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4.05 AVERAGE
4.05 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Book is well written. Honestly skimmed the last 50 pages just to see what happened. I like the ending, not a book i’d read again. Overall I’d say it was meh
Wow, I’ve always loved the fictionalized story of Anastasia since I was kid. This book, it was NOT was I was expecting in such a good way! First of all- I did realize what a BIG BOII this book was. 850 pages?? WOW. So much story and beautiful imagery (what a nice surprise!!!) was packed into those 850 pages. I loved watching the love story of Anastasia and Damien unfold, the magic and darkness that surrounded the Romanovs, and just the beautiful story. What a wonderful and happy ending Sophie Lark wrote for Anastasia.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
tense
slow-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:
Complicated
Anastasia follows an alternate timeline of history where the world is full of magic and those with magic are usually the rulers. This book follows Anastasia as the sorcerer Rasputin comes into her family's life and upends all that she knows.
I thought that this was such an interesting book. This was Sophie's first foray into fantasy and I thought it was really interesting. I really loved how this book follow Anastasia from when she is a young child up to the point that she is an adult. I thought Sophie did a really great job of making it so we really got to know Anastasia and the people in her life.
I thought the plot could be a bit slow at points but I didn't feel that took away from this book. I absolutely loved Anastasia's relationship with Damien. I thought they were such an interesting match because they came from these two very different worlds. I really loved how Sophie was able to somewhat weave in parts of the history while making this story wholly her own. The battle scenes were well done as well.
Overall, I really loved this book and could see this being a fantasy book I go back to.
I thought that this was such an interesting book. This was Sophie's first foray into fantasy and I thought it was really interesting. I really loved how this book follow Anastasia from when she is a young child up to the point that she is an adult. I thought Sophie did a really great job of making it so we really got to know Anastasia and the people in her life.
I thought the plot could be a bit slow at points but I didn't feel that took away from this book. I absolutely loved Anastasia's relationship with Damien. I thought they were such an interesting match because they came from these two very different worlds. I really loved how Sophie was able to somewhat weave in parts of the history while making this story wholly her own. The battle scenes were well done as well.
Overall, I really loved this book and could see this being a fantasy book I go back to.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Death
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
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
I loved everything about this magical retelling of Anastasia. Sophie Lark took us on a roller coaster of a journey with this story and I really liked that it started from when Anastasia was a child. We got to see true character growth, romance development, family drama, political tension, and of course the fantasy and magic.
Anastasia and Damien’s connection was magnetic. It was the undercurrent of this story but not the main plot, which I was happy about because there was so much more to love. Watching Anastasia mature from a young girl to a woman, in the natural order of life and learning to control her powers was one of my personal favorite aspects of the book. Rasputin was a fantastic villain. No spoilers so I will leave it at that but I could discuss in detail if anyone has read it!
Also, I could never leave out one of my favorites - the gyrfalcon- Artemis. I LOVE animal “sidekicks”. Artemis is intelligent and fierce and even though she was not a prominent piece of the story, she was essential to it.
Overall, this story was written beautifully and I was enraptured throughout this very LONG book. Be warned, it is a long book but I found it to be fast paced and easy to read because of the fantastic prose and the unexpected events that always drew me back in.
adventurous
challenging
dark
hopeful
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
4.25 stars. This was a good fairytale retelling and I enjoyed it a lot!
adventurous
dark
hopeful
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:
No
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated