Sadly, I was unable to finish this book. I thought it would be incredibly intriguing and exciting, and...it isn't. It has fallen flat in a number of ways, and it will not hold my attention.

I received this ARC through Netgalley for my honest review. I loved this book! Historical fiction is my favorite and with this having an element of truth it did not disappoint! I liked the going back and forth of time periods. Excellent read!

Who wouldn't want to be a "found princess"? Really nicely-paced historical fiction that made me interested to learn even more about the Romanovs.

I Was Anastasia was the book I needed for so long. I have been searching (rather hoping) for a well written historical fiction novel about the strange and fascinating trials and tribulations of Anna Anderson who, had many people fooled into thinking she was the lost Romanov, Anastasia. Lawhon's research (despite her disinterest in royalty or the Romanovs in general) brilliantly researched this story and the conflicting timelines added such an air of heart stopping intensity to every page. I truly haven't stopped thinking about it since I finished it 24 hours ago, and I will be recommending this to my bookstagram viewers/followers and on GoodReads as well.

I remember watching a TV show about the Romanovs when I was a very little girl. It had to be before 1992, because I vividly recall watching it with my grandmother. Over the last couple of years, I’ve furiously googled to find it – it was a 60 Minutes type show – but I’ve come up empty handed. My interest in the Romanovs was sparked then but sadly, my knowledge of their lives and deaths pretty much stopped with that viewing. I’ve no doubt that I’m going to be digging into more Romanov stories this year, given that the 100 year anniversary of their assassination is this summer.

I’ve collected a nonfiction book or two about the Romanovs over the years, but I haven’t actually dived in and read them. When I saw this fiction title, I jumped at the opportunity to read it. Historical fiction is so much more accessible for me and I’m generally okay knowing that authors take some artistic liberties with their stories.

The Anastasia of the title refers to Anastasia Romanov, the youngest daughter of the last royal family in Russia. In 1917, the family was overthrown by the Bolshevik troops and cast into Siberia – essentially isolated from their family and their beautiful home. In 1918, the entire family and the last few devoted household staff were taken into a basement and murdered by a firing squad.

In the 1920s, a woman came forward and claimed that Anastasia survived that horrific night. Anna Anderson sought to be recognized as the Russian Grand Duchess, which would have guaranteed her a comfortable life provided by the royal families scattered across Europe. Many people had their doubts that Anna was actually Anastasia, but there were a few people who were convinced otherwise.

Lawhon beautifully utilizes dual timelines to tell both of their stories. Anna’s begins in the 1970s and works her way back to the early 1900s. We see how she struggles to share her story and to survive in a world that seems hell-bent on keeping her away from what was hers. Anastasia’s story starts with her family being overthrown in 1917 and leads to the night of their murders in 1918. The stories meet in the middle.

I was worried that I was going to get confused with the multiple timelines headed in different directions, but Lawhon carefully guides the reader through the tangled web. Anastasia’s timeline felt perfect to me – there was enough information to ensure that I really knew and understood her day-to-day life in captivity. Anna’s timeline, 1970 back to 1920ish, felt a bit more rushed and confusing. I found myself wishing that I could spend more time exploring different aspects of her life, despite knowing that there was a lot of ground to cover in order to reach the 20s!

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. Once I was about 1/3 through it, I had a really hard time putting it down. It helped me understand the history of the Romanovs a bit more, which was a fascinating time. It also sparked an interest in Russian history and literature that has been lurking just beneath the surface. I hope to tackle some difficult books this year, and those include nonfiction books on the Romanovs and other Russian Imperialists, as well as some nonfiction classic literature.

I loved seeing how the author fit these two stories together. I was torn between wanting to believe that Anna was Anastasia and doubting her story. I also spent the story wondering whether she would resolve the mystery or leave it to the reader’s interpretation. Because that was part of the fun for me, I won’t tell you which happened, but I will say that I was very happy with the way that it ended!

A bonus for the history geeks out there: if you happen to watch The House of Windsor on Netflix, there is a bit more Romanov history and a glimpse of a current Princess Olga – a descendant of Anastasia’s uncle. I squealed in delight when I saw her and her home!

