I Was Anastasia by Ariel Lawhon

I was drawn to this book because of my own Russia connection. Having lived in Russia for four years, most books about Russia or Russians interest me. The Romanovs are especially interesting because I have been to Siberia and have visited Ekaterinburg and the forest where their bodies were found. There is now a church on the spot where the Ipatiev House once stood and a Monastery was built in the forest where they found the family’s bodies. Both are places of sorrow and reverence.

So, when I picked up this book, I was armed with a little bit of knowledge from my visit to Ekaterinburg nine years ago. However, I have not read any biographies or other source books that the author used to research the story. And I forced myself not to google any of it. I’m glad I didn’t.

Lawhon has created an almost magical story about the fate of the Romanov family and in particular Anastasia Romanov. The story is told in a dual timeline format with Anastasia’s story leading up to the fateful night in Ekaterinburg and Anna Anderson’s story told in reverse beginning in 1970. Anastasia’s story is told in first person and Anna’s story is told in third person, which helps to keep their stories separate as the reader goes back and forth between the two stories. I found myself reading the novel slower and slower as I approached the place where the two stories would meet. Partially because I didn’t want to experience the Romanov family’s fate. But also, because I was dreading the answer to the question, was Anna Anderson really Anastasia? Whether Anna was really a Romanov or just an imposter, once I got to the last chapter, the book would end and I would know.

In fact, before I even started reading I Was Anastasia, I was sure I knew the truth. But this book isn’t about the truth, it is about being caught up in the story. And I was caught in the tragedy and the hope. Anastasia/Anna’s stories are ones that I won’t quickly forget. Lawhon has done a very good job at helping the reader to be fully immersed in both of the stories. For a time, I lived with the Anastasia and Anna, and shared their dreams to be free and find love.

Many thanks to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

(3.5) Although it took a few chapters for me to really become engrossed in this book and with the chronology of Anna's story being a little confusing, I hung in there and completed the book and found it to be quite interesting. I have read a couple of other books regarding the Romanov's so I was intrigued when I first heard about this book and was very curious about Anna Anderson. In reading the Author's Note at the end, one can see how extensive the research was for the writing of this book. A good story overall.

Thank you to Doubleday and NetGalley for the advance review copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

This cover is gorgeous but that isn't even what attracted me to this book. It was Anastasia. I first fell in love with Anastasia when I saw the animated movie about her. I love reading anything about Anastasia and this historical fiction wasn't just intriguing, it was impossible to put down! There is, of course, some brutality when you read about what happened to the Romanov family. If you've never read anything about Anastasia I would highly recommend this book and then deep dive into historical fact.

This book follows the life of Anastasia in chronological order all the way from political undermining to the brutal end to the Romanov royal family and Anastasia's disappearance. The in reverse chronological order it follows Anna Anderson, the girl who claimed to be Anastasia all the way to her death and the struggles she endured. When the stories meet it is amazing!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this arc in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Cleverly organized historical fiction creates dynamic tale of famous question regarding Princess Anastasia of Russia’s questionable survival. I WAS ANASTASIA does a wonderful job of creating two timelines, one going backwards, one going forwards, both meeting at 1918 and the murder of Czar Nicholas’ family at the hands of the Bolsheviks. Author Ariel Lawson creates tension and suspense with her tale as we wonder if the latter-day Anastasia is the real Princess. This book is great fun and not to be missed. I received my copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Thank you to Doubleday Books and NetGalley for the free review copy of this novel. All opinions are my own. 

This book was so enticing. As a child, I had watched the cartoon version of Anastasia but did not know much about the Romanov family or those that impersonated them. Now, I do. 

Lawhon tells the story of the Romanov family, but also of Anna Anderson one of the most famous impersonators of Anastasia Romanov. This book was so interesting. I enjoyed reading about how Anderson was successful, in some ways, of convincing others that she was a Romanov. I also really enjoyed reading and learning about Anastasia Romanov and the struggle her family went through. 

It did take me a while to get into the form of this book. It is told backwards, which I haven't encountered often. By doing it this way, though, Lawhon is able to add so much suspense and mystery, almost making you think that Anderson and Romanov are the same person.

