn't you say Halo couldn't fly in a snowstorm of this magnitude?" The Doctor froze. Something hard pressed against his back, it was Bondarev's Makarov pistol. One by one, the steel-core bullets pierced the Doctor's chest, tearing the aging heart into a million pieces. The Doctor spat out a mouthful of blood, mixed with fragments of his lungs, which had been destroyed in the process. He braced himself and turned his face to look at Bondarev, his eyes filled with shock.

　　"You can't complete the research without me ......," he hissed.

　　"We didn't even try to finish your research." Bondarev's pupils swirled with a gorgeous gold.

　　"Who the hell ...... are you?"

　　Bondarev held the Doctor in place and injected him with adrenaline using an air needle, "Hold on one more minute for the most magnificent scene."

　　The Black Swan Harbor suddenly trembled up tremendously, the sound of a series of explosions spread upward from the ground, but it was not a vacuum bomb detonated in advance, if it was a vacuum bomb, a square kilometer around would be leveled to the ground. A fire rose, and countless pieces of frozen earth spilled onto the frozen sea.

　　"Engineering explosive mines?" The Doctor asked in a hiss.

　　"The new engineering burst mines, even 10,000 years of permafrost, as long as the right eye is chiseled can be blown up. Now in a place you can't see, there is a huge hole with a depth of 180 meters, leading to Rasputin's cave, where we will use the laser to cut through the ice and take away the precious collection that originally belonged to you." Bondarev said, "You have been isolated from the outside world for too long to know the progress of engineering, it is no longer difficult to cut through the tundra in an instant today, once I probe its location."

　　"You ...... want to take that dragon!" The Doctor understood.

　　"Yes," Bondarev replaced the magazine, walked over to the sled, and fired four bullets into the chests of each of the four children.

　　The children died without a struggle from the potent hypnotic drug. It was pure carnage.

　　"You are not the only one who is willing to sacrifice human lives for a great cause." Bondarev pressed his chest in silence for the children he had just killed, looking reverent.

[helenvader]

We had an interesting discussion on "kvas" with @kasamira  at @serpenteve  's blog yesterday and I thought it's worth a separate post.

@dreamsatdusk mentioned a Q&A that I also stumbled upon and managed to find it again. Here be link.

All of it just doesn't make sense. If you model your fantasy world on Russia, you should take some research first and then do your version in a way that doesn't completely retcon the original culture.

As for Ravkan. I am a linguistics major and this is not how it's done. She either could have come up with a totally fake language or work with Russian in a way where the new words are coined based on word formation rules of that language. To do so, you really need to know those rules, at for that you need to really know the language, so consult a student of Russian and pay them with a mention in your book. As a student I would have been thrilled with such an opportunity.

Renaming vodka with a name of another existent beverage that is as alcoholic as kefir was not a good idea.

So I just looked up the etymology of vodka in Wikipedia and a random distillery site (first two hits on Google).

Here we go:

1.

People in the area of vodka's probable origin have names for vodka with roots meaning "to burn": Polish: gorzała; Ukrainian: горілка, romanized: horílka; Belarusian: гарэлка, romanized: harelka; Lithuanian: degtinė; Samogitian: degtėnė is also in use, colloquially and in proverbs); Latvian: degvīns; Finnish: paloviina. In Russian during the 17th and 18th centuries, горящѣе вино or горячее вино (goryashchee vino, "burning wine" or "hot wine") was widely used. Others languages include the German Branntwein, Danish brændevin, Dutch: brandewijn, Swedish: brännvin, and Norwegian: brennevin (although the latter terms refer to any strong alcoholic beverage).

2.

At the start of the 12th century, this substance was often used for medical purposes—to disinfect and to numb. Interestingly the verb razvodit—etymologically close to the word voda, from which the word vodka is derived—means to dilute with water. This meaning of the word reflects the last step of the process of making vodka. During the 17th and 18th century, vodka also went by the names “bread wine,” “bitter wine,” and “горящее вино“ (goryashchee vino), meaning “burning wine.” The first name “bread wine” is derived from the imperial practice of having vodka with bread at every meal, while the latter two clearly come from the taste and burning sensation that accompany a sip of vodka. The first recorded use of the actual term vodka did not occur until 1751 in Empress Elizabeth’s decree regulating the ownership of vodka distilleries. Vodka is still the most common name for this drink, today, but it has acquired a litany of others, including: “hot water,” “the monopolka,” “the bubble,” “crankshaft,” “the white stuff,” “half litre,” “daughter,” and “the bitter stuff.”