What happened to Anastasia Romanov has been debated for years and this novel explores the life of Anna Anderson who claimed to be Anastasia. The novel skips around in time periods and events and it took me a while to get used to this but once I did it worked as it kept you off-balance and wondering. I was hoping that she was Anastasia and once invested could not put the book down until the end.

What a wonderful book! It isn't often that I find myself staying up late to read a book, but this one kept me awake just wishing and hoping that Anna would turn out to be Anastasia. Of course, I knew that she wasn't, but I found myself hoping that the story would finally turn out differently! The back and forth between time periods and people was a little difficult to navigate but turned out well once I started to pay attention to the titles for each chapter. I will definitely be seeking out more of Ariel Lawhorn's books!

I received an e-book through NetGalley to read & review.
I was fascinated as a teen when I first heard the rumors that Anna Anderson was Anastasia and had survived the firing squad. Ariel Lawhorn's book is very descriptive of the life of the Imperial Family in 1918 when they were taken prisoner and exiled, and these chapters I enjoyed. But the author used a confusing technique for the chapters of Anna Anderson's life - multiple flashbacks in each chapter, so I found myself reading something that happened 1 year ago, then 2 weeks ago, then back to 2 years ago - which distracted from my enjoyment of the storytelling.

Is she Anna Anderson or is she Anastasia Romanov? It was a question that defied answering for a long time, until much more recent years. If you can handle the interesting reverse timeline that half of this story is told in, then you just might find out.

For the most part, I thought this was a well-written, fascinating story with a lot of careful research that went into it. I loved the idea of the book and was excited when I began reading it, but honestly, I did struggle a bit with the timeline. There was so much flipping around between different dates that I often had to remind myself which of the characters I was reading about and get that straight before I went on.

Still, there were a lot of good things about this book, too. I loved the way the author portrayed both Anna and Anastasia and felt a lot of emotion as I read about them. Although anyone who followed the developments in the identification of Anna Anderson will know how this turns out, it was still a page turner. The small details the author included made this book compelling and kept me reading--even late at night when I could barely keep my eyes open.

Overall, I thought this was brilliant and definitely worthy of the time to read it. Recommended to anyone interested in this historical period or the Romanov family.

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher, provided through Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

I have always been fascinated by the story of Anastasia and always wanted her to have survived. While I enjoyed the book, I had significant trouble following the story as it unfolded. Lawhon chose to tell Anastasia’s story chronologically and Anna’s backwards through time making it very hard at times to understand where I was in the story. It was even stressing me out at some points because these people would show up and debunk her story again and again. We all know how it ends, but I was hoping for a new twist.

In 1920 Berlin, a young woman attempts to end her life by throwing herself off a bridge. She is sent first to a hospital and then to an asylum where she refuses to provide any background information or give her name. It's there that someone first "recognizes" her as Grand Duchess Tatiana, a daughter of the recently deposed Russian Tsar Nicholas II, whose precise fate at the hands of the Bolsheviks is murky. The woman eventually claims to be not Tatiana but her younger sister Anastasia. Even when news leaks out of Russia that the entire Romanov family was murdered in the summer of 1918, doubt remains. The woman, who comes to be known as "Anna" claims she escaped just before the slaughter. So begins a decades-long journey across many countries to provide to the larger Romanov clan, to a Hollywood star, to the international press, and to numerous justice systems that this traumatized woman is truly a grand duchess, and not a mentally ill former Polish factory worker as the Schanzkowska family claims. Shuttled between benefactors, many rich emigres and Romanov relatives temporarily come to her assistance, but who is friend and who is foe? Anna's quick mind and clever come backs prohibit them from labeling her insane, and yet with such little evidence about the Romanovs' final days, few can say for sure. No court is able to provide conclusive proof one way or the other, and the court of public opinion remains divided.

This tale is wonderfully written. Even though history tells us that DNA eventually disproved Anna's claim, the book keeps you on your toes, hopping back and forth in history, telling bits of the story here and filling in pieces there, so pay close attention to weave the whole story together. Seemingly inconsequential items and conversations link the scenes together:  a letter opener, a photo album, pets, scars. They become parts of a larger story that is intricate and engaging as a lone woman clings desperately to an identity that may or may not be hers. Meanwhile, well-meaning people battle with opportunists, skeptics, and manipulators, everyone with their own agenda. It's a very human tale when facts are short and determining the truth has enormous consequences. Well worth the read even though Anna's true identity is now known. This is an inside look into what happens when a lot is at stake.

