I was given an ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Quick-paced, based on historic events and legends, enemies to friends.... this book has it all. I loved the story, the character development, and the conclusion of the story. Definitely a 5-star read! I found myself rooting for a friendship from the beginning and realizing that neither side was completely right or wrong.

💭 ᴍʏ ᴛʜᴏᴜɢʜᴛꜱ:
Im not usually a fan of either Historical Fiction or YA books and I was surprised to find out afterwards that this book is both. Because I loved it. It was quick paced & gripping. I was flying through the pages and I continuously wanted to dig in deeper. The historical background is very easy to follow. The character development was really good, slowly revealing more and more of the girls. It's awful and terrifying and at the same time funny and heartwarming. It has taught me a lot about the history of Russia. I'm very confident that this book will stay with me for some time to come.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

🤓 ʀᴇᴀᴅ ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ʟɪᴋᴇ:
Quick reads
Continued action and suspense throughout
Unexpected friendship

ꜱʏɴᴏᴘꜱɪꜱ:
𝘚𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘯-𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳-𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘈𝘯𝘯𝘢 𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘙𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘫𝘰𝘣. 𝘐𝘧 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘛𝘴𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘺, 𝘴𝘩𝘦’𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘧𝘦. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢 𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘮𝘶𝘨𝘨𝘭𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧, 𝘈𝘯𝘯𝘢 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘦 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘴.

𝘚𝘪𝘹𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘯-𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳-𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘌𝘷𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘢 𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘰𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵. 𝘏𝘦𝘳 𝘙𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘢𝘥𝘭𝘺 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘴 𝘢 𝘥𝘰𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳. 𝘌𝘷𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘢 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘥𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘺 – 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘸𝘢𝘨𝘰𝘯 𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘰𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭. 𝘖𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘌𝘷𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘢’𝘴 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦. 𝘈 𝘳𝘰𝘨𝘶𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩𝘺 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳.

Ever since I saw the classic animated film, Anastasia, I have been a Romanov fan. I've read every book I can get my hands on. So, naturally, I was excited to hear about this book. This book is set in the tumultuous days following the execution of the Imperial Family, where battle lines are constantly shifting and choas reigns.

In this setting, we have our two main characters- Anna and Evgenia. Anna is on the run from the Bolsheviks, who just executed her entire family. They are desperate to find her and finish the job- before she can spread the word of her family's execution. She has lived her whole life sheltered from the realities of life in Russia and must now maneuver through the war-torn country to survive. Evgenia is a Bolshevik, like her brothers before her. She believes in violent revolution, and is eager to see the greedy landlords overthrown. When circumstances throw the two girls together, they begin a journey that will lead them to the fight of, and for, their lives.

The thing I enjoyed the most about this book is the characterizations of both our girls. They start out as polar opposites, both of them so sure of their worldview. But as they interact both of their polarities begin to soften. Anna comes to accept that maybe her parents, despite being good people, were wrong. Evgenia comes to accept that maybe the Bolsheviks aren't the best thing for Russia. On the other hand, I didn't give this book five starts for one reason: the ending. I found the ending to be a bit unsatisfying. I wanted to know what happens next. The story isn't over... but the book is.

Overall, a great read. Well researched on the part of the author (especially for an alternate history book). Engaging and realistic characters. Strong women getting the job done.

This was a unique take on the story of Anastasia. I love retellings, so I am all about this!

Anna escapes after her family is murdered, and is trying to get to her cousin who lives some towns over. On the way, she meets Evgenia(who has no idea who Anna really is) a girl who agrees with the communists and convinces Evgenia to allow her to travel with her and stay with her until she’s able to reach her cousin, and in exchange Anna will make sure Evgenia is paid handsomely. Of course, nothing is as simple as just walking over to Anna’s cousin’s place, a lot of obstacles occur that stop them again and again, including an officer who is hunting Anna. And Evgenia has to determine whether it’s worth risking her and her family’s life to help this random girl, and Anna has to decide what to risk to survive.

This is a very well written book. This really showed and discussed the conflicts that occurred at that time in Russia with the Reds and the Whites. It was a very intense time, and regardless of which side you were on, people were treated terribly by either side, it is very sad to read.

I loved reading how Anna and Evgenia’s friendship grows. There’s so much suspicion at first(and for good reason on Evgenia’s part) and it’s really amazing how much it developed and survived despite everything that happens to them. And I will tell you, A LOT happens to them. Anna at times irritated me, but she has a good heart and was looking out for Evgenia the whole time, not just herself. Oh and she has a jeweled corset, what?! 😍 Evgenia is one sassy independent girl. She never allowed Anna to push her around and came to her own decisions and also has a good heart and cared about the people and her family. Both girls learned a lot on their journey and each grew as a person in their own way. And the side characters were fantastic!

This is for sure an intense read, but also beautiful to read about a friendship that survives despite being on opposing sides and that it’s possible. And the hint of romance at the end was a nice touch. Thank you to NetGalley and the author for a free digital copy to read.

I enjoyed this read. It was a fast-paced, adventurous retelling of the story of Anastasia if she had lived. She must come to terms with the ideological battle within her country, a country torn by the red and white army. She meets a young and poor girl named Evgenia. It is Evgenia that makes her realize that her parents were complacent rulers, living a life of comfort while many in the country starved. It was an interesting read, and I will recommend it to my students who enjoy historical fiction.

I don't want to give the impression that I'm dissatisfied, because I'm truly truly not...but. I could have done with a few more pages at the end, just enough to get a sense of how anyone was able to settle back into something like a normal life after that experience.