So many possibilities to play with. The "fire" could have been used effectively, IMHO. Oh, well.

P. S. As a side note - I actually did coin new words for sea fisherie terms for my work, and while they are not (naturally) in the dictionaries, they are in the EU terminology database and in relevant legislation. It's a fun and rewarding exercise, but you need to stick to existing word formatiom rules, as I mentioned. Or else nobody would have approved of my invented words (I just can't do whatever, I am just one person involved in the long journey of a document from draft to legislation). You have much more freedom in literature.

[g-46-stark]

Find Me In Paris: Things I’m still wondering...

So, I really love Find me in Paris, is really funny and original.

I appreciate the way they handle all the time travel stuff... I’ve watched it like a hundred of times, but I’m still wondering:

1-Why no one ever told Lena about the Russian Revolutions of 1905 and 1917?

Really, not even Ines, who’s like the ballerina version of Hermione Granger.

For the ones who don’t know what I’m talking about, or just wants a reminder, I’m going to make a short resume:

From 1904 to 1905 Russia and Japan were fighting a war; Russia lose it, so people weren’t very happy (they also realize some social classes needed some changes);

The Russian army repressed a manifestation in St. Petersburg (some people want to present a petition to zar Nikolai II);

It started a revolution that lasted two years (1905-1907). After it, the zar was forced to create the Duma (a sort of Parliament). Some historicals think that this was the first step of the 1917 Russian Revolution;

During WWI, the social situation in Russia wasn’t all this good, especially for the factory worker. They all unite under the ideals of Lenin, and it started the October Revolution, which led to the abdication of zar Nikolai II;

Due to some political issue (it started a civil war between the new communist government and people that still wanted the zar) Nikolai Romanov and his family (his wife Alexandra, his four daughter Olga, Tatiana, Maria and Anastasia, and his son Alexei) were took in Siberia and then killed.

So, Lena is a Russian princess: some people think is Nikolai daughter, but since it’s not specificated, let’s say she’s his niece. 

She obviously doesn’t know about Russian nobility fate; so, she still thinks that in Russia there would be a zar, who would be one of Nikolai’s descendants.

She says on more than one occasion that she is a princess, who lives in a palace in Russia.

But the thing is this: I don’t think the old Russian nobility still lives in Russia and has all their old proprieties such as palaces.

So no one (not even the teachers) find strange that Lena goes around saying she’s a princess?

This leads me to the next point: why doesn’t Ines tell Lena about Russia 20th century history?

She knows Lena is from 1905, so she knows why she doesn’t know about it.

If I know that one of my dearest friends is a time traveler from 1900’s Russia (and part of the nobility), one of the first thing I would say to them it would be: “If you ever go back in your century, stay away from Russia! Move to the US and don’t go anywhere else!”.

I understand Ines wouldn’t say that for all the “don’t change the past because you don’t know how it could affect the future” thing, but seriously… Lena always said she wanted to go back! You don’t want to even warn her?

And later, in season 2, Lena said to Max all the truth; and she also said she wanted to go back so she could save Ines.

All Max has to say on it was: “Oh, ok. I’m really sad that you’re leaving, but that’s ok. Let’s create the most transgressive choreography that Paris Opera has ever seen.”.

And I was like… Ehm…hello?? The girl you claim to love just said she wanted to go back at the beginning of a disastrous century!! She’s leading herself into two revolutions and probably her death, but ok, let’s dance through it.

No one there knows anything about 1900’s Russian history?

And besides that, what about the history lessons or the history teacher?

What do they teach students in that school?

Oh, right...

2- Max's family: What happened between Max and Ruben     (Reuben?)? What happened between Armando and his wife? And, more importantly, where is she?