I would like to thank Doubleday Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

I have never been particularly interested in the Romanov family tragedy or in Anna Anderson, but when I ran across the opportunity to read an eARC of this book through NetGalley, something about it made me jump on it. Probably the fact that Ariel Lawhon does not write the book in an effort to TELL you whether or not Anna is Anastasia. The book is written in such a way that you are left to decide for yourself, which is a bit intriguing and mysterious.

I will admit, I looked up Anna Anderson fairly quickly into the book, and I would caution those true thrill seekers out there who want a bit of a surprise at the end to save your time on Wikipedia or other websites for AFTER reading this book. I feel that I did take SOME of the enjoyment away from myself that way, but it did not detract in any way from the quality of the book, which I rated 4 stars.

The reason I DID rate this book 4 stars instead of 5, despite having enjoyed it quite greatly was because of the way that the book moves through time during the course of the storytelling. The book, rather than moving forward through time and having flashbacks to the distant past, moved BACKWARD through time and also had flashbacks to the distant past. This method of storytelling WAS explained at the end of the book, and once explained I understood the method behind what I originally considered to be madness. But, I have to admit that the method detracted from my enjoyment while I was reading because I found myself frequently without information that I quickly learned would come in a chapter or two if I continued reading. It just made for some puzzling situations and conversations in the book where things took a while to add up.

Overall, I found this book to be quite enjoyable, though. I felt a continuous urge to keep reading - whether to find out whether or not Anna was Anastasia or just to put together the pieces of the puzzle that the author was creating with her method of storytelling. And additionally, I am now interested in finding out more about Anastasia / Anna. 

I was given a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own and I am never compensated for my reviews.

This was a really interesting book that took me some time to get into. It's written from two points of view, one going forward in time and the other going backward. Is she Anastasia? You have to get to the end to find out, and it' a wild read to get there!

I enjoyed this book, and recommend it.

When the reader meets Anna Anderson, she is a worldly, grim old woman who has lived in palaces, hovels, and asylums; been hailed as royalty and ridiculed by skeptics. The only thing the reader knows for sure is that she claims to be Anastasia Romanov. Whether she is or isn’t is to be discovered as the author creatively reveals, disproves, and teases proof of Anna’s identity as she narrates her life — backwards. Each chapter reveals a slightly younger, less cynical Anna as we peel back the layers of who she is. This part of the story is in third person point of view.

Then there’s the other half of the story, interwoven with Anna’s: the story of Anastasia Romanov and the last eighteen months of her family’s life, told going forwards from first person point of view. Whether this makes the book a story of one woman or two is, of course, the mystery that can only be solved once the two narrative timelines meet at the end of the book.

I mention the changes in point of view because I don’t think it worked well. It’s complicated enough to have alternating chapters going backwards and forward; adding a POV switch as well just seems rude. (A short intro to the book in first person by Anna doesn’t help when you’re trying to find your footing with the POV shifts at the beginning of the novel.) It makes the book more confusing, and this story is best enjoyed if your mind is clear enough to pay attention to the little details on both sides of the story.

That said, aside from the POV shifts, the format of this book really is incredible. The backwards timeline means that Anna’s references to events in her past become clearer as the reader discovers that past in reverse order, while knowing what she goes through later in her life makes traveling back into her youth more meaningful. And the alternating “Anna” and “Anastasia” chapters let you compare Anna’s evidence to what really happened to the lost princess right up until the moment you find out the answer. You can constantly reexamine the evidence in the light of what each new chapter on both ends reveals.

On the down side, Anna(stasia?) is really the only character I connected with. As often happens with adult books, I found most characters pretty dull (and it took me a while to warm up to Anna). While the backwards format is interesting, it’s not conducive to focusing on secondary characters, so only Anna shows up in bright color. Anastasia’s chapters had their own interest, especially about the historical time period, but the romance bored me. It felt too obvious and Thomas was pretty bland. Putting more focus on the sister relationships might have been more interesting, since what was there was very powerful.

