Rating: 
Summary: Good Yarn
Review: I had a tough time with this one because the lines of historical fact and fiction were too blurred for me. Although there is some satisfaction in reading what happened in the end for the Romanov's, however fictionalized it is.
Rating: 
Summary: I just couldn't put it down!
Review: I loved this book. It combines the best of the historical novel, non-fiction and the suspense story - I couldn't put it down. Alexander clearly has a masterful grasp of Russian history, and he is able to make the reader care about the destiny of the last Tsar and his family, without in any way apologizing for the grave mistakes they made. This is one of those books that broadens your horizons and that you think about for a long time after finishing it.
Rating:
Summary: Riveting story which kept me up late!
Review: I'm not usually much of a mystery reader, but I've always been interested in the last days of the Czar and his family.It was an excellent book but the sudden twists in the story at the end kept me up late and moved it into the outstanding category. I've recommended this book to several friends. This would make a terrific movie!
Rating:
Summary: A bit disappointing, but worth reading
Review: My standard for books about the Romanovs remains Nicholas and Alexandra, but this book is insightful and eventually intrigues near the end. I just wish the pace had been a bit livelier- it tends to drag along.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic!!!!!
Review: Oh My GOSH!!! This book was absolutely fantastic!!! I recommend it to ANYONE looking for a book to read. It's easy to follow, has wonderful details on the Tsar's family's life while they were imprisoned in Ekaterinburg, and has a VERY suprising ending that will leave you shocked!! I LOVED IT!!!
Rating:
Summary: I couldn't put it down!
Review: Reviewer: Deborah Kaplan from Copenhagen Denmark
I loved this book. It combines the best of the historical novel, non-fiction and the suspense story - I couldn't put it down. Alexander clearly has a masterful grasp of Russian history, and he is able to make the reader care about the destiny of the last Tsar and his family, without in any way apologizing for the grave mistakes they made. This is one of those books that broadens your horizons and that you think about for a long time after finishing it.
Rating:
Summary: The Kitchen Boy
Review: Seriously, this is my second favorite book of all time (second to Lord of the Rings- a classic) and I love it to death. It brings the last Tsar and his family to life. I literally felt like they were in the room with me, a rare feeling these days. I could not put it down and read it through the night, simply enthralled at the masterful tale being woven throughout this novel. The twists taken at the end were amazing. I gasped ou loud more than once, to be sure. I reccomend this to anyone!
Rating:
Summary: A never version of an old myth
Review: Several years ago I was a member of a chat room on movies. There was a category for each movie and also a "spoilers" room. The warning was, don't enter this room if you had not seen the movie because the plot would be given away. In many respects, I wish that there was such a category on Amazon for books in which reviewers could express and discuss thier opinions about falicies in plots of novels that they reviewed thereby giving away the ending. THE KITCHEN BOY would be prime for such a discussion. All in all its an interesting read for those who loved Nicholas and Alexander and all variations on that theme, especially those who believe that there were survivors. As one who have always been facinated by the last days of the Tsar and his family I jumped at the chance of reading this book when a friend loaned it to me. I'm probably just as glad that I didn't buy it. This is a very quick read, only 228 pages, and the story is easy to follow. The author brings in good details and from prior readings that I've done seems to be historically correct. He sets up the plot in clever and interesting manner and there is some good forshadowing to give the reader hints as to the outcome. But his choice of a final ending was a surprise and not one that I was really pleased with. It left me very troubled and raises the question "what would I have done in that situation?" That surprise ending bothered me although part of that ending became very predictible. The book is good, not great, but I'd recommend it if you are interested in the subject. It might also be interesting for high school students to get them into the subject of Russian history. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to read this one, but it's worse the read. But you may be trouble by the ending.
Rating:
Summary: A faithful attempt to recreate the Romanovs' final days
Review: The executions of Tsar Nicholas and Alexandra, along with their entire family --- four girls and a young boy --- make for both a sad read and a sad page in the history of Russia. It is painfully evident that Nicholas was a wonderful husband and father. Yet, this must be balanced with the fact that he was a horrific Tsar (known as Bloody Nicholas along those who opposed him), with millions dying under his rule. Reading Robert Alexander's enthralling yet flawed novel, THE KITCHEN BOY, I struggled with the deaths of the innocent children, especially Alexei, their hemophiliac son who was heir to the throne. Robert Alexander brings all their lives into sharp focus through the voice of Leonka, the Romanov family's kitchen boy, whose voice tells this heart-wrenching story. When Russia entered World War I, Tsar Nicholas effectively destroyed the lives of millions of Russians under his care. A revolution gained momentum and the Bolsheviks made the Tsar abdicate the throne, sending him and his family away to the Ipatiev House ("The House of Special Purpose"). Alexander faithfully recreates their final days here through extensive research and with much feeling. The reader begins to understand the hatred many Russians had towards the Romanov family but also feels the warmth, love and nobility that no crown can give the Romanovs. The family is aware that nearly all hope is lost and that death is coming closer. That fateful day came on July 16, 1918. Leonka is spared his life and is sent away before the Romanovs are shuttled down into the basement. However, he does witness their deaths and, hidden in shadows, follows the executioners as they depose of the bodies. Alexander has, of course, done his research --- so much in fact that the narrator, Leonka, shares his information most willingly. Leonka just happens to have a reference library all about the Romanovs, so if he wasn't there to witness an event or know what a secret note said, he simply finds out in a book and tells the reader about it. I wonder if Alexander, with all the copious amounts of research he threw into his fiction, would have been better off had he just written a nonfiction book about the Tsar's last days. As we read, we learn that the bodies of two members of the Romanov family were never found. What happened to them? Were they burned as the executioners themselves said (although you can't burn bodies completely away on an open fire)? Luckily for the reader, Leonka knows. With a double twist at the end, we find out what happened in that basement and how those two went missing. THE KITCHEN BOY is a faithful attempt to recreate the final tragic days of the Romanov family. In fact, the Romanov Family Association praises the book on the back cover. It is affecting and haunting, gruesome yet loving. It piques the reader's curiosity about the Tsar and the missing children. Many readers will find themselves going to the library, looking for the definitive non-fiction book about those final days of the last Tsar of Russia. Perhaps Alexander could have written it. --- Reviewed by Jonathan Shipley
Rating:
Summary: A masterful book
Review: The final days of Nicholas and Alexandra the last Tsar and Tsarina of Russia and their family is a story that to this day remains unsloved. Yes we have an idea of how the terrifying execution was carried out and how it was organized. But we are still in the dark when it comes to where two of the Tsar's children are(Alexei,and the controversy over whether it is Anastasia or Maria missing). This book will answer that with a shocking twist in events.The novel for the most part is about a man that claims to be the Tsar and Tsarina's kitchen boy in the Ipatieve House, the families last place of imprisonment. There he cooks for them and cleans for them but in turn becomes an important role in their saftey. The novel continues like this for awhile, its not till you come to the night of July 16, 1918 till the book really starts to pick up the pace. From here on out twists and turns sneak up and leave you shocked right up till the very last page.I just couldn't put this book down, i read it in one day. That right there shows how great this book is, it keeps pulling you further and further till you can't stop. It even made me cry sort of near the end, all kinds of emotions are felt as you read through this great book. This will give you a brand new outlook on the Romanov family legacy. Although this book is fiction it will still leave you thinking "what if." I highly recomend this book to anyone.
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