The Romanov Oracle

by Molly Tullis

A standalone historical fantasy novel based on the infamous Anastasia Romanova, with romance and intrigue. When the Romanov Empire was dismantled in flame and firing squad, one name rose to heights above all the Anastasia. During the final years of her family's rule, the near omnipresence of occultish powers drove rumors to a feverish height. But what if the magic was hers? Anastasia Romanova carried Romanov blood, full of magic, once depleted and diminished throughout her family tree over the years. But when it shows up in her as strong as her ancestors, an incident in her childhood forces her family to attempt to drain the magic out of her. The burden grows as her powers become too strong to control, leading Anastasia to try and fight fire with fire... but there's always a price for magic. Mikhail, the enigmatic servant boy who was witness to her very first spell, is forced by her family's advisors to assume the priesthood. After the death of his mother, he becomes the scapegoat for Anastasia's magic and swears revenge on the entire Romanov dynasty. When they're unexpectedly thrown together, they have to decide whether they'll work together or watch each other suffer. There's only one thing the dvoryanstvo and her family never expected. The magic is real and so is the relationship between Mikhail and Anastasia, who are determined to see her powers unleashed. Even if that means everything else burns. "The Romanov Oracle" is an adult fantasy romance that contains graphic violence, swearing, and sex scenes. ★ Forced Proximity
★ One Bed
★ Hurt/Comfort
★ Found Family
★ Nightmare Trope

Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Historical Fiction, Magic, Historical, Romantasy, Retellings

310 pages, Paperback

First published November 17, 2021

About the author

Molly Tullis would have picked the Phantom of the Opera over Raoul and named her French bulldog Jean Valjean. She only believes in black clothing, red lipstick, and never turns down an iced coffee or tequila. She enjoys writing fantasy, romance, or any genre with an opportunity to insert a dark-haired, morally grey man. Her debut novel, The Romanov Oracle, was inspired by a love of history and a simultaneous desire to rewrite it with more magic.

When not identifying as an author, she identifies as a woman with bangs, finger tattoos, and a nose ring, who can tell you what planets are making you sad.

Her DMs are always open on Instagram and Patreon (@thebibliophileblonde), and you can get information on all upcoming projects at her website.

Reviews

[Mrs Page-Turner · Rating 3 out of 5]

First things first: I thought this was a decent read, especially for a debut novel. However there are a couple of reasons why I couldn't give this more stars. But let me start of by saying what I liked:
-the writing: I basically read this in one sitting and obviously, this means it kept me engaged. I enjoyed the descriptions and overall, it just flowed nicely.
- the spice: yeah, this was good, not over the top and just, you know... hot.

Here's what I didn't think was top notch (Before I start: I follow the author on Instagram. I usually cackle at her scathing reviews, but when you decide to pick apart other authors' work, you have to deliver with your own novel and I don't think that necessarily happened here, at least not completely.):
- the tropes. I love tropes. I really do with all my heart and I knew this would be trope heavy (I mean, I saw how it was marketed on Instagram, so duh), but that part really fell flat for me. It just felt contrived. To me, it seemed that the story was built around the tropes and not the other way round, which it should be. You should have a story and then work in some tropes where they fit. It was like the tropes were there first and the author tried to string them together by filling the gaps with the couple running between the palace and the inn.Also, everything from one-bed to Who-did-this-to-you? was crammed into two chapters and therefore it lacked emotional depth in my opinion. There just wasn't any build up.
-I hate to say this but I really didn't care about the characters. They could have been copied and pasted from any JLA book that came out lately (I know it's blasphemy but people: JLA writes the same characters over and over again, they just have different names). Mikhail does not have any character traits apart from being perfect: perfect-looking, perfect hair, being a perfect supportive boyfriend and sex god (side note: How? I mean, the guy has lived in a monastry for 15 years. Shouldn't he at least be a little bit rusty?). So, you get the gist, he's truly amazing. And no, he's not morally grey (although he was advertised as such).Yes, he wants to kill Anastasia in the beginning, but as soon as he realizes that she's kind of cute, this plan falls flat like a pancake and he's your typical swoon-worthy hero that doesn't possess any traits other than being super-supportive of Anastasia.
Anastasia herself on the other hand was kind of annoying. I felt like the author wanted me to believe that she is a badass who doesn't need a man when in reality, she does. There's no way she would have come into her powers without Mikhail there, so honestly, it's the classic "girl-needs-a-guy-to-tell-her-how-great-she-is-otherwise-how-would-she-even-realize-how-great-she-is"-trope. You can keep telling me that she does not need a man, but you have to show me, too, and that didn't happen.

That being said, it was still a decent book, just not a masterpiece as some people have claimed on here.

[TC Rittenhouse · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book so much. I have had a life long obsession with Russian history, the Russian Orthodox church, Russian architecture, Russian fairy tales, and the Romanov's. I thoroughly enjoyed the movie Anastasia despite knowing that it was only really loosely based in reality. That being stated, I don't speak or write Russian.

So when I had to stop and correct something in the first dozen pages of this book, I just about cried. Just for note, it was unlikely that the Lord's Prayer would be recited in Latin as in the Orthodox faith, the liturgy would be spoken in whatever is the vernacular language, ie it would have been in Russian, or possibly in French since the royalty were obsessed with the French. (you can see the French influence in the architecture of St Petersburg - the Winter Palace is based on Versailles). Also, when you are introduced to Anastasia and the Tsarina Alexandra, they are both described as sitting in the Winter Palace's chapel....there's no seating in Russian Orthodox chapels, churches, or cathedrals, except for the elderly, infirm, or in advanced pregnancy.

Okay, so if I look at this being an alternate universe book, there are still a bunch of other errors and pieces that bugged me.

This book is filled with tropes that are really slap dashed applied, and this is supposed to be enemies to lovers, but having Mikhail, oh excuse me or is it Rasputin (this is an on going issue of what name he goes by for the entire book), going from hating Anastasia for 15 years to caring about her in the space of a chapter (7, pages 65-71) is ridiculous. Then he does the whole "who hurt you" thing in regards to who gave Anastasia the scars on her hands/arms/back.

