**Spoiler Alert**
Everyone dies at the end. But you should know that already.

Nevertheless, it's a pretty captivating - albeit gruesome - story. I'm glad I'd read The Romanov Sisters first since Rappaport didn't go into as much detail about each family member's life and personality here. This one felt like a sequel even though it was written a few years prior to the aforementioned.

I'm sensing a trend that a few other reviewers have noted and that I've felt in other historical nonfiction books I've read lately - I really don't like when authors can't seem to present an unbiased account of historical events and characters. Does it make me sexist that these authors are usually women? This is nonfiction, so please tell me the facts. Let me come to my own conclusions about these people.

That being said, I agree that the Romanovs didn't deserve to die in the way that they did, especially the children. But I feel very conflicted about Tsar Nicholas II. Rappaport has really only elaborated on his abilities as a caring and doting father, but basically glossed over his inabilities as a leader. I want to learn more about him from an unbiased source - maybe I should just read his Wikipedia page? I've kind of been comparing him to Syria's Bashar Al-Assad in my mind but am not sure if that's warranted. Hmmm....

I've always been interested in the Romanovs so it was cool to be able to read more into their experiences leading up to the end. It was a little hard for me to read knowing what has happened and seeing how they were so hopeful to the end.

V. sad at the end, a terrible end to those people.

The book tells a very different story from that of Rappaport's other book The Romanov Sisters, which was written later than this one, and which I read first. It's kind of hard to determine who Nicholas and Alexandra were, each book showing two very different facets of their personalities. Having read the book about the sisters, and completing their lives with this book, their deaths are really sickening and, as much as I'd like to, I don't believe Anastasia made it out alive.

For a book about a subject that fascinates me, this was unbelievably boring until the last 3 chapters. On a positive note, it is very detailed about the actual murders and the immediate aftermath, so that was interesting.

Wow! Gives amazing perspective about Russia
during the time of the Russian revolution. Impressive author research. I appreciated the style of historical narrative. I didn't feel as though I was reading a textbook. Very graphic, but this is how it was. War is graphic.

well researched. i feel like i learned a lot.