Angie Hranowsky is not your typical “love story”. I don’t normally read books about a happily married couple having great fun in bed, but I couldn’t resist this one. The storyline revolves around Natalia Price, a beautiful Russian woman, and John Paul Jones, an American man who was born and raised in Russia. The two marry and have a son together, however, things go wrong when John Paul becomes infected with a rare disease that leaves him handicapped. Natalia, on the other hand, falls in love with John Paul even though he is disabled, which sparks a passionate love affair between the two. However, things take a drastic turn for the two when John Paul’s wife, and falls out with another man, force Natalia to leave her husband and risk going on a trip abroad with John Paul to find a cure for her son’s disease.
While the plot of the book is very interesting, I felt like it dragged a bit too much, and in all honesty, I’m not really sure why. It’s easy to tell that Angie Hranowsky wrote this to be a page-turner romance with a twist ending, but I just didn’t feel it was very captivating. I think that it might have been the writing style of the author – if you read the book as a straight forward romantic story, then you probably would have a different opinion of what the characters were feeling and what the scenery of Russia looked like. But on the other hand, if you loved historical fantasy because of historical accuracy, then I guess I can understand why you would expect a love story between two Americans in the future.
I enjoyed reading this book, it was good overall, but didn’t connect strongly enough with Natalia and John Paul to base a whole review on. I will say though, I do know that Nationality isn’t a very good book on its own, but it complements itself with excellent character development and superbly vivid scenes depicting life under the Soviet regime. It isn’t a heartwarming book in any way, but it does provide a unique perspective on life under Communism, and how difficult it must have been for the Russian people to accept their national identity under such circumstances. I recommend this book to people who enjoy historical romance and enjoy getting inside the minds of their favorite historical figures.