The one bed in the inn trope seemed to be interesting, but at the same time, reminded me of the inn scene in A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J Maas, complete with the fact that he pleases her, but when she reaches for him, he says no.

The whole sex thing is a little out of place and just feel contrived, also he's been in a monastery for 15 years so where did he get all of his expertise? There's a nod to how she has taken care of matters on her own by sneaking out with the stable boys.

There is also a question of timeline, apparently the revolution didn't happen and the bulk of the story takes place in 1929, I suspect that this is to age Anastasia up to being an adult, but there's no connection to the rest of the world, and she waffles between more traditional Russian clothes to more Edwardian styles that were popular in the 1910's, often mentioning a corset, but not mentioning the rest of the under garments (and if the reader knows nothing...please take this away - corsets were NOT worn next to the skin, there were garments that went under the corset that protected the skin.)

Sneaking out of the Winter Palace and heading to the lower quarter to help the poor of St. Petersburg, but never talking about the water that backs the palace seems to be an oversight?

The Russian that I do know, was more or less appropriately used, but if you run "lúkovichnaya glavá" through translation - you end up with a phrase that reads "the onion-shaped onion domes domes" so it was a little on the awkward side. There are also some words that don't translate well - khlyst is whip in English, leyb-gvardiya - life guard, dvorovye - yard (but referencing workers that work for the boyar), rogatka - slingshot (but used to describe iron collars)...etc.

What I did like:
The banter between Mikhail and Anastasia, the magic that Anastasia has.

Would I recommend this book?
Maybe, but it wouldn't be for anyone that has an inkling of the actual story.

[Liz · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was getting some buzz on certain sections of Bookstagram, but it didn't live up to the hype imo. You could tell that this is the author's first work; it really needed an editor. There were some holes in the plot and I got whiplash from the characters' ever changing moods and motivations. The main characters were very flat and the secondary characters were basically stock characters. The romance tropes (enemies to lovers, one bed at the inn, instant attraction, to name a few) were plentiful and didn't really serve a purpose.

Stopped reading at 63%.

[Monica · Rating 2 out of 5]

I follow Molly on Instagram and love her content. I feel like we have similar book tastes, and I was very excited to read TRO and support her creative endeavours! I love the concept of the book and I think the bones are wonderful. Historical fiction with magic and enemies to lovers romance? You sonofabitch, I’m in!

I love the way she describes things. I really got a sense of the world Anastasia inhabits. Pretty prose painting an image of opulence with a rotten underbelly .

Obviously the spicy parts are fun and well written but I wouldn’t have expected anything less from the ig Queen of smut herself.

That said, I definitely feel like the pacing was off from the beginning. We are told how Anastasia is nearly broken, and Mikhail thirsts for revenge, but then when they first meet, it all sort of flies out the window. I would’ve loved to see chapters of the anger/ tension between them building as he taunts her and makes her life hard as part of his plot for revenge while slowly coming to the understanding that she was a victim of circumstance much the same as he was. The instant thaw in his icy heart didn’t feel earned at all. Don’t get me wrong, I wanted to get there! I just would’ve liked the journey to take a tad longer. There is a lot of tell, don’t show when it comes to their supposedly contentious relationship but we don’t actually see those fights. The banter we get is great, give us more!

The character development felt weak too. We are told how hard it was for them both, and then they magically come by everything easy. (Especially Mikhail’s bedroom skills, where did he even get those? He was trapped at a monastery!) I want more tension, struggle and strife!

Finally, we all love the tropes: one bed, who hurt you, etc… but they felt really piled on and forced to me. This would probably be fixed if the pacing issue wasn’t there though.

Overall I think the book could’ve benefitted from a more intensive proofing/editing period BUT considering she moved through writing and publishing so quickly there is much to be celebrated here. I’m excited to watch her continue to evolve as an author.

[Paisley · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don’t normally write bad reviews but I’m honestly confused why there are so many great reviews for this book. It’s not that I didn’t enjoy this book because I still read it pretty quickly but I just didn’t like it. This author is known for her brutally honest reviews about books so I was expecting a lot more from the story. People are raving about it on Instagram and after finishing it I’m like???

The things I liked about this book:
• The writing was good!
• This book was very steamy and was probably the saving grace in my opinion.
• This line had me cackling, “‘Watch that mouth, Anya,’ he chuckled, the reverberations of his voice against her nearly sending Anastasia over the edge. ‘It is still technically the Lord’s day.’”


The things I didn’t like
• Who doesn’t love a good trope? I, like many others who read this book, went into it knowing that we had multiple tropes that we all love. But I swear 4 tropes happened in a span of 2 chapters and I was like wait, didn’t you guys meet like 20 pages ago?
• The characters. Oh my god I hated both of them. I’m so sorry to say but Anastasia was sobbing ever other page and I think the author wanted us to believe she was this huge badass but it fell flat for me. Mikhail was just a blah character for me, he was so two dimensional and he just really frustrated me. The only comment I want to make about him was he lived with—and was training to be—a priest for 15 years but was still somehow a sex god? Ma’am something isn’t adding up here.
• Her magic. She’s been forced to hide and not use her powers for 15 years. She’s been abused and abandoned and obviously has some trauma but then a random hot dude comes to her door and tells her to believe in herself and suddenly she’s Aelin Galathynius level powerful. It just seemed to me that the author took the easy way out and didn’t put in the effort to write real character development. I think the story could have been so much better if he actually trained her on how to use her magic. I would have loved to read about the struggle, the hard work, and the pay off.
• I also feel like there were only 3 scenes in the book and I basically read them over and over again. How many times did I have to read about them going back to the winter palace even when they knew that they probably shouldn’t for her father to be there and try to separate them/ kill Mikhail.
• Honestly there’s more I can say but I’ll leave it with what I hated most. They said they loved each other 55% through the book. Fifty-five percent. Like how??? They had no chemistry and the enemies to lovers trope seemed so forced.


