ARC Review: I Was Anastasia

About The Book:

  Title:  I Was Anastasia 

  Author: Ariel Lawhon
  Pub. Date: March 27th, 2018
  Publisher: Doubleday 
  Pages: 352

  Genre: Adult, Mystery, Biographical 

  Rate: 4/5 stars 

Synopsis :

Countless others have rendered their verdict. Now it is your turn.

Russia, July 17, 1918 Under direct orders from Vladimir Lenin, Bolshevik secret police force Anastasia Romanov, along with the entire imperial family, into a damp basement in Siberia where they face a merciless firing squad. None survive. At least that is what the executioners have always claimed. 

Germany, February 17, 1920 A young woman bearing an uncanny resemblance to Anastasia Romanov is pulled shivering and senseless from a canal in Berlin. Refusing to explain her presence in the freezing water, she is taken to the hospital where an examination reveals that her body is riddled with countless, horrific scars. When she finally does speak, this frightened, mysterious woman claims to be the Russian Grand Duchess Anastasia.

Her detractors, convinced that the young woman is only after the immense Romanov fortune, insist on calling her by a different name: Anna Anderson. 

As rumors begin to circulate through European society that the youngest Romanov daughter has survived the massacre, old enemies and new threats are awakened.

Review:

We all know the beloved fairytale of the lost Russian princess, who may have gotten away after her family was murdered - but you don't know it like this. Ms. Lawhon rewinds Anna Anderson's story while chronologically telling Anastasia Romanov's story. She transforms the well-known story in such a way that hypes up the anticipation like you wouldn't even believe.

I was always a Romanov fanatic, but this novel made me even more intrigued. While this is technically historical fiction, it weaves together many true facts about the Romanovs and it's done so in such an ingenious way that doesn't feel like you're reading a history book. I seriously feel like I now know so much more about this family - maybe I'll make a powerpoint presentation (joking). And if you think you know the story, well, you don't know it like this. You will constantly be questioning who Anna Anderson is, and if she is in fact the lost Russian princess. Historically, you know what happens. The grave of Anastasia Romanov was found not too far from the rest of her family. But I know I'm not the only one that doesn't want to believe that was her (despite the genetic evidence). This book is perfect for all of you, who WANTED to badly for Anastasia to get away.

Ms. Lawhon will take you on an emotional rollercoaster breaking down the story of the imperial family and what happened in the years following their disappearance. The storytelling was historically beautiful, I just wish this book was a tad longer. It must have took a lot of work to take the entire history surrounding the family and squeeze it into this book. I would have liked to see certain parts be longer, but I understand it might have taken away from the mystery surrounding Anna Anderson.

If you are an Anastasia fan, pick up this book and forget what you think you know about the Romanovs because Ms. Lawhon puts a new spin on their story. And I'd love to know, for all of you Romanov fans ... what is your favorite novel (fiction or nonfiction) about the family?

Thank you to Doubleday Books for providing
this book in exchange for my honest review

- Jocelyn