I was really excited to read this book and I am so sad to say it disappointed me. A lot. 😭 Anastasia was one of my favorite movies growing up, and as an adult (and a Russian major) I’ve learned much more about the history of the Romanov family and the Russian Revolution. As a novel, this book failed for me for a couple reasons. 

From a writing standpoint, the plot was incredibly slow for the first half. Then the second half just got really weird. The story felt a little clichéd, the prose was simple and bland, and everything just seemed to drag on. I expected much more action but it felt like nothing happened for the longest time. The character development was also pretty mediocre and the Romanov family was depicted as victims who were kind and did nothing to deserve their exile. And while of course no one deserves the fate that ultimately befell the Romanovs, there is a lot more gray area in their innocence and the tsar’s ability as a leader that were not addressed. I would have loved to have seen more flaws from the main characters because they came across as quite flat. 

My main issue with the book is how it addressed history. While I get that this book is targeted towards young adults, I didn’t appreciate that the novel made it seem like the ONLY reason behind the Russian Revolution was to catch magic users. There are a lot of complex events that happened that lead to the Revolution (and many atrocities that Russians suffered), but instead of picking even just one of those topics to discuss and perhaps educate young readers, an entirely fantastical reason was created with all others carelessly swept aside. While it can be fun to romanticize and retell history, it can also be incredibly dangerous if actual events are not properly acknowledged. And don’t even get me started on how Rasputin was handled. 🥴

This book had a lot of potential and the synopsis piqued my interest, but this book really let me down. For what it was, it was ok? But it could have done so much more.