Overall I think this book had potential but the execution was a bit choppy. I think she is a talented writer and has potential to write something great, this is only her debut and Im looking forward to seeing what else she comes out with.

[Mafalda · Rating 2 out of 5]

So. Many. Tropes.
So. Little. Story.
So much potential wasted here 🥴🥴

[Lex Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Romanov Oracle is the version of The Romanov Dynasty I hereby chose to believe in! It sucks you in so quickly! The action kicks off and it doesn't quit. You don’t have to be a history buff to love & understand this book. That being said, if you are someone (like me) who is very familiar with the history of the Romanov Dynasty you will also LOVE this book (assuming you don’t have a proverbial historian stick up your butt & can remember it’s a retelling. If you’re not, maybe find something not in the fiction genre). Molly did such a good job taking key & well-known historical facts from the true story and putting a magical twist on them.

As far as the characters go, I loved watching Anastasia’s (Anya’s) character development.
The metaphor Molly created between Anya learning and trusting her power while also learning to trust and take care of herself was everything. It spoke so deeply to my heart as so many of us have an incredible power within us that has been tamped down by the world or those around us. You may think you know Rasputin, but you truly have no idea. This man is the perfect counterpart to Anastasia. I loved watching the way their romance grows and changes and all the insane twists that come up weaving into their relationship.

The spice in this book, you guys, it does not disappoint at all! We all love that enemies to lovers build up and this book does it soooo well. This book is fast paced and keeps the characters under pressure, leading to some serious angst and high emotional impact. Rasputin has some sides to him I never knew I needed! I learned things about myself in a couple scenes. Rasputin is the brat tamer we needed him to be, and don’t get me started on that man bun. When he throws that hair back you know it's about to go down. One way or another. That being said, the spice is so well balanced in that it is insanely hot but also serves the building of the storyline and the growing relationship. Just how I like it!

Overall you will not see this story coming no matter what you think you know about the Romanov’s. It will draw you in and take you through a range of emotions as you become so deeply invested in these characters and the outcome of their world, their relationship and their lives!

[Ciara · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a fun debut novel!

I was a huge fan of the animated Anastasia film growing up, so when I heard Molly was writing a book based on the historical events the movie was loosely based on, I was intrigued!

I enjoyed the writing and binged this book in a few days. At times, I felt like pieces of the story were rushed, like the attraction/dynamic between Anastasia and Mikhail. I’m not sure I fully understood some of the motivations for certain characters, like the Tsar. Obviously knowing the true history of the downfall of the Romanov empire, it wasn’t hard to guess at why he was such a villain in this story. But I think I would have enjoyed seeing his motivations played out a bit more. I loved the romance in the book, but I think it took away from the development of everything else going on in their world.

Overall, I think I would have liked more development and refinement to this book BUT I was still very entertained! My childhood love for Anastasia remains strong.

Writing a book is incredibly challenging. Congrats to Molly for managing to do this in such a short time and for self-publishing it!

[sim2604 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Let me start with this: I love Mollys Bookstagram Acc and i think she is an incredible Woman. But this book just didn‘t deliver for me. I really had a hard time finishing it and i am going to try to point out why:

1) The Love Story
Honestly we had a good start. It seemed as a nice enemy to lovers - but it never really became one. Yes there was bickering… for like 5 minutes. It was clear from the very first second he would fall for her and the book didn’t even try to convince us otherwise. It all seemed rushed and kinda random (who hates someone for 15 years and then judt forgets it in 2 sec??) Also the tropes - i LOVE tropes, but this seemed way to fast and forced.

2) The characters
That‘s my main problem with the book - the characters fell completely flat for me. Tbh Anya started to annoy me, i caught my self rolling my eyes a lot. Her whole storyline seems based on being helpless and whiny and naivI know she is meant to seem strong, but that kinda never happens. And yes she was abused, which explains some of her behavior, but not her annoyance. Mikhail was better off, but he also doesn’t have much depth. He also isn’t morally grey. Not even a bit. Yes he wanted to kill her. But that ended the second he saw her. I won‘t even start with the others. I just felt like the Characters completely lacked layers, even tho i have the feeling Molly really tried.

3) The writing style
Molly has a lot of talent, but i wasn‘t a fan of the objective perspective that has a look into every characters head. I felt like that took a lot of excitement out of the book and it got really confusing in some places. Maybe that‘s just my taste, but i ALWAYS hated it in books and movies when i knew what was going to happen and had so read/see characters being not aware and there are better ways to do that particular style. Also (this is probably just me) but these random russian bits don’t make any sense - they are russian, their whole dialogue is russian translated into english. Why do they randomly talk russian words, when thats what they are supposed to do all the time. Thats just a weird inconsistency which throws me off.

All in all Molly did a great Job for her debut-novel, but I think there is a lot to improve.

[Golbou · Rating 1 out of 5]

I hoped this would be a 4 or 5 star read. The author said they wrote this in a month and I don’t know if they were being serious but it shows.

Spice was fine!!! I thought their romance started going way too fast after the halfway point but it wasn’t that bad. The characters themselves were underdeveloped but I didn’t hate them. Also, I like the cover!


Now for my total dislikes…

- I don’t think it was at all necessary to make this an Anastasia Romanov “retelling”, it could’ve easily been original characters. I know the name Anastasia Romanov automatically attracts a crowd so it was smart for marketing, but I probably would’ve read the book without her name attached to it.

- The pacing was going fine, until they said “I love you” halfway through the book? They’d barely been together without their complicated hatred, from what we’d seen

- The fight about the Tsarina’s letters that lasts all of two pages? Very unnecessary lol.

- The writing had quite a few grammatical errors and repeat phrases on the same page. A character would say or do something specific, and then one paragraph later the same exact thing would be described or said. It happened at least 4 times that I paid attention to.

