Reviewed by reveriesociety_ on
For starters, I was so excited to have received a galley of this book since the premise sounded amazing and I couldn’t wait to read this Anastasia story with magic. But I couldn’t get past the first few chapters. I think it was another case of what happened with Nevernight. It may just not have been the right time for me.
I had problems with the pacing
Life has gotten super busy lately, so I want to be able to read on the go and for the stories I read to be read quickly. So when I realize it’s taking too long to read a story… It tends to get drawn out while I read other books. I liked the characters and was really looking forward to seeing the conflict develop, but for me it was taking a bit too long, so I had to pause it.
For example, at first there was so much tension going on, what with the Romanov’s confined in one place and then the announcement that her father was being taken somewhere else. I knew there was so much at stake and that it wouldn’t end well, but I just wasn’t feeling it as much as I should have to keep going.
I loved the siblings
Specially the relationship between Anastasia and her brother. She was so concerned for him, and even I got really scared for him, being vulnerable in such an already difficult situation. I wanted them to succeed and for him to feel better and be happy. His character was one of the high points of what I read.
Coincidentally, I also started watching the Netflix documentary about the Romanovs and I loved seeing the parallels between the story and the real lives of these people. It breaks my heart how things ended, and I might just pick this book up in the future again just to see how the author ends it.
This is a book that while I didn’t finish it, I don’t feel like discouraging people from reading. I completely feel like it was a case of ‘it’s me, not you’.
Reading updates
- Started reading
- 8 September, 2019: Finished reading
- 8 September, 2019: Reviewed