Reviews

I Was Anastasia by Ariel Lawhon

yankeebk's review against another edition

challenging emotional tense medium-paced

3.5

mamaorgana80's review against another edition

informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

I was only slightly familiar with this fascinating information. Wonderful storytelling.

stepharina's review against another edition

3.0

There is so much to say about this book. First I wish I could give it 3.5 stars because I feel a three is not sufficient. I wanted to love this book because I love anything having to do with Anastasia but this just didn’t do it for me. I think it was the non-linear structure of the book. At first I thought it was because I listened to the audiobook which was what made it so confusing because it was told in different decades and when it would talk about something and then it would back up two months and then another few months it was just super hard to follow. I then went and read other reviews where people also stated they found it confusing and I think I would have enjoyed it if the structure was linear or just better thought out. I enjoyed the history parts a lot but as a whole I didn’t love it.

ninasbooks57's review against another edition

4.0

What an amazing sad story! I did so much want Anna to be Anastasia! The non- linear style took some getting use to but the one thing that bothered me was how often Lawhon incorrectly listed Anna’s age! Wait- I am having an epiphany- could the author have been correctly giving Anna’s real age and not Anastasia’s....

sarahpreno's review against another edition

5.0

This is such a wonderfully written book. The story itself is so fascinating but the way it is written (the two different timelines running together) adds so much to the story and is just perfect!

trin's review

1.0

Very smug in its assessment of its own cleverness, and undeservedly so. I'm not really sure who this book is for. I assume most people interested in the Grand Duchess Anastasia are into the story for the romantic interpretation of the tale; I came to this for other reasons, but I still couldn't grasp the satisfaction to be found in this long dark slog of a book that in the end wants to have things both ways: romantic and historically "accurate," with the author too blatantly congratulating herself for both.

carlisajc's review against another edition

5.0

Obsessed with the structure of this book. The nonlinear timeline is so interesting and well done.

hirvimaki's review against another edition

2.0

As many others have stated, the reverse timeline of Anna's tale, detracted from my enjoyment of this story. It wasn't so much that it was confusing or difficult but it just felt gimmicky. I understand the reasons Lawhorn gave for using this device, but I did not enjoy it. I was far more interested in Anastasia's timeline than Anna's and started to give the latter little more than cursory attention. I have read a lot about the Romanov's and about Anna Anderson and I didn't enjoy this one very much at all.

katiegilley's review

4.0

Once I got about 1/3 of the way through this book, I absolutely couldn't put it down. Was Anna Anderson actually Anastasia Romanov? This story is told through two timelines: Anastasia's story starting in 1917 leading up to the firing squad that killed her family in 1918, and Anna's story starting in 1970 and leading back to that historic night.

This was completely engrossing, yet difficult to read in many places. People are so savage and you can feel the pain on the pages.

A more thoughtful conversation has been posted to my blog: https://katiegilley.com/i-was-anastasia-by-ariel-lawhon/

Thank you to Netgalley and Doubleday books for an advanced copy of this novel.

gfs0619's review

2.0

This book is told in alternating timelines. Normally, I'm ok with that style of writing, but I had trouble with out in this book because the Anna Anderson timeline is presented backwards. It was very hard for me to follow. Just be warned.

Otherwise, I would say this book tries to portray both storylines as honestly as possible. And these women had some excruciatingly hard lives, so don't expect an easy read.