[Alyssa Welt · Rating 5 out of 5]

A true work of art. Molly took our favorite childhood mystery of Anastasia, and made it the tragic romance of our dreams! A perfect mixture of history, fantasy, and romance! It’s so beautifully written, and molly does a perfect job of painting the picture of Russia during the Romanov dynasty. You will laugh, cry, and fall in love with Anastasia! Also, Molly gave us our new, sexy, man bun obsession!!

[Hannah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oh I wanted to like this book so bad, since I love the author's bookstagram and she seems like such a fun person. And the story of the Romanovs + romance sounded like so much fun. But this made me cringe.

It felt like I was reading a fanfic, and I was sooo close to DNF the whole book at times. Especially because of the random "da"s the author insisted on throwing in at random lol.

[Sarah Crisp · Rating 5 out of 5]

Intense, passionate, and breathtaking. Stunning world building and fiery enemies to lovers. A MUST read that should be at the top of everyone's TBR list.

[Unspokenbooks · Rating 2 out of 5]

Worst book of the year.
Sono così contrariata!!
Credevo un sacco in questo libro perché un fantasy con Anastasia e Rasputin aveva tutte le premesse per essere qualcosa di bellissimo e invece delusione totale.
Più che un libro finito sembra una bozza, una prima versione giusto per buttare giù la storia. Nei primi capitoli, che durano poche pagine l'uno, abbiamo qualcosa come 5 cambi di voce narrante senza stacco tra paragrafi.
I personaggi sono piatti e stereotipati male. Le scene non sono immersive ma trasmettono un senso di superficialità. Il sistema magico non viene spiegato a dovere e più volte si contraddice. E cosa che mi ha fatto definitivamente abbandonare la nave (e pure da incazzata) è il modo in cui viene gestito il trope dell'enemies to lovers: sti due si incontrano per la prima volta, si urlano addosso quasi senza motivo, Rasputin pensa che la vuole uccidere, Anastasia esce dalla stanza e lui pensa "devo fare in modo che non mi entri sotto la pelle", ma esattamente quando è scattata la scintilla???? Ah e ovviamente la mattina dopo parlano di sesso come se nulla fosse.
L'autrice su instagram ha detto di averlo scritto in due mesi e ora capisco il perché.
(disclaimer: ci sono autrici come Scarlett St Clair e Jennifer Armentrout che scrivono libri belli bellissimi in pochi mesi, King of battle and blood è stato scritto e corretto in 2 mesi. Il problema qui non sono i tempi, sono le capacità)

[BM · Rating 5 out of 5]

*no spoilers *

The authors words are so magical they let you escape to the dark , troubled and sexy world of Anastasia. Better then the history books , better than the Disney movie this book will give the ULTIMATE escape from reality . Oh , and there’s man bun action. Thank me later . The Romanov Oracle leaves you needing a strong drink , a moody man bun and wanting more ( hint hint need a sequel)

The only thing left to say is BUY THIS BOOK and watch it all BURN DOWN.

[Veronika B · Rating 2 out of 5]

Alright, where to begin?

First things first: I was so exited and actually hyped for Molly's book. I follow her on Instagram and I think our reading Smut stuff is quite the same. Her reviews are smashing (some of them I disapprove, but the hard core is always 💯).

So, after she announced she will publish a book I was quite exited. After the releasing storyline, that it will take place in Russia and is about Anastasia and Rasputin my expectations were hyped. Hey, I grew up with the Anastasia animation and I thought: well, this plus 🌶️ time... why not... Maybe it will work?

And true to be told, if you are going to make a platform of the occasional scathing review towards other authors, then your book needs to be done better then well.

The sad and true story: I am not amused. I almost DNF it. The first chapters are slow and ok. I understand that you need some background for the story but it was quite.... lame. But alright. I had a lot of books which are slow starters. Maybe this will too.

Welllllll... So I thought.

There wasn't just any build up around the story and the connection. Yeah, the tropes. We love good tropes. But I dunno. The idea of this book is great. But the story progresses far too quickly and that makes it feel underdeveloped.

Another fact is, and yeah, I hate to say this but I really didn't care about the characters.
Fast forward some years later, the chapters were interesting but when it goes more and more to the ending IT GETS SO ANNOYING. Yes, I skipped pages or overflew them to get finally to the end.

Anya is... Uff.. sorry to say, kind, overdramatic and annoying. I could hardly stand her. Yes at this time I am rolling my eyes very hard.

Mikhail aka Rasputin is as clichee as it gets and does not have any character traits apart from being perfect: perfect-looking, perfect hair, being a any traits other than being super-supportive of Anastasia. *Běh* eyes again rolling.

The story around them feels overdramatised, which makes me not buy any of the feelings the characters have. And here we are again: I rolled my eyes more than once.

Then the mixture of Russian and English cursewords, which I was thinking... Where the hell did Anya know them? And everyone is actually an natural sexgod. No... There are some issues which I did not like.

This book felt as it had 1000 pages and never-ending. Never a good sign for me.

Okay, enough of the bashing. I'm so sorry 😔 I hoped for the best. Maybe to much.

Nothing then less, don't forget that Molly made everything by herself and that she took this step for writing and publishing her first book. 👏 I am sure to expect a lot more of her and progress is the key. And hopefully the next stories have a better buildup as this one.

[Krista M · Rating 1 out of 5]

I want to start my review off by saying that I think Molly is a very talented writer. To have published her first novel and done it in such a short amount of time is very impressive. Molly is known for being brutally honest in her reviews, so I’m taking the same approach with mine.

I DNF this book at 84%. At the start I was enjoying it, then as the story went on I found myself getting more and more frustrated until I got to the point where I just had to stop reading.