I admit to being endlessly fascinated with the Romanov family story and with the woman who claimed to be Anastasia. So apparently is Ariel Lawhon, as she weaves together both those stories in her latest work of historical fiction: one, about the last eighteen months of the Romanov family told through the eyes of their youngest daughter and the second, about Anna Anderson who claimed to be Anastasia. Anna's story is told backwards chronologically--beginning with her last court case in 1970 and then progressing back through time. Eventually the two stories come together and the reader sees why the author chose to tell her story in this manner.

It worked for me. I know a lot of readers have abandoned the book because of this frustrating chronological structure, which keeps the reader off balanced, making it hard to grasp the plot and remember names and places. But my advice is to stick with it: it does get easier to understand and there's a payoff at the end.

Ariel Lawhon has done some fine writing here. I thoroughly enjoyed spending time with both Annas!
Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for granting me the opportunity to read an arc of this fascinating new book.

Most of us are at least somewhat familiar with the subject matter of Ariel Lawhon’s I Was Anastasia. One half of the novel chronicles the imprisonment and subsequent assassination of Tsar Nicholas II and his entire royal family following the Bolshevik Revolution. Even if you don’t know all of the details, you’ve probably at least heard the name Anastasia Romanov, who was one of Tsar Nicholas’s daughters and who was rumored to have survived the assassination attempt. Whether or not Anastasia survived is the focus of the other half of I Was Anastasia, as we follow a woman named Anna Anderson who claimed to be Anastasia for 50 years until her death in 1970.

Is it possible that Anastasia survived? If Anna isn’t really Anastasia, what would lead her to so desperately claim that she is for so many years?

Even though those of us who are familiar with the Anna/Anastasia story know how it ends, it’s still quite compelling to see how it all unfolds in this incredibly well researched retelling.

What fascinated me most about this novel is the way Lawhon captured both Anna and Anastasia. Whether they are one in the same or two different people, I was completely invested in both journeys I was reading about. Anastasia’s story of course immediately had me sympathetic, just knowing the history of how her family suffered at the hands of first, Alexander Kerensky after he forced her father to abdicate, then later the Bolsheviks after they overthrew Kerenksy’s provisional government. Lawhon chronicles these painful events in great detail, making the reader want, all the more, for someone from the Romanov family to have survived the brutal massacre.

Anna’s story, however, was equally compelling as Lawhon shows how she spent much of those 50 years trying to prove her identity — being shuffled from place to place, having no real home or financial security of her own. Some are sympathetic to her cause and believe she truly is Anastasia and want to help her prove her case in a court of law, while others don’t care who she is but just want a piece of the spotlight that is bound to come from being associated with possible royalty. And still others pursue her relentlessly, trying to do everything they can to prove that there’s no way she can be Anastasia.

Even though I was already familiar enough with the story to know how it all ends, what I loved about I Was Anastasia is that the author focuses more on showing us how the story began and she does this using a unique dual timeline structure where she alternates the chapters between Anna’s story and Anastasia’s, presenting Anastasia’s timeline in chronological order, while presenting Anna’s timeline in reverse chronological order. It was fascinating to watch these two timelines on a collision course and I couldn’t wait to see how the author would have them crash into one another to give us the truth about whether Anna Anderson and Anastasia Romanov are one in the same.

Even though it was fascinating watching each of the timelines unfold and waiting to see how the author would merge them in the end, I have to admit that I found Anna’s timeline much more difficult to follow than Anastasia’s. Where Anastasia’s is a straight forward chronological rendering of events in the months leading up to the Romanov family facing a firing squad in 1918, Anna’s journey is actually presented in reverse chronological order, working backwards from 1970 to 1918. That wouldn’t have been an issue in itself, but the way her story unfolded it meant that sometimes she would be referring to someone in earlier chapters but who that person is and how they came to be connected to Anna and her cause isn’t really revealed until later chapters as we continue to travel back in time. It took me a few chapters to get used to this structure and slowed me down a few times throughout my reading as I tried to remember what I had read about a certain character in later years now that I was meeting him for the first time as I continued to journey back in time.

If you’re not at all familiar with Anastasia Romanov and Anna Anderson, I’d definitely recommend reading I Was Anastasia. Lawhon has crafted together a suspenseful mystery that will keep you guessing as to whether or not Anna is Anastasia, and at the same time, will have you hoping against hope that she really is. And even if you do know the story, as I did, I’d still recommend it because it is a powerful and emotional retelling and because the journey to 1918 and the “birth” of Anna Anderson makes for an engaging read.

A mysterious twist on a old tale. Thru the story you are presented with facts and details to determine if she Anne is really Anastasia Romanov. You hear of her family being captured, tourtured and their demise as the family is gunned down and stabbed after a death sentence. You also see how Anne continues on and the things she goes thru to make others believe she is who she claims to be. Follow this story and see what you believe. Is she or is she not Anastasia?

I truly thought I'd love, love this book - but I DNF 1/3 through. I was troubled by the messy changes in time, and in tense...

3.5ish, rounded down. While the author explains the choice to tell the story in the format she did in the author's note, it took a long time for me to make sense of the timelines, having the effect of preventing me from connecting with the story. To the author's credit, both timelines and aspects of the story are interesting, and I learned about some aspects of history that I'm quite uneducated about. Anna Anderson's story was one that I knew very little about, and she definitely makes a compelling character to read about.

I always loved reading the stories about Anastasia and hoped that she had survived. I was excited to see that another book had been written and was eager to read it. The story of the family being told on chronological order along with story of Anna being shared backwards was a big turnoff. I know some find reading a story backwards is appealing but I find it confusing. The history was enjoyable.

Where do I even begin? Let's start with the cover. The cover is eye catching in the way that, for me at least, it made me want to know what was going on with the sad girl sitting alone. It isn't eye catching in the bright flashy way but more in a morbid way.

I am going to try to review this with as little spoilers as possible, but I think we all know the story of Anastasia. Or at least we think we do. I was worried this story was going to have a happy, 20th Century Fox ending. The point of this novel is to let us "decide" but at this point in time, it is hard to argue with DNA evidence and the author did not disappoint. At least not for me anyway.

The way the novel is written may throw some off. Anastasia's POV is written is in chronological order, while Anna's is written in reverse chronological. I will admit that makes it hard to find a stopping point because you can feel a little backwards and lost. It is definitely unique, and I am not sure that I have ever read a book written in this way before now.

For me, this was a very depressing novel.. No matter what way you look at this story, it is emotionally exhausting. I am so happy that the author chose to write this, and to write it the way she did. I actually read the author's note (I know, I know, I don't usually) and it was absolutely impressive the amount of detail and historically accurate information she included. She researched, and researched, and researched. She said she actually read Anna's biographies in reverse chronological order to help her write.

This novel definitely lit a spark in me. I want to learn everything I can about the Romanov's. I actually told my fiance I want to travel to Russia. I am super impressed with Lawhon and would recommend this novel to anyone with an interest in the story of Anastasia Romanov.

Ariel Lawhon has cemented herself as a powerhouse historical fiction author with her third novel, I WAS ANASTASIA (releasing March 27, 2018 from @DoubledayBooks #partner).
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I was blown away by her debut novel, THE WIFE, THE MAID, AND THE MISTRESS and held my breath that she could deliver again with her second novel, FLIGHT OF DREAMS. Then I crossed my fingers that her third book would be anywhere near as good as her first two. She definitely delivered!
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I WAS ANASTASIA takes readers on a non-linear adventure into the lives of Russian Grand Duchess Anastasia Romanov and Anna Anderson to make you question..."are they one and the same?" Lawhon's Anna taunts you in the opening paragraph "Countless others have rendered their verdict. Now it is your turn." and she doesn't let up until the last page. A definite recommendation for anyone interested in Russian history, the Romanovs, or historical fiction in general. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you, Netgalley, for this arc.

I could not step away for very long from this story; it was un-put-down-able. The story of Anna Anderson is well-known, and as the author says in her concluding notes, everybody wishes a happy ending for the Romanov ending. But Ariel Lawhon's novel is vastly different from the Disney/Meg Ryan version. Based on fact, but also containing creative license, this novel is horrifying with scenes of rape, abuse, and carnage. It's stupefying how cruel people have been in the span of history. And no wonder we want a beautiful princess to rise from the ashes, and to survive when the rest of her family - including a hemophiliac brother and family dogs - did not. Read this book. It's addicting. The author's afterword is especially enlightening.