I Was Anastasia ended up impressing me, but it wasn’t obvious for most of the first half that it would. A great book for anyone who likes historical fiction and mystery and doesn’t mind a slow read, but the story's strengths come from its originality and when it tended toward the predictable it got boring.

First Line - If I tell you what Happened that night in Ekaterinburg I will have to unwind my memory - all the twisted coils - ans lay it in your palm.

Summary - 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. With a brilliantly crafted dual narrative structure, Lawhon wades into the most psychologically complex and emotionally compelling territory yet: the nature of identity itself.
The question of who Anna Anderson is and what actually happened to Anastasia Romanov creates a saga that spans fifty years and touches three continents. This thrilling story is every bit as moving and momentous as it is harrowing and twisted.

Highlights - I loved Lawhon's idea of what the Royal families last months must have been like. She shows them as people who were raised very entitled, but who would do whatever they had to to get by.

Lowlights - I really can't think of any! This was one of those books that I would've loved to finish in one sitting, but I think you would really miss out on the atmosphere of the settings as they move through not only time, but more importantly to me, the seasons.

The Grand Duchess Anastasia, has easily become the most famous of the Romanov royal family. Pampered, loved, princess, prisoner, missing person. She and her entire family were held in different locations, until one night, they disappeared entirely. Rumors began to surface that they had all been shot, and their bodies disposed of, but Russia was in war, and there was not enough man power, or willingness to look for them at the time.
A few years later, a young woman appeared who claimed to be the lost Anastasia, and the world exploded. Many believed her, many more did not. Court cases, interviews, movies, family members coming forward claiming she was someone else, but through it all the woman we called Anna Anderson stuck to her story that she was the lost princess Anastasia. True, she knew things that most people outside the royal circle would not know but that was not proof enough.
Until her death, she clung to the claim that she was Anastasia. She would not budge from her story, and she refused all offers of buy-outs from the existing Romanov family in Europe.

The story of Anastasia has long captured imagination, brought to life in numerous books and movies. But the true story behind the heartbreaking loss of the entire royal family was not put to rest until the 1990, and the early 2000's. While questions still remain, we know that none of the family made it out of the Ekaterinburg prison alive. The stunning performance by Anna Anderson, which lasted almost 50 years was not put to rest until several years after she herself had passed away.
While I enjoyed this read, I found it somewhat difficult at times to follow the extremely wonky timeline laid out by the author in the book. We were forwards, backwards, backwards some more, and then jumping forward, to fall backwards again. I found myself re-reading bits, to make sure that I had not missed anything, trying to piece all the information together. I have read on Anastasia before, but this almost felt more like a mish-mash of information, not as well laid out as it could have been. Still an enjoyable read, just be prepared for tangled webs, and the feeling of confusion as you read through.

Thank you Doubleday and NetGalley for an advanced read in exchange for this review.

At first, I wasn't sure that I wanted to read this. It almost felt like the book was insulting the Romanov family and their horrible execution. However, Anna Anderson was a person with her own struggles and horrors. Lawhorn wrote those chapters with care. The chapters on the Romanovs could have been better, and it was confusing how one set was written backwards in time and the other was in chronological order. Still, an interesting book giving more insight into Anna Anderson.

I Was Anastasia was the kind of book I immediately wanted to start over once I finished it. The structure didn't make sense to me until the very end, which made me question my interpretation throughout. Despite the frequently confusing nonlinear timeline, the story drew me in and kept me captivated until the end. Before picking up, I Was Anastasia, the totality of my understanding of the Romanov family came from my reading of Robert Alexander's The Kitchen Boy: A Novel of the Last Tsar (another great book!). I was unaware of the role Anna Anderson played in history, which placed me squarely in the "hope for a happy ending" camp. Rather than skip to the end or read the author's note, I turned to Wikipedia three-quarters of the way into the book! The ending was brilliant, and as I said in my opening line, it made me want to go back and read from the beginning. I also thoroughly enjoyed the Author's Note.

Bravo, Ariel Lawhon and thank you to NetGalley and Doubleday Publishing for the advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.