I went into it knowing it was not going to be remotely historically accurate so that element didn’t really bother me. It was the overall lack of character development and weak plot. So much of the plot felt forced to try and weakly support the author’s idea of what this story was rather than serving the story she was actually telling. The story seemed to be written around the tropes rather than letting the plot dictate the tropes. For as much as this is touted as being an “enemies to lovers” story, it’s just not. This is insta-love. The arguments never felt like a natural product of the tension between the characters, but more so a way to try and force the “enemies” narrative. The biggest tension point between the two MCs is basically resolved as soon as the two meet and talk. After that, the two leads go from getting along fine to fighting for seemingly no reason constantly. The Rasputin character has little personality other than being a hot supportive boyfriend. There were also so many contradictions it made the plot and character choices hard to understand at times. Anastasia is so sequestered she can barely go to the bathroom on her own but she’s able to sneak out and get laid. “Rasputin” is locked away at a monastery for years, but he’s a total sex god. The palace security in general really oscillated wildly dependent on when the author wanted either a change of scenery or to fit in another trope. It goes from being such a fortress the MCs can’t even leave the room to them being able to just sneak in and out without anyone noticing.

What this story could have really benefited from was an editor. From what I saw online this book was peer-reviewed mostly by Molly’s friends and followers. It’s great that she has such a strong support system. However, the story probably would have been better served with some unbiased critique. Hell, it took me like two months to even write my review because I’m a fan of Molly’s and felt bad that I didn’t enjoy her book. I do think Molly’s writing shows promise and she has interesting story ideas. I just hope for her next book she takes more time with it and works with an editor.

[Allyson K · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am so completely blown away. This is set up well, the pace moves along at a quick enough speed that it makes it hard to turn from, and the last 1/3 makes it hard to even put down, I couldn’t read fast enough. The character development is wonderful. And even though it follows popular tropes, the MCs were unique and stand out in my head from other books with similar tropes/settings. I loved the writing in this book so much. No joke, I have 146 highlights, there were so many good quotes and lines. Seriously, I’m in love with this novel. Also.. the spice 👏🏼

Anastasia has grown up with a dark secret, one she hides not only from herself but from the entire country in which she is seen as a hidden royal. She’s the daughter of the Tsar of Russia. She lives in the palaces, but her life is far from luxurious. She dreams of the day when she can burn the empire her father sits upon. But as time passes, she seems to be losing site of that and of herself. As her parents push for her to come to control her magic for their gain, an unexpected man is thrown at her feet to help her learn. Their pasts are heavy and make them weary of each other. But what lies at the foundation is the same scars and the same hope for the future; to see the empire fall.

“They were each so blinded by their obsession to cover their scars that they couldn't see their injuries were the same”

“She was scorn, she was fury, she was wrath.”

I have to say, I really appreciated Mikhail’s character. His recognition of Anastasia for who she is and what she needs and continuously checking himself to support her but not overstep her and his unfaltering confidence in her was such a nice take. His learning of her past and processing how that affects her and positioning himself to be the best beside her and help her to be her most genuine confident self (“He would support her, not decide for her.”) Here’s a taste of him just being excellent: “But I need you to get out of this headspace that ‘what is right for everyone’ doesn’t include you. What’s best for you matters, too.”

This book… chefs kiss 👏🏼

[Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love love love Anastasia's story. However, this fell flat for me. It started strong, and I like the idea of Rasputin as a love interest. However, it felt rushed and underdeveloped.

[Shana Klescht · Rating 1 out of 5]

Let me start off by saying that this book has potential! The overlying story is great. The idea of bringing more magic to history is exciting. There was definitely magic brought to history in this story, and there were a few parts that weren't terrible.
However, it was severely lacking in detail, the POV doesn't allow for much character interaction, and there were several inconsistencies and forced plot points throughout the story that made it difficult to want to keep reading. It also reads very academic instead of fantasy-like.


[SPOILERS]



