This novel cuts back and forth between two storylines - the first starts in 1916 from the viewpoint of Anastasia Romanov, one the daughters of the last tzar of Russia; the other in 1970 from the viewpoint of Anna Anderson, who has spent the last 50 or so years trying to prove that she is in fact Anastasia Romanov and survived the massacre of her family. Anastasia's story proceeds forward in time, while Anna's works its way backwards. Although I completely understand for storytelling purposes while the book was structured this way, it made the book extremely confusing during the Anna parts, which really jumped around a lot and often were referring to things that came prior to that in time but later in the book. So, a pretty interesting book, but a little difficult to read. 3.5 stars.

Thank you to netgalley for the advanced reader copy! I don’t have a lot of experience with the Anastasia story besides watching the Disney movie back in the day. I really enjoyed learning about her story and loved how this book intertwined with her story and her imposter “Anna Anderson”. I will admit I was a little slow and couldn’t keep up with the book going in reverse to the story of Anastasia but once I caught on I really loved the different type of story line. Great ending for Anna, sad ending for Anastasia. By this point in the book I was really intrigued and attached to Anastasia so when it came time for their execution my heart was so torn. Great book by Ariel! I loved this twist on historical fiction! ☺

I Was Anastasia tells the story of a women who claims to be Anastasia and lets the reader decide what they believe. It goes into a lot of detail about the Romanov family and their terrible last days, and the story of this woman and her claim. It is an interesting and sad read.

I am such a fan of historical fiction, and as soon as I heard about this book, I knew I had to read it! I Was Anastasia offers a unique and intriguing take on the mysteriously missing daughter of the executed Romanov family. Though there have been many stories trying to explain what happened, I found this one to be quite compelling and it definitely has me interested in reading more by this author!

While the events of this story are tragic, this was a great reading experience! The structure is unique and fascinating, the writing is good, the book makes the women feel real and more than historical figures, and I was swept up in the mystery of the story regardless of what I thought I knew or didn’t know. At an event, Lawhon said it’s been a polarizing book because people either LOVE or HATE the structure. I was fully in the love camp!

Ultimately, I know just a little too much about the Romanov's and Anna Anderson to really be pulled into this one. The writing is solid, and there's a good matter of research that went into the writing of this book, but sadly I couldn't remove myself from my prior knowledge to go along for the ride.

The world has been fascinated by the fate of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia and the fate of his family. Nothing was more captivating than the notion that one family member could have escaped their terrible fate. Ariel Lawhon takes the story of Grand Duchess Anastasia and puts her own unique twist on it by pairing it with the story of Anna Anderson, the woman who claimed to be the Grand Duchess Anastasia.

I Was Anastasia is told from two points of views. Anastasia’s story starts shortly before the start of the Revolution and moves forward in time. What is heartbreaking about Anastasia’s story is that there is only one way for it to end. Lawhon has written a compelling picture of the Grand Duchess as a teenager during the most difficult time of her life. Anastasia came across the pages as brave and courageous. She is a helper and longs to be seen by her family as an adult. Sadly, as history tells us, this will not come to pass.

Starting just days before the Revolution, I Was Anastasia does not spend much time examining the Romanov’s luxurious lifestyle before the Revolution. The reader only sees the world through the eyes of Anastasia with brief glimpses of what the family had before they were placed under house arrest. As a result, it is easy to see how much the family loses with their imprisonment and difficult to see how the common people of Russia. It is easy to feel sympathetic towards the Tsar’s family and their eventual fate is jarring even if the reader knows what will happen in that dark basement in the far outreaches of the Russian countryside.

The alternate chapters are told from Anna Anderson’s point of view. Anna is the woman who claimed for many years to be the Grand Duchess Anastasia. To juxtapose her to Anastasia, Anna’s story is told backwards (think Memento). The reader meets her as an old woman on her last dime – desperate -- and as the novel progresses, the reader witnesses her growing younger until it is revealed, at least in Lawhon’s opinion, why Anderson began to believe and claim publically she was the daughter of the Tsar.

Unfortunately, starting at the end of Anderson’s life, when she is in the final legal battle with the members of the Royal Family to recognize her claim, plays against the sympathies of the reader. By showing her during her worst days, and knowing how science has since disproved her claim, there is almost immediate animosity. It’s hard to keep an open mind about Anna’s situation. It’s hard to be sympathetic to a fraud. Anna’s life story is at direct odds to the sweet, young life of Anastasia, tragically cut short, told in opposing chapters.

As readers move through the novel, they may feel torn -- longing for the tragedy that befalls Anastasia and her family to not happen and an urgency for Anna’s lie to be put to bed and end quickly. This dissonance doesn’t play well and causes the novel to drag most of its 300 pages especially during Anna’s chapters which come across as brash and uncaring until the start of her story is reached.

A version of this review appeared in The Gazette (Cedar Rapids, IA) on April 8, 2018.

A great story about a fascinating woman. I would highly recommend for anyone who like historical fiction!

This book is not an ordinary "Romanov behind the the scenes" that most Anastasia themed books are. It's a mental workout with incredible writing!

I highly recommend reading this book in physical form. The timeline is non linear and requires extra focus and it’s difficult to not be able to flip back a few pages and check what year you’re in when reading on an e-reader.

You get the feeling there’s something they’re not telling you throughout the book but it wraps itself up nicely in the end! It’s a lot of work to read but well worth it for the ending! DEFINITELY read the Author’s Note afterwards as it provides a lot of clarity!

As it turns out, the Anna Anderson story is a real story but I wouldn’t recommend googling it until after you’re done reading, it won’t spoil it but it wouldn’t let the book be what it is.