I know that since Lena is the main character, we should be worried about her background story, but really… you can’t throw us some hints about Max's dysfunctional family and then just walk away.

I mean, maybe it’s just me, but I’m still confused about something.

If I get it right (feel free to correct me if I’m wrong):

Ruben is not Armando biological son: he was adopted in Spain;

He was a street boy, who was an extraordinarily talented dancer;

He and Max were inseparable;

At some point, their mum took them to London, where she wanted them to attend a boarding school (Arrow? Harrow?);

Max was accepted, but Ruben wasn’t;

So, Armando took the boy with him to New York (where he presumably worked for the Imperial Ballet) since their mum “can’t take care of him”;

Then something bad happened between the two brothers;

The result was that Max was expelled from his school and his relationship with Ruben was ruined;

Max said that Ruben came to visit him at school and started “acting like himself”: he made something bad, but we don’t know what;

After “breaking his mother’s heart” for being expelled (words from Armando), Max won a sort of scholarship for a European ballet school and chose to go to Paris;

Then, it happens all Lena’s stuff;

At a certain point Ruben comes back in Max life, “stealing” is brother baroque choreography and going at his school (and dancing with his chica);

In a dialogue, we discover that he and Max made a promise, but one of them broke it;

I think it was about not “entering in the other's territory”? Like, Ruben couldn’t go to Max boarding school and Max couldn’t go to a ballet school/found a hip-hop crew? 

I don’t know if I missed something or I just misunderstood things, if you can explain it to me, I’ll be happy to listen. 

Anyway, I have some main question about Max family: 

WHERE IS HIS MUM??

I mean, I assumed she lives in London, her son lives in Paris, it’s like an hour's flight… why she never shows up? 

Not even for his shows at Garnier? Not even when her son injured himself so bad that he ends up in the hospital and had surgery?

Is she dead? Is she ill? Like does she have cancer or something so bad that she couldn’t take a plane to go to visit her hurt son? In that case, I’m sorry for my cruel judgment.

But otherwise…I know that the others character parents never go to visit their children (the only exception were Dash and Thea’s mums), but I think that every parent would have shown up in case their child end up in a hospital.

Is she totally unaffectionate?

Because the quote from Armando: “I took Ruben to NY because he wasn’t admitted at Harrow and your mother couldn’t take care of him” sound pretty bad.

What happened between Max's parents?

I know that married couple living in different city/country due to work isn’t uncommon, so it wouldn’t have bothered me if some word in Max and Armando’s dialogue in season 1 hadn’t been said:

Armando said that his wife decided to take the boys back to London, and it sounded to me like he didn’t totally agree with that decision.

Max said something like “don’t speak about mum” as it hurts listening to his dad talking about his mum.

So, maybe I’m seeing drama everywhere, but it seems to me that something happened with Max's mum and/or between the parents.

My interpretation of that, after seeing that scene, is that Armando and his wife were divorcing, so Mum took her sons and moved to London (without Dad's consent, maybe, it’s sadly common in some difficult divorces). Both the boys were obviously traumatized by that, so Ruben started acting badly (so he wasn’t admitted at school) making his mum desperate and unwilling to take care of him? And maybe Max was angry with his father for leaving mum and them (and after, for taking Ruben to NY and leaving him in a boarding school)? 

Why are Ruben and Max hating each other?

Okay, they’re brothers, but we’re going a little too far, don’t we?

Maybe Max’s a little jealous of Ruben's talent and (again) because he was taken to New York with their father while he was in a British all-male boarding school and blah, blah, blah… okay, we get it.

But Ruben?

Maybe he is jealous because he’s not Armando's biological son? Because he thinks Armando would always choose his “real” son instead of him?

It could be, but I’m totally plotting things on this point

We know that probably Ruben was the reason for Max's expulsion from his old school, and I presume that their parents thought it was Max’s fault, but I don’t think that’s all the story.

I mean, I personally want to know more about this.

In conclusion, dear producers: you can’t just toss at us two brothers that literally want to punch one another without a real explanation and expecting us to just walk away with that.

So…tell me what you think. 

Sorry for the long post, and thanks for reading it!