I was very confused as to how Anastasia and Mikhail/Rasputin had never met, even by accident, when Mikhail/Rasputin's mother, Asya, was Anastasia's wet nurse and Mikhail worked in the Winter Palace. The entire idea of his mother being her wet nurse and Anastasia stating she felt as if Asya was her surrogate mother gave me major step sibling vibes for Mikhail/Rasputin and Anastasia.
The Romanov Oracle itself is marketed as enemies to lovers with a morally grey main male character. That's just not the case, at all. The main male character, Mikhail/Rasputin is nowhere near being morally grey. He is angry that his mother was murdered and he was sent to be a prisoner of a monastery for 15 years, as well as the people of Russia going without basic necessities while the rich and royal enjoy their opulent (the overuse of this word infuriated me) lifestyles without a care in the world, but he never actually does anything except help Anastasia find her magic again.
While I'm on the topic of Mikhail/Rasputin, let's talk about how instead of being killed for finding out the big family secret, as he should have been because it’s made quite clear that the Tsar and Tsarina have NO issue killing people for the smallest of things, he is instead sent to a monastery. Having Mikhail killed at the beginning would have been a great way to set up a failed execution or literally anything else.
At the monastery he is “reborn” and given the name Rasputin. Flash forward to 15 years later and he’s still at the monastery. It’s mentioned that he was sent to get supplies and such for the monastery but yet there is no mention of him trying to escape or anything? He just so freely went back to his prison every time?
Now, when he’s sent back to the Winter Palace, it’s a shitshow. The day he leaves, he throws a temper tantrum and trashes his room--even rips the crucifix off the wall. Then, once he gets back to the palace and meets Anastasia, he pretty much instantly falls in love with her? I thought they were supposed to be enemies first?! But, it gets worse. For 15 years he refused to take the name Rasputin but when he meets Anastasia he wants her to call him Rasputin. But then not even a page later he tells her he does not go by Rasputin. When she refuses to call him Rasputin he seems angry with her, but yet the one time she does call him by Rasputin he gets angry that she didn't call him Mikhail. The arguing over his name was obnoxious.
As for Anastasia . . . She comes off as a very whiny, confused, scared, and codependent child. We don't see any of her personality past her trauma, and that she likes to help people. What I didn't understand in the story was why if Anastasia thought she killed Asya with her magic she would go into St. Petersburg and use her magic for the townspeople. This is also where a couple inconsistencies come in. So, for 15 years Anastasia has been locked away in her rooms in the Winter Palace and is never alone--ever. At one point it's stated that she had only just begun to explore the city because she sneaks out during mass when she’s left alone (excuse me, what? She’s alone?). But then later, she tells Mikhail/Rasputin that she's been doing it for 15 years. Either way, when Mikhail/Rasputin comes into the picture, she willingly asks him to come along with her AFTER TWO DAYS OF KNOWING HIM. And he just goes! Okay, 'cause that makes sense?
As for the "enemies to lovers" idea . . . Sure, on Mikhail/Rasputin's end. But Anastasia didn't hate him--she didn't even know who he was at first. And when she figured it out, she simply told him how sorry she was.
Let's skip ahead a bit. It's mentioned that all she needed to do to find and gain control of her magic--that she's been without for 15 years but not really because she uses it in the city on Sundays during mass--was to get a sense of herself. Who is she? Because there's no personality there. Until the end of the book she was all bark and no bite. The one time she tried to really shove back, "morally grey" Mikhail/Rasputin stopped her.
That brings me to my next point. The amount of stand offs and near death scenes are annoying. The first time Mikhail/Rasputin died was dramatic and played well with Anastasia's codependence on him. She brought him back to life. It was nice. A well rounded moment and a good display of power. However, the following 2-3 times (I stopped counting after a while) he was almost killed or she thought he was dead was excessive.
Now, let's talk about the tropes . . . We were promised this book was trope heavy and Molly delivered. However, all of the tropes (the one bed trope, "Who did this to you?" trope, and the nightmare trope) were jam-packed into one night at the inn. The "Who did this to you?" trope was very forced and almost disgusting (Now, I understand the concept of Dark Romance, and am here for it. However, it didn't fit in this story with how Mikhail/Rasputin is portrayed.). Our two MC's are eating their dinner in their room at the inn when OUT OF NOWHERE Mikhail/Rasputin reaches across the table to grasp Anastasia's wrist. As she's fighting against him and begging him to let her go, he jerks her sleeve up to see the scars on her knuckles. Then he, the man who basically just assaulted her to have a look at her scars, has the audacity to ask, "Who did this?" And she just tells him, and even overshares about the fact there are scars on her back?! When she refuses to show him the ones on her back and calls them ugly, he gets a hot head about it, dramatically moves to tower over her, rips his shirt off and goes, "Like these?" He then forces her to touch them and asks if they feel ugly to her! He just dismisses how she feels about her own scars, her body. He makes it seem like she's insulting him! The only thing that part did for me was make me feel like Mikhail/Rasputin didn't actually care about Anastasia's pain or trauma, only how it affected him.
Now, for the "spice." The Romanov Oracle is marketed as being spicy. Molly gives it a 5/5 or more on her Instagram. I was genuinely excited for the spice because on Instagram, Molly seems to know what good spice/smut is and she's not afraid of the word "fuck". I thought there was no way it could be bad, and I was wrong. Personally, I'd give the spice a 1-2/5. The first spicy scene between Mikhail/Rasputin and Anastasia feels cringy, forced and very rushed. There is little detail, it happens suddenly and it's just . . . lacking. The second scene is a little better. However, it's after a pretty forced declaration of love and the overuse of the term "I love you" ruined the already detail-lacking scene. The third scene, and the epilogue for that matter, were a lot better than the first two, but again lacked in detail. My biggest pet peeve about the spicy scenes was the overuse of the term "touch me" instead of "fuck me". The word "fuck" only made it's appearance in the book a handful of times and never in the spicy scenes!
Molly's idea of adding excitement and another way to make the characters be "enemies to lovers" was to try to make people believe the Tsarina and Mikhail/Rasputin are also having a sexual relationship. The entire scenario felt forced. Not to mention it only lasted about two pages and a magical temper tantrum from Anastasia--IN PUBLIC.
While there are many, many more things that I could rant and rave over within The Romanov Oracle, I will leave it at this: I was very disappointed with this book. It had so much potential and it did not deliver. I wasn't expecting the greatest book I'd ever read--this is only a debut novel, after all--but, I was expecting more.
The characters are unremarkable, codependent and over dramatic with no personalities outside of trauma. Their entire relationship is forced and boring. The timeline is rushed and there are many inconsistencies within it. There are several grammar mistakes and sentences that just didn't make sense. Maybe it was just that Molly had friends read and edit and there were no true impartial opinions, or maybe they were too afraid to hurt her feelings by being honest, but it needed some extra love.
Molly is very honest, and even harsh at times, in her opinions about books she reviews and it gives us the knowledge that she does know what to do and what readers enjoy! With that being said, I am hopeful for any further works and am excited to see how Molly grows as an author.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book. I have been following the author's instagram page for a couple months and she really hyped the book up for me. So I was really sad when I disliked more things than I liked. It kind of felt like a Wattpad fanfic to me.

Things I disliked:
- The Characters: Both Anastasia and Mikhail fell flat for me. I liked their characters at the beginning but throughout the book, they just got more annoying. Anastasia was always flip flopping from being this strong female character who used her magic to help people to being this weak, whiny girl. I understand that some of the 'weak' parts were because of trauma and how that had a huge effect on her but after seeing her stand up to the Tsar, it was sad to see her go back into her shell. Mikhail also wasn't as cool as I thought he'd be. He and Anastasia weren't really enemies as he started developing feelings for her the minute he saw her. He didn't really keep hold of the 'you killed my mother' hate for very long and that made it seem like he just let go of his hate in an instant.
- The writing style: I personally did not like the writing style. I had to read sentences over again multiple times and still couldn't understand some. My copy had "They'll be food soon" which is grammatically incorrect. It's not 'they will be food soon', it's 'there will (there'll) be food soon. I have the printed copy and there were some typos but I'm not sure if that is the author's editing mistake or the printing company.
- Parts of the story line: One thing that I really didn't like was how little the author expanded on the killing of Asya. We go through most of the book thinking that Anya killed her accidentally with the suspicion that the Tsar could be lying to her. When the Tsar admits that he had her killed and didn't have more than a sentence reaction, I thought "you can't speed past that like you didn't say what you just said". How after 15 years of both MCs thinking Anya is the murderer can there be barely any reaction to finding out the truth? I was excited for the tropes but they just seemed to be slapped together into a couple chapters. I just don't think they were executed well.

