Acquired Book By: I am a regular tour hostess for blog tours via Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours whereupon I am thankful to have been able to host such a diverse breadth of stories, authors and wonderful guest features since I became a hostess! HFVBTs is one of the very first touring companies I started working with as a 1st Year Book Blogger – uniting my love and passion with Historical Fiction and the lovely sub-genres inside which I love devouring. Whether I am reading selections from Indie Authors & publishers to Major Trade and either from mainstream or INSPY markets – I am finding myself happily residing in the Historical past each year I am a blogger.
What I have been thankful for all these years since 2013 is the beautiful blessing of discovering new areas of Historical History to explore through realistically compelling Historical narratives which put me on the front-lines of where History and human interest stories interconnect. It has also allowed me to dive deeper into the historic past and root out new decades, centuries and millenniums to explore. For this and the stories themselves which are part of the memories I cherish most as a book blogger I am grateful to be a part of the #HFVBTBlogTours blogger team.
I received a complimentary ARC copy of “The Romanov Heiress” by the author Jennifer Laam in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein. However, this was separate from my participation in this promotional tour for the novel of the same title — as I took it upon myself to feature a preview of a forthcoming review during the blitz instead of a standard highlight of the novel which is run during a traditional spotlighted post of this nature.
On my connection to Ms Laam:
I previously crossed paths with Ms Laam whilst hosting her blog tour for the novel “The Lost Season of Love and Snow” – which was also a tour hosted by HFVBTs. I also hosted a guest feature by Ms Laam as well for that particular tour and had intended to do so again but realised that that wasn’t in the cards this time around. I haven’t yet had the joy of reading the other novels by this author which I aim to gather at some point post-relocation, as most of my readers and visitors alike know by now that I am relocating at the end of March. Her novels: “Secret Daughter of the Tsar” and “The Tsarina’s Legacy” are the ones I’ll be gathering next to read.
Whilst reconnecting with the author ahead of her promotional tours – one through Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours and one through Xpresso Book Tours, I asked the author if this latest release (ie. “The Romanov Heiress”) was going to be releasing into print or audio, as I had only seen it noted as being a Digital First release instead. This happens quite often enough nowadays and I understand the reasons behind it in the marketplace of publishing. However, as I’m a traditional reader of books in print and/or a listener of audiobooks – it was something I wanted to ask the author directly about ahead of promoting the book to my readers and visitors in case the same might be true for them as well.
During that conversation, I learnt there will be a print edition of the book but I didn’t have a confirmed timeline of when it would release. Whilst conversing with the author, she offered to send me an ARC copy of the novel in print and I gladly accepted that as I was quite eager to see how she treated the legacy of the Romanovs as well as funnelling her own vision of their story into her novel. She is one of the Historical Fiction authors I’ve read in the past of whom I regularly keep an eye on for a new release and welcomed the chance to read this story of hers this Spring (despite the timing of my relocation).
Thereby, I am sharing this as the ways in which I received the book was separate from the promotional tours and thereby were not directly connected to either Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours non Xpresso Book Tours as well.
On why this review is a more condensed version of a regular one I usually feature:
For those who follow my blog you will have denoted that the last time I posted an update about my life behind the blog was in mid-Feburary, when I shared my post about exiting stage left. In the weeks which followed, I lost interest to journal what was happening in regards to my relocation because of how hard it was to resolve and how exhausted I was trying to maintain my work schedules in and round sorting out where to relocate too. That was also complicated by wanting to visit with my father whose now residing in long-term care (which is also journalled extensively through my Sunday Posts of the last few months) and that was tricky in of itself as I had to balance those visits with both of my jobs. And, of course, with working comes added stress and with packing a flat comes extreme exhaustion. Ergo, this is the first time I’ve been able to sit down with a story after my readings of Caleb Wygal’s Cosy Mysteries! The latter of which I am going to be continuing with my reading of Death Washes Ashore.
If your curious – a new life update will be forthcoming this week during my next Sunday Post – however, for now, I wanted to address the shorter review attached to this promotional tour. I was hopeful I could get a bit further along into this novel ahead of my tour date, however, as it only arrived at the head of this week by post and as my life/work balance alongside my packing hours haven’t exactly been yielding a lot of ‘extra’ time for personal pursuits such as reading — you could say, I was just grateful I could read the first twenty-five pages and share those remarks with you instead for this lovely tour.
This abridged review is part of my #25PagePreview posts and at a future date I am hopeful I can share a more expanded rumination of my time spent within the author’s vision of the story.
The Romanov Heiress
by Ms Jennifer Laam
Source: Direct from Author
Four sisters in hiding. A grand duchess in disguise. Dark family secrets revealed…an alternate future for the Romanov sisters from Jennifer Laam, author of The Secret Daughter of the Tsar and The Lost Season of Love and Snow.
With her parents and brother missing and presumed dead, Grand Duchess Olga Romanova must keep her younger sisters safe. The Bolsheviks are determined to eliminate any remaining holdovers from the tsarist regime, hunting down the last Romanovs and putting them to death. Now living in England, the Romanov sisters remain hidden to protect their identities, even as isolation strains their relationships.
But they can’t distance themselves from the world forever.
Olga learns that a peer of the realm has accused the late Empress Alexandra of betraying Russia and her allies during the Great War. Under the spell of the scheming Grigori Rasputin, Alexandra disclosed military secrets to the enemy and pursued a separate peace with Germany. If this rumor becomes history, it will destroy her legacy and her family’s future.
Places to find the book:
ASIN: B0BSXSCL9T
Published by Self Published
on 20th March, 2023
Format: Paperback ARC
Converse via: #HistFic or #HistNov and #HistoricalFiction
+ #TheRomanovHeiress as well as #HFVBT
Available Formats: Digital First Release + Paperback Edition to follow
About Ms Jennifer Laam
An avid history nerd long fascinated with the Romanov sisters, Jennifer Laam’s next books, including THE ROMANOV HEIRESS (March 2023), will explore their stories with several “what-ifs.”
A proud native of Stockton, CA, Jennifer currently lives in Sacramento with a spoiled tabby cat named Jonesy. When not reading or writing, she enjoys planning cosplay for the next San Diego Comic-Con, experimenting with vegetarian recipes (to mixed results), and obsessing over House Targaryen or Baby Yoda.
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- 2023 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge
Sons of Pemberley (Spotlight/Vlog Interview)
Ashen
Josette