The story of Anastasia Romanov is one that has fascinated and captured our imagination for generations. Admittedly, I do not know as much about Russian history as I would like, and that makes the mystery surrounding the claims she survived the assassination of the Russian royal family that much more intriguing.

This book dips in and out of time, flowing between many different years and places, which can be kind of hard to follow in places. I did enjoy how the author wove the various narratives together and appreciate her use of fiction to combine several characters to make it easier to follow as a reader.

The story was interesting and frustrating and captivating simultaneously. There is mystery, suspence, heartbreak and hope. As a lover of historical fiction, this book embraced so many of my favorite story telling devices.

If you are interested in history, royalty, or mystery, I would recommend this book.

I have always been fascinated by any story featuring Anastasia and the Romanovs. I was excited to pick up I WAS ANASTASIA by Ariel Lawhon for that very reason. While I enjoyed the stories and the characters and you could tell how much in depth research went into this piece of historical fiction, there is one drawback that affected my experience. This book is trying to tell the reader what happened in 1918 and also what has happened since. The chapters detailing the fateful journey for the Tsar and his family are told chronologically so they are easy to follow with great details. However, the rest of the chapters jump from year to year, back and forth, and it was really hard for me to keep track of Anna. For readers that don't struggle with stories told in that manner, I would recommend this book. The story and characters are definitely engaging.

I received an ARC of this novel from NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

This is a clever historical fiction novel about Anna Anderson and Anastasia Romanov. There's been so, so many things written about Tsar Nicholas II and his family. Was Anastasia killed by a firing squad? Did she survive? Did she escape?

Ariel Lawhon takes us, the reader, on a two pronged journey. One story is Anastasia's, told in order. The other story is Anna's, told in reverse. There's a time jump, but if you are paying attention, it's a easy and exciting story to read. It creates the dramatic effect...where you are waiting for the stories to collide.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

You might have heard about Anna Anderson and her claim (to fame) to be Anastasia Romanov. But, if you haven't, then I suggest you google her and read up on her life. Anna Anderson's life was very interesting and it has btw been made into a movie with Ingrid Bergman and a miniseries with Amy Irving. I've seen both since I find the Romanov's a captivated subject.

I was curious to see how of Ariel Lawhon would construct the story since much has happened since Anna Anderson died in 1984. Now I take for granted that you know all about that, but if you don't know, then I will spoil the story a bit. Or rather I will reveal some truth's that may or may not be included in this book. So, read on if you dare!

Since Anna Anderson died in 1984 has two things happened, for one thing, has DNA showed that she was not Anastasia, and also the graves of the Romanov's family has been found with the bones of ALL the children. So, how do you write a book when this is well-known? Easy, you make the both Anna and Anastasia's stories so believable that you want it to be true.

All through the book does Anastasia's story interlopes with Anna's. We get to follow Anastasia through the years in captivity while Anna's story we get from the end unto the beginning. And, Anna's chapters. It's like reading a book backward. But, it works. It's very different, but it works so well. It's like two cars moving towards each other and you know they will crash, but you can't stop them!

I Was Anastasia is a great book. Reading the author's note at the end, where she wrote about wanting to believe that the story would be true made me realize that she made me want to believe that it's true that Anna was Anastasia. Because deep down we all want the story to have a happy ending...

As far as my experience with Ms. Lawhon goes, she is great with historical fiction. She can take an interesting thread from history and turn it into this carefully woven, beautiful story that you won't want to put down. This is definitely true of I Was Anastasia.
One of the most amazing things she does is weaves two stories together in this crazy way but rarely are you ever lost or confused. In this book you have two stories, Anna's and Anastasia's. Anna's story is told in reverse while Anastasia's is toward going forward so that the stories run parallel until they crash into each other at the exact same moment in the past.
There were a few times in this story that I skimmed because it was just too much info that seemed unnecessary but overall, I was totally invested in Anna's journey. Is Anna Anastasia? Read and find out! 4/5 stars

I am drawn to anything that has to do with Anastasia Romanov. The history of her and the Imperial family has always fascinated me.


This was a very well done book. Very engaging and caused you to analyze every crumb you are given. It was a unique look at the present and memories from someone who believed they were Anastasia Romanov.



Through it all the ending still completely got me. I really did not see it coming at all.