22margaret 's review for:

Anastasia by Sophie Lark

4.0

---

I have always liked Anastasia retellings. Overall, this was done really well. I love how Sophie Lark had an artist create so many of the scenes throughout the book because it really made the story seem alive. The ebook was 842 pages.... the storyline, the magic, and the pictures thankfully kept me going because there were times that I couldn't believe I wasn't even halfway through the book. I love the friends to lovers trope and really did love the relationship between Anastasia and Damien. With 800+ pages, they had time to establish a bond that you felt would actually last past the HEA ending.

Spoiler

One plot hole that bothered me was starting the book off with a prologue from Husani's POV. I get that she was showing how Rasputin and Katya acquired other powers, but I feel like it was a missed opportunity to have Husani be stuck as the bat. Maybe it's that I just wanted the bat to be more than a bat, like in the animated movie. But really, what was the point of Rasputin even having the bat for him to play hardly any significance to the storyline?! Oh well.

The post twist conflict at the end really made you appreciate the HEA ending without it feeling cheesy/superficial.