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4.05 AVERAGE
4.05 AVERAGE
I have been obsessed with the animated movie Anastasia since it came out when I was a kid. Because of that, I've always had an interest in Anastasia and the Romanovs. Obviously, this book is not anything like the animated movie but it is spectacular.
The beginning is slow, but I love that we got to know each of the individual Romanov family members and Anastasia. I loved the building of her relationship with Damien as well.
Speaking of Damien, Dimitri needs to step aside because Damien is the superior love interest for Anastasia! Damien and Anastasia's relationship in this book is EVERYTHING. I mean their love for each other powered their magic! Ugh, just so good.
The beginning is slow, but I love that we got to know each of the individual Romanov family members and Anastasia. I loved the building of her relationship with Damien as well.
Speaking of Damien, Dimitri needs to step aside because Damien is the superior love interest for Anastasia! Damien and Anastasia's relationship in this book is EVERYTHING. I mean their love for each other powered their magic! Ugh, just so good.
5/5 ⭐️
Wow. Wow. Wow. This book blew me away. The writing in this book was so unbelievably beautiful and magical. There were so many twists and turns that I was not expecting and the love between Anastasia and Damien was out of this world.
I will say though that the beginning was a bit confusing for me, but once you keep on reading everything begins to make sense and come together flawlessly.
Also, THE ILLUSTRATIONS!!! They are absolutely STUNNING. I can't get over them.
Wow. Wow. Wow. This book blew me away. The writing in this book was so unbelievably beautiful and magical. There were so many twists and turns that I was not expecting and the love between Anastasia and Damien was out of this world.
I will say though that the beginning was a bit confusing for me, but once you keep on reading everything begins to make sense and come together flawlessly.
Also, THE ILLUSTRATIONS!!! They are absolutely STUNNING. I can't get over them.
Painful to get through first chapter too cringe for me
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Didn't know Sophie lark had it in her but colour me surprised. This is hands down her best book and i can't wait for the vampire family series
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
THIS. BOOK.
Sophie really put all she had into this book and it was truly the most unique and wonderful experience that I'll be thinking about forever. And reading this book was an EXPERIENCE. Between the brilliantly beautiful writing, riveting plot, music choice and the artwork, I was blown away. The artwork throughout this book really brought Sophie's writing to life and I HIGHLY recommend reading this book on an ipad/tablet (if reading digitally).
This dark fantasy, Anastasia inspired story broke me apart and put me back together and I loved every second of it. Although there are pieces of this book that pay homage to our beloved childhood movie, most of this story was inspired by the true history of Anastasia and the Romanov's. You can tell that Sophie did her homework and I enjoyed her magical/dark fantasy twist on it!
Now for the characters. One thing that never fails me with Sophie's writing is her ability to write amazingly powerful and impactful characters. Because this story starts when Anastasia and Damien are young, we get to be completely immersed in their lives. The way each character progressed throughout the book and the way their relationship developed was simply beautiful. Their love and bond is that of true soulmates.
Even the side characters were well developed and sucked me into their own stories. The mysterious Rasputin was probably the most complex and intriguing. I won't go into detail as not to spoil anything, but I felt so conflicted with his character. I also felt all the things for Anastasia's family members. Each had their own sub-plots and I was pulled into all of them. The relationship between Anastasia's uncle and Damien was another facet I truly loved. Lastly, was her relationship with her grandmother Minnie. Very reminiscent of the movie and made me beyond happy! I was literally smiling reading the ending.
This book is very different than Sophie's other books, but it is an absolutely stunning piece of work and really showcases her range as an author. This is a definitely a longer book, but I promise you the journey is well worth it. If you're looking for a wildly entertaining plot with romance, then this book is a must. Highly recommend giving this book a shot!
Sophie really put all she had into this book and it was truly the most unique and wonderful experience that I'll be thinking about forever. And reading this book was an EXPERIENCE. Between the brilliantly beautiful writing, riveting plot, music choice and the artwork, I was blown away. The artwork throughout this book really brought Sophie's writing to life and I HIGHLY recommend reading this book on an ipad/tablet (if reading digitally).
This dark fantasy, Anastasia inspired story broke me apart and put me back together and I loved every second of it. Although there are pieces of this book that pay homage to our beloved childhood movie, most of this story was inspired by the true history of Anastasia and the Romanov's. You can tell that Sophie did her homework and I enjoyed her magical/dark fantasy twist on it!
Now for the characters. One thing that never fails me with Sophie's writing is her ability to write amazingly powerful and impactful characters. Because this story starts when Anastasia and Damien are young, we get to be completely immersed in their lives. The way each character progressed throughout the book and the way their relationship developed was simply beautiful. Their love and bond is that of true soulmates.
Even the side characters were well developed and sucked me into their own stories. The mysterious Rasputin was probably the most complex and intriguing. I won't go into detail as not to spoil anything, but I felt so conflicted with his character. I also felt all the things for Anastasia's family members. Each had their own sub-plots and I was pulled into all of them. The relationship between Anastasia's uncle and Damien was another facet I truly loved. Lastly, was her relationship with her grandmother Minnie. Very reminiscent of the movie and made me beyond happy! I was literally smiling reading the ending.
This book is very different than Sophie's other books, but it is an absolutely stunning piece of work and really showcases her range as an author. This is a definitely a longer book, but I promise you the journey is well worth it. If you're looking for a wildly entertaining plot with romance, then this book is a must. Highly recommend giving this book a shot!
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
i knew i was going to suffer, and suffer i did. but in a beautiful way! but i also knew i was going to fall i love with this book, and i did.
i don’t think i’m emotionally stable to write a review that conveys all of what i’m feeling, so here is a very succinct and less emotional review:
reading a story about Anastasia, and the Romanovs, is always bittersweet because you know what it’s going to eventually happen, and the fact that now you know the family dynamic and the characters makes it even more heart wrenching.
the magic system is brilliant and very interesting, i’d love to learn more and what kind of powers you can have.
i also loved the message the author tried to convey. but be warned, this is not 100% historically correct, i don’t know everything about the romanovs and how life was in russia at the time, so take that part with a grain of salt.
So I’m at like the 15% mark and I just can’t get into it.
I feel that I’ve been led astray/bamboozled. I went into this thinking it was similar to the movie and was a dark fantasy but it’s definitely more of a magical historical fiction VERY based off of the real-life Anastasia Romanov and her family. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing but it’s just not what I expected going in.
This is very character-centered. Most of the story is the development of Anastasia into a powerful magic lady person (idk what they call magic people in this book’s lore). I love a good character development but I’m def more of a plot-centered story gal myself so it’s been a push for me to read through this. Also both the chapters and the book itself are SUPER LONG. Like it’s almost 900, which again I don’t mind, but for such a character driven story with lots of details and characters, it took me so much will power to get through the beginning.
One of my gripes is that Lark will talk about characters and switch between using just their first name, a nickname, just their last name, or their entire full name throughout the book. I guess I’m just used to the structure of: full name = introducing a new character; just first name/last name = character has already been established; nickname = character the MC is familiar with. So when Lark would use the full name of someone we already were introduced to, I’d get confused like wait why are we suddenly using their full name? That’s just a me thing. There’s already sooooo many secondary characters from page 1 so like it just threw me off when they’d be called like William in chapter one then Uncle William Smith in chapter 5 then just Will in Chapter 10. This is just an example but you get what I’m saying? It was just inconsistent and would take me out the plot cause I would have to go back and look if this character had been introduced already.
Another gripe for me was how many secondary characters there were. I get that the Romanov’s were a big fam but I honestly could not keep up with who was who and who had done what and how they each related to Anastasia. It just didn’t feel necessary that almost every scene had interactions with SOOO many recurring secondary characters who I know will be out of the story soon cause I know how the story of Anastasia goes.
I feel that I’ve been led astray/bamboozled. I went into this thinking it was similar to the movie and was a dark fantasy but it’s definitely more of a magical historical fiction VERY based off of the real-life Anastasia Romanov and her family. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing but it’s just not what I expected going in.
This is very character-centered. Most of the story is the development of Anastasia into a powerful magic lady person (idk what they call magic people in this book’s lore). I love a good character development but I’m def more of a plot-centered story gal myself so it’s been a push for me to read through this. Also both the chapters and the book itself are SUPER LONG. Like it’s almost 900, which again I don’t mind, but for such a character driven story with lots of details and characters, it took me so much will power to get through the beginning.
One of my gripes is that Lark will talk about characters and switch between using just their first name, a nickname, just their last name, or their entire full name throughout the book. I guess I’m just used to the structure of: full name = introducing a new character; just first name/last name = character has already been established; nickname = character the MC is familiar with. So when Lark would use the full name of someone we already were introduced to, I’d get confused like wait why are we suddenly using their full name? That’s just a me thing. There’s already sooooo many secondary characters from page 1 so like it just threw me off when they’d be called like William in chapter one then Uncle William Smith in chapter 5 then just Will in Chapter 10. This is just an example but you get what I’m saying? It was just inconsistent and would take me out the plot cause I would have to go back and look if this character had been introduced already.
Another gripe for me was how many secondary characters there were. I get that the Romanov’s were a big fam but I honestly could not keep up with who was who and who had done what and how they each related to Anastasia. It just didn’t feel necessary that almost every scene had interactions with SOOO many recurring secondary characters who I know will be out of the story soon cause I know how the story of Anastasia goes.