I have always been fascinated by the mystery surrounding the fate of the Romanov family, which is what drew me to this book. Set in modern day, the book feels like a story within a story. There's Jess, the protagonist, struggling with how to be true to herself rather than constantly fulfilling what she believes to be the expectations of others. Then there's Anna, the girl that Jess is reading about in her great aunt's old diaries. I was as eager as Jess to see how Anna's story ends and if Aunt Anna really is the lost princess Anastasia Romanov. At times, the journals that readers are reading as Jess is reading them are a bit slow and dense; but the incredible detail and care taken with the historical parts of Anna's narrative intrigued me. And while Jess is trying to figure out who Anna is, she is also trying to figure out who she herself wants to be, prompting readers to examine their own lives and ask themselves if they are who they truly want to be or just a version that people want to see.

Interesting storyline with good xgaracter development. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook

I couldn't finish it because of the digitized reader
voice and so I don't feel that I can rate or review it with any fairness.

👑 A R C • R E V I E W 👑
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Title: The Storyteller
Author: Kathryn Williams
Rating: 4/5 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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It’s not every day that you discover that your great Aunt Anna might be the Anastasia; that the princess actually survived. Jess Morgan finds her late aunt’s diaries and begins to search for the truth; was her aunt really the Romanov princess? With the help of a college student, Evan, Jess digs into the century old mystery. It soon turns out that if Jess learned anything from Aunt Anna, it’s that only you can write your own story.
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“It’s surprisingly easy to pretend to be someone your not. Writers do it all the time. Thats how they write a story; pluck a character out of thin air and try her on for size. What I know now is that we are all made up of stories. The ones we tell ourselves, and the ones we tell each other. They’re the masks we wear every day. The personal histories we write and revise again and again, the futures we imagine, the images we project online, the narratives we construct in order to fit in. Then there’s the other stories, the stories we don’t tell, the ones we lock away within the hidden dark rooms of ourselves; the secrets. Heres what I also know now, secrets tend to seek the light.”
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I loved this book. I have always had a lot of interest in the story of Anastasia and the Romanov family, so when I saw this was available on Netgalley, I immediately had to grab it. This isn’t your typical past meets the present, rather you are reading the great aunt’s diary, and diving head first into the mystery of the past. The story is absolutely gripping, not letting you want to put the story down only taking me one sitting to finish this very well written book.
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This is a YA historical mystery and I loved it all. This isn’t just a historical mystery, but one with a powerful message about remaining true to yourself. “We are so accustomed to disguising ourselves to others that in the end we become disguised to ourselves.” There were so many lines throughout the book that really resonated with me, as I am sure they will with some of you as well, so I felt the need to share. I felt like I really understood everything Jess was going through, even though I am no longer a young adult. It held a very powerful message that will stick with me for a very long time.
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The Storyteller will be released on January 11, 2022! Thanks to @netgalley and @kathrynwilliams for my ARC in an exchange for an honest review.
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#arcreview #theromanovs #whathappenedtoanastasia #YAhistoricalmystery #secretstendtoseekthelight #thestoryteller #releasesjanuary2022 #kathrynwilliams

Having long been intrigued by the mystery of Anastasia, The Storyteller seemed like the perfect book for me. However, the possibility of Jess’s aunt actually being Anastasia was only a small portion of this tale and while I did enjoy digging through the journal entries, the rest of the story was not for me. This was more a young adult romance, following common tropes that I know some readers truly adore. Unfortunately, I don’t. I really didn’t care for the main characters, therefore, I wasn’t invested in the connection built between Evan and Jess. I wanted depth and rich history, but the author only skimmed the surface there, and this proved mostly disappointing.

This story may spark a new interest for younger readers and they may find themselves digging deeper into the history presented. I believe it’s a worthy read for the right age group. I think I am just too old for it!

I am immensely grateful for my audio review copy from Harper Audio through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

The Storyteller has a unique mystery that revolves around Jess Morgan reading journals, trying to determine if her great Aunt was actually Anastasia Romanov. The book has split perspectives, with the journals being the other storyline. Jess’s storyline wasn’t quite as engaging as the journals, as it was clogged up with family/friend/boyfriend drama. This would be a great story for anyone being introduced to the story of Anastasia, or one who is interested in her story.

Thanks to Harper for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I truly enjoyed the story of Anastasia as learned by her great great niece. The Russian history was so easy to visualize as written.

If you are one who is fascinated by the mystery surrounding the Grand Duchess Anastasia Romanov this is a great tale to become part of.

Highly recommend

What a fun YA novel! I loved the journey that the author took me on. Learning about different views and thoughts on the Anastasia Romanov conspiracy was quite entertaining. I absolutely loved the ending and the closure the main character got.

The whole "Anastasia lived" conspiracy has long been one of those points of historical fascination for me, so I was pulled in by the premise here and ended up disappointed if fairly satisfied by the way the book chose to play that element overall. Further, the writing was very readable, and the themes (truth vs. storytelling, being your honest self if you worry that might mean you struggle for acceptance) are pretty tightly woven. However, I didn't feel much of a connection to any of the characters - not even fellow high-achieving introvert Jess - or the romance, and I sometimes felt that the text struggled to find a balance between the present storyline and the backstory being spun in the diary entries. The last several chapters, and especially the use of time jumps and infodumping, also weakened the ending particularly. More minorly, I think that the choice to set the story in 2007-2008 is a necessary one in terms of timelines (how old Anastasia would realistically have been, when the second Romanov grave was discovered) but I'll be interested to hear from younger readers how the period plays - not true historical fiction, but just a bit unfamiliar and off, with talk of iPods and MySpace.

A perfectly fine choice that might appeal both to fans of historical fiction and contemporary - although I would say that despite the comps, mystery lovers might not be pulled in as readily. Recommend instead to those who enjoyed Hannah Reynolds' The Summer of Lost Letters.

Telling the story of two young women; one who is trying to decide if being herself is better than the one she pretends to be and another who could be the lost Princess Anastasia and the other girl great Aunt!

I was fascinated by this premise because I, like everyone, love thinking the lost Princess survived and finding out you could be related to a dream. However, while this book had the aunt "potential Princess", which was a very interesting plotline and an exciting storyline, the other girl, Jess, was so annoying of a character. Honestly, all the characters on her side of the story were annoying or bad, and the flawed characters affected my enjoyment of the Aunt. Unfortunately, the displeasure bleed into the other story.

I really enjoyed this book. While I personally love it, historical fiction is a tough sell sometimes, but I have certain students I know will love it. Definitely recommend!

*Thank you to NetGalley and HarperTeen for providing me with an advanced copy of the audiobook for an honest review.*

Jess Morgan stumbles across diaries that suggest her great aunt might be the lost princess Anastasia. She enlists the help of Evan to translate the diaries and together they unravel the mystery. In the process, Jess discovers truths about herself, her family, who she has become, and who she wants to be.

As someone who loves the movie Anastasia, I was excited to find this book. I was not disappointed! The book flips back and forth between the diary entries in the past and Jess’ storyline in the present. I enjoyed both storylines, and the book drew me in from the beginning. It was such an interesting plot, and I really enjoyed peeling back the layers of mystery to discover the truth. I also enjoyed watching the character of Jess grow, develop, and find herself and her strength. It was great seeing how her relationships with her family, best friend, boyfriend, and Evan developed as she grew into her true self and realized what she wanted.

The Storyteller by Kathryn Williams is an