I received a digital ARC of this book from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for my review.

I think this book had the potential to be amazing, and I love Russian history, unfortunately the contemporary aspects couldn’t hold my attention long enough for me to feel really connected with the characters. Still the setting and plot were both decent and there were some unexpected twists...I’m hoping to read more from this author and fingers crossed my disconnect was only from a current mood and not any refelection on the author or the book.

I Was Anastasia by Ariel Lawhon is a historical fiction novel based on a woman pulled out of a canal claiming she was Anastasia Romanov. I was not familiar with this true occurrence in real life so appreciated learning about the Romanov family. Lawhon tells the story in a non-linear fashion and requires the reader to try and figure out the mystery (although she reveals the answer at the end of novel). Ugh, history and humans can be really brutal. This is not a book to read before you go to sleep.

I’ve always wanted to learn more about Anastasia and the Romanovs, so I thought I’d really be into this book. It took me until about 2/3 in to get used to the unusual timeline. It’s two time frames heading towards each other to meet in the middle. In her notes at the end of the book, even the author admits it can be daunting to some readers. If you can get past that and stick with it, you will see why it was written in such a way. It was hard knowing how the real story ended in such a sad way and I just kept wishing somehow the story had turned out differently for their family. In other random notes:
-I worried about the dogs too much.
-“Heels” is spelled “heals” several times.
- Based on her 1901 birthdate, I think Anastasia’s age is mentioned throughout the book incorrectly based on the dates given at the start of each chapter.

I’m glad I read this book, but I did not particularly enjoy doing so. It was very educational and became more interesting about halfway through, but the beginning was painfully slow and the structure of going back and then forward and back again in time was very difficult to follow. It also wrapped up a little more quickly than was consistent with the rest of the story.

Overall, I enjoyed the historical aspects of this book and learned a few things, but I occasionally found myself disengaged.

As I was reading, I seldom need to remind myself that this is a work of fiction because it's that good. I do believe her to be Anastasia without a doubt. This is one way to think about the possibility if she were alive or not. Though I'm not very familiar with the history of this lost Russian Princess I only knew she was lost. I'm not even sure if she was found.

I love how this was written and the stories are told during different times of her life and different settings. You see her as a very old woman, then you see her as a young child living in the palace, and in the next chapter you see her as a younger version of her present old self. She may have been beyond the age of 50 but she's still got a lot of fight left in her.

All in all this was such a great read and a whole different genre and pace to what I'm used to reading. It's refreshing.

The constant shifting in the timeline of the story confused me at times. Anna’s timeline is all over the place and I would have preferred to have hers go chronologically like Anastasia’s.

I really liked Anastasia’s POV but couldn’t get into Anna’s.

This book re-sparked my interest in the Romanovs and now I need to go read some NF books about them.

I am the first to admit that I am not a history buff. I did horrible in history at school, but luckily for me, I love historical fiction. Especially good historical fiction that makes me want to find out more about the actual events. I Was Anastasia definitely falls into the good historical fiction.

The story is told by two people; Anastasia Romanov and Anna Anderson. Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia was the youngest daughter of Tsar Nicholas II. During the Bolshevik Revolution, the family was forced to flee their palace. After being kept in captivity for a time, they were brutally executed. But some believed that Anastasia survived.

Anna Anderson was the best known imposter who claimed to be Anastasia Romanov. She claimed that she had survived the attack.

The story is told from both women’s point of view. We follow Anastasia as she is placed in captivity and eventually executed. We follow Anna has she tries to convince the authorities that she is Anastasia.

The book uses an interesting technique in that it presents something and then the next chapter will be several weeks before that event, or several months before that event. It worked very well, made the book even more interesting than a straight linear time line would have.

I really enjoyed this book. I understand that it is historical fiction, but from what I’ve read online, it seemed to have been well researched. The author’s note after the novel goes into detail about the research and any changes to actual historical facts that might be included.

I received an ARC of this book.

History has always been my favorite subject, so, when I had the chance to read about Anastasia I grabbed it. Unfortunately, I just couldn't get into this one like I had hoped.

I Was Anastasia

This will probably make my favorite's list for the year. I'm still thinking about this story. I do want to give a warning if you are a sensitive reader. There are several grisly scenes. The story telling was a little hard to adjust too. There are two story lines one of which is told in reverse. It's fascinating how it comes together in the end, but it can be a little confusing. The story is amazing though. The building tension made me so nervous. I can't stop thinking about it.
I received a copy for review from Netgalley.

I have been slightly obsessed with the Romanov family since the first time I heard the story of their untimely death. The mystery surrounding Anastasia as the girl who might have lived has been fascinating. Even though I know how Anna Anderson's story ends, it is still quite the interesting story. So many theories, so many clues, so much history, - all very exciting to read about. This is a telling of the story that is very different. It is not just the way it is written ( get there in a moment), but the story told itself There are a few liberties taken and the author reveals that in the end, but it is still an intriguing story that lead me to find some non fiction to read about Anastasia.

The writing style may drive some people crazy but I like it. It kept the suspense up and I kept wondering when the stories would finally intersect. Anastasia's story was told as it happened, chronologically. While Anna's story was told backwards. We started at the end and worked back. I will admit that sometimes it was hard, but I enjoy reading books that challenge me. I especially love reading books that are written differently than everything else on the market. This fit the bill.

If you keep up with the news, the ending here is no spoiler. So I knew going in, exactly how this would end. I still thoroughly enjoyed the trip the author took to get me there. It says a lot about a book, when I know the ending, yet still want to read.

Thank you to the publishers and Netgalley for providing this book to read.