Things I liked:
- The magic: I thought the author did a good job at describing Anya's magic and how she was able to use it. I was able to picture what was happening and really liked the type of magic she had.
- The beginning: I really liked the first chapters before the time lapse, I think it was a great setup for the rest of the book. It showcased Asya's character and how she was able to help both Mikhail and Anya. It was written well and gave me a good first glimpse of the position magic holds in the Russian empire.

Overall, I think this was a decent debut novel and am looking forward to seeing what else the author comes up with.

[Cleo & Vine · Rating 5 out of 5]

“She has no idea how powerful she is… Her family could never contain her if she sets herself free.”

As many know, I’m truly Molly’s biggest fan. So it was such an honor to receive an ARC of this standout debut novel. I have so much that I want to say about this book, but I’m going to attempt to organize my thoughts.

I’m always fascinated by the wicked web of lies the pious will weave to suit their own ends. The hypocrisy and contradiction of lying and manipulating the young, the weak, and impressionable for their own devices…What a mockery of the very faith many clerics and religious leaders claim to believe.

This is the toxic, repressive St. Petersburg we find Anastasia Romanov in. I could almost feel the cold Russian wind blowing amidst the darkness and deception radiating off the page. That’s the power of Molly’s writing style. You are instantly transported into this world and will want nothing more than to help spark the revolution that our MC is prophesied to catalyze.

It’s also interesting to see how years of hiding Anastasia has only made her more desirable in the eyes of men and the general public. But Anastasia herself is struggling with her worth. Her continued trauma, fear, and scars—both visible and invisible—come at the hands of family and trusted leaders. It’s a complicated mess that makes you empathize with her character and long for the day she’ll embrace her power and value.

But Anastasia is not the only one shaped by the political and religious forces at work in Russia. Our darling love interest, Rasputin, experiences just as much trauma at the hands of people ruling Russia. But at the onset, he can’t separate Anastasia Romanov from the rest of her family. In his mind, there are only those who brought him loss and pain. Those that will pay.

It is here that the enemies to lovers tale unfolds. Some reveals, several fan favorite tropes, and plenty of spice propel this action packed standalone into a fabulous romantasy. I genuinely had to restructure my book boyfriends list because of Rasputin. So run, don’t walk, to meet this gorgeous man. His banter and man bun alone will leave you SWOONING.

You’ll also find no shortage of mayhem and magic in this book. The magic system, namely the notion of oracles and amplifiers, is incredibly interesting and unique. I also love how our MC’s magic grows and flourishes throughout the story.

All in all, I genuinely loved this book. I highlighted so many quotes that I was glad I was reading an e-book instead of the beautiful physical copy I will be ordering on release day. Can we also just appreciate how Molly gave us this in six, SIX WEEKS?! I’m in awe and cannot wait to see what comes next.

[Jericka · Rating 2 out of 5]

I put off writing this review for a long time. I actually DNF at about 50%. I didn't even get to the part when they apparently say they love each other, which I heard is around the 60% mark, which makes absolutely no sense.

Anyways. I gave it 2 stars only because the first page was stunningly written. There are a few areas where the writing was beautiful, but it was lost in a sea of rushed words that were in need of more editing. I know Molly wrote this book in a month, and I wish she didn't advertise that, because it clearly shows that it was rushed. It feels like she wrote a few key scenes and then hastily wrote filler between them.

I really wanted to like this book. I did. But every teaser that was posted on Instagram was hard to read. But I kept reading them thinking that maybe the final product would be better written. And then the ARC reviews started coming in and they were glowing! They were amazing! So I thought, okay, it obviously gets better. It doesn't. And I hate to say it. This book is so annoying. I really struggled to pick it up every day. I don't think I can read the sentence "her blood boiled" one more time without cringing.

I feel it had so much potential, and that if Molly took just a bit more time to flesh it out, it could have been great. Maybe hired an actual editor. And don't get me wrong, I think it's amazing that she self-published this book. It's not easy.

There is not much else that I can say that other people haven't said, so I'll leave it at that. Hopefully her next book is better. She has stated that she's not going to be as open during the writing process as she was with this one and won't release the publish date until she knows it's ready, which should have happened with this.

[Galyean McBrearty (Frye) · Rating 5 out of 5]

What’s not to love? Historical fiction meets 🌶. I could not put down this book. It was delivered this morning and the only reason it says I started it a couple days ago was because I had read the sample on Kindle while waiting for my copy in the mail. Once I had the book in my hands, I could not drag myself away! I just wanted to keep reading. The Rasputin history is one I’ve always loved (especially his death) and I feel like she did an amazing job of honoring the history while making it something of her own!! It built suspense and intrigue the whole time. I love that there weren’t slow moments with filler chapters. It was all one big build up. I love a good troupe and this book has all my favorites. Because it was so good, it makes me sad that it’s a stand alone book. I’m so excited for more from Molly Tullis in the future!!

[Samia · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a stunning debut!! A fast paced story featuring all the best tropes - enemies to lovers, ‘who did this to you’, one bed - what more could you want? Anya was quite literally a boss ass bitch who got things done, and Mikail was the man-bun wielding man of my dreams. It was such an easy, enjoyable read and I highly recommend for anyone who’s on the lookout for a solid, NA fantasy-romance standalone.

Some of my fav quotes:

“She’s magnificent when she’s burning.”

“They were each so blinded by their obsession to cover their scars that they couldn’t see their injuries were the same.”

“Not bad for a priest.”

“Let it all burn.”

“A man could die happy being on the other end of a look like that.”

[May · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF. I really wanted to like this book but to me the story just seems messy. The constant switch of perspective really annoyed me. I didn’t feel connected to the characters. And the storyline, the male MC just forgave female MC instantly just because she told him what happened.
Stopped reading at 25%.

[Jordie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I feel a bit like Anton Ego from Ratatouille...a dower, gray, frowner come to kill joy as I write this review. I wanted to love this book...and there were parts I did love, so let's start with that:
Molly Tullis is a gifted writer, that is absolutley UNDENIABLE. Even though I did not enjoy this book (for reasons I'll explain later) it never felt like a chore to finish because her writing was that. good. Even when I was flabbergasted by certain plot developments or character decisions, Molly's prose remained fantastic. She deserves to be a successful writer, and I think if she gives herself more time to write and find the right editors (I saw on her social media that she wrote this in about a month which is an achievment in itself!) she will be ready to make quite the name for herself. This is what earned it that one star from me.
Now for the bad parts, which made me unable to give it anything more than that one star.
This book is pitched as a sexy Anastasia retelling with a hot Rasputin. Yes ma'am. Sign me up. This is what bitches want. Its me. I'm bitches.
However, that is not what this book is. Change the character names and you lose nothing. There is no part of this that feels like a retelling. Additionally there are several decisions made that I do not understand:
1. The timeline. The key event that sets the plot in motion happens when Anastasia is 13, and then there is a 15 year time jump. So that means this version of the Russian Revolution occurs in the 1920s. Essentailly, all the historical factors surrounding the Revolutions (WWI, the rise of the Bolsheviks, the ensuing civil war, the collapse of most of Europe's monarchies) are disregarded. So how is this a retelling? The whole draw of Anastasia is the mystery of whether or not she lived through the Revolution. All her siblings, including her younger brother are married off and living their lives here, but she's kept locked up because she has magic. The Revolution here isn't even really brought on by anything but the evil Tsar. Which brings me to...
2. Why was Tsar Nicholas II chosen as the big bad? Tsar Nicholas, who was famously shy and soft-spoken and who lost Russia due to his inability to keep up with the times and his over reliance on his wife's advice. Tsar Nicholas, who was insecure and didn't have the backbone strong enough to be an autocrat. The man was cousin to King George and Kaiser Wilhelm and they called him Nicky! Nicky! If you aren't familiar with the background of the Romanovs/Russian Revolution, this probably won't effect your reading experience much but for me it was absolutley crazy. Nicky and the Tsarina married for love and were very much devoted to each other, even when Rasputin came around. In the book he comes across as a one dimensional, arrogant, tyrant. His only characteristic is that he's an abusive asshole. Its also bizarre to me he and his ministers are the ones who come up with the idea of making up the affair between the Tsarina and Rasputin to mess with Anastasia. That just seemed...really unneccessary? Also why would you want to go around telling people that your wife is cheating? You're the Tsar of Russia, believed to be ordained by God to rule, but your wife can't stay loyal. Yikes.
3. Characters. The characters are very much one note. Rasputin/Mikhail is "supportive strong male love interest who's there to encourage the heroine" a la Castell Da'neer but without being full fleshed out. Anastasia is a condradictory "heroine who is sheltered and abused but who is actually strong and independent she just doesn't know it yet". Again, nothing wrong with those character types, but they were not fully formed at all, something I think probably had to do with how quick the turnaround on this book being published was.
In summary, this is a hisorically inaccurate book that's plot is essentially one trope after the other with underdeveloped characters and some magic. It is saved by Molly's writing but had so much more potential.

[Anaïs (a.court.of.a.dreamer) · Rating 4 out of 5]

“It was but two people who fanned a spark that became a flame; one that lit the match that burned down life as they knew it; all while the couple danced in the center of the fire’s afterglow and kissed the ash from one another’s cheeks.”

✨ When the Romanov Empire was dismantled in flame and firing squad, one name rose to heights above all the rest: Anastasia. During the final years of her family's rule, the near omnipresence of one charlatan drove rumors to a feverish height. Rasputin.

But what if the magic wasn't his... but hers?

✨The Romanov Oracle is one of those books that you cannot put down. I came out yesterday and I finished it first thing this morning. Every free moment I had, I was reading it.

✨You become so invested in Anastasia and Mikhail’s stories. You feel every emotions, from hatred to love to lust to anxiousness.

✨Anastasia’s character arc blew me away. Seeing her go from being that caged up girl to this badass fighter was everything!

✨I don’t think I would ever find myself liking Rasputin, let alone feel any attraction towards him but the way that Molly wrote him, good lord

[Malialani Carrell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Based at the fall of Imperial Russia, this historical fantasy checks all the boxes. From the beginning you are invested in Anastasia's and Mikhail's fates as they navigate magic, conspiracies, wealth disparity, romance, and each of their traumas while also fighting against an empire.

I cannot recommend this book enough. Having read several attempts by Bookstagrammers to branch into the lit world, the effort by Molly Tullis has been rewarded. Not only for her in her debut novel, but for us as readers. The perfect book to kick off the winter season, don't miss out!

Similar to the Russia based historical fantasies "Enchantment" by Orson Scott Card and "The Bear and The Nightingale" by Katherine Arden, with beautiful world building and story weaving reminiscent of Robin McKinley and Diana Wynne Jones, alongside adventure like that of "The Golem and the Jinni" by Helene Wecker, and a dash of romance akin to Diana Gabaldon's Outlander Series - I cannot wait for whatever Molly has next.

[Alyssa Depew · Rating 2 out of 5]

What I liked
The pacing was great. Kept me super engaged.
The beginning, lol.
The entire atmosphere. The author did a good job at creating the world. I could picture everything vividly.

What I disliked
The second the two characters meet. 😐
How Rasputin goes from plotting her murder to being into her within the first meeting was super jolting.
I felt the same with Anastasia. I didn’t understand how she went from being locked away her entire life to suddenly standing up to her parents, almost in a super bratty way. Tbh I found her character very annoying and under developed. She just seemed to always be throwing a tantrum. Lots of (!!!!!) when she spoke. (How someone could be so mentally abused their entire life but somehow she came off as a spoiled brat ?)


All of this to say I thought the beginning had loads of potential, I was sooooo excited to keep reading. But it quickly unraveled for me.