Such an amazing retelling from Anastacia.
The characters and the historical context were well written can’t wait to see what others say about this book.

Rating:⭐⭐⭐⭐(4/5)
So, as a kid I was OBESSSED with the 1997 version. My dad's from Russia so I watched alot as a kid. When I saw this book I was so excited for another retelling. Boy, it did not disappoint! This book has chases, 2 sides of the great war, a story of friendship and it's even historically accurate!(except for the main characters of course)
What more could you want in a book? The book has a great blend of historical accuracy and fiction.There is also a boat load of character growth, and the charactors themselves are amazing and I might or might not be attached. I highly recommend you pick up a copy of this book on October 26th, you won't be disappointed!

How wonderful to read something historical that isn't set in WW2! I loved this! Evgenia was a superb character, full of principle, spunk and kindness, who saves a girl who stands for everything she despises. Stuck together, being chased by a brutal officer of the feared Cheka unit, they attempt to find common ground,
The historic detail was vivid and easy to understand and provided a rich, atmospheric backdrop to the inner thoughts of two teenagers caught up in the revolution. The torture scene was painful to read but I admired that the author didn't hold back. It was a brutal time and the stories of Anastasia that have circulated since 1918 don't always do that justice.
This is a book I would recommend to all teenagers. I can't wait to read more from this author. Thanks Netgalley for the ARC.

This book had me from the get-go! I have long been fascinated by Anastasia and completely swept up in the mythology that she might have survived the assassination of her family. But this book does what so many re-tellings don't: it gripped me from the beginning.
Full, rich, and immersive world-building placed me right in the Russia of the later 1910s. I could see, smell and taste this world being pulled in so many directions.
O'Neil's heroines have distinctive voices and POVs, making the dual POV narrative wonderfully immersive and so compelling. The author explores so many themes here that resonated deeply: the nature of privilege and how it shelters all too many from understanding the world outside their gilded walls, the nature of war and how easy it is to forget the bonds that all humans share, that we all just want to live, love and do more than just simply survive.
This was a book that swept me up and transported me and I although there are sections where the realities of war and conflict are laid bare, I didn't want to leave this story. However, I think it ends at exactly the right point.
A deeply satisfying and immersive read, I highly recommend this book and cannot wait to see what ONeil has on tap for us next!

Thank you to Netgalley and MacMillan for the E-Arc.

Daughters of a Dead Empire is a historical alternate retelling of the Anastasia Romanov story set during the Russian Revolution. It's a story about friendship, class and family.

Anna is on the run, the rest of her family has been murdered, and she is trying to get to safety. A chance meeting with Evgenia, a peasant girl who is trying to raise money for her brother's care, sets off a tale of Bolsheviks, White Army soldiers and Tsarists who are all vying for power. The girls grow a friendship even though they are on opposite sides of the war.

Carolyn Tara O'Neill writes a fascinating story with well drawn characters. She makes us care about them and their fate. It was action packed and a lot of fun to read. I enjoyed reading this! It was a bit overwrought at times but still somewhat enjoyable.

I was so eager to get my hands on DAUGHTERS OF A DEAD EMPIRE. It was everything I hoped it would be and more! Carolyn Tara O'Neil had me at 'Anastasia retelling,' and I was drawn into her gorgeous historical novel from page one. There are epic chases, jewels hidden in corsets, edge-of-your-seat fight scenes, and evolving understandings of the political world and those in power. Most importantly, Anna and Evgenia are beautifully drawn characters, and the story of their friendship - tenuous at first, but ultimately fierce - is entirely compelling. These are strong young women. Women you'll want to read more about (and thanks to the author's reading list, you'll be good to go, there). To paraphrase a quote from Gogol that they both love, they are not only stronger than men are, but stronger than anything and everything. My thanks to NetGalley and Roaring Brook/MacKids Books for the eARC. I'll be pre-ordering a signed copy of this one for sure.

Daughters of a Dead Empire is a sweeping historical friendship story brimming with action, emotion, and humanity. Carolyn Tara O’Neil does an excellent job of exploring all the nuance and complexity of the Russian Revolution without overwhelming the reader—that’s quite an achievement! The reality of war and strife is brought to the forefront. Every death is felt and every emotion vivid and fully realized. I especially love how the horse is a fully realized character and not simply a vehicle. This novel would be an excellent part of any high school curriculum that deals with the Russian Revolution. Five enthusiastic stars!

The tsar is dead and the whole nation is in turmoil. Families are starving, war is coming and Anna is on the run. She is the sole survivor of a massacre that killed her family. Her family was targeted by the Bolshevik communists because of their wealth. Wealth that Anna now carries with her, sewn into her dress. When Anna finds herself in danger once more, she makes a bargain with a peasant girl. Evgenia's brother is sick and treatment costs money. So when a rich girl with a big mouth sticks a diamond in her face, offering it in exchange for help, Evgenia cannot refuse. Anna asks Evgenia to take her south, away from the horrible events that have ripped her from her family. But Evgenia is a communist herself, a sworn enemy of the rich. As the girls travel together Evgenia realizes the girls have more in common than she first thought, and takes her to the safety of her home and family. But Anna's past keeps finding ways to catch up to her and the secrets she thought she could hide are about to explode to the surface.

Beautifully written, this is a story of friendship and survival after a tragic loss. A fascinating tale of a familiar legend and what happened in the aftermath of the Russian Revolution.

This book was absolutely fantastic. I've already added it to our library collection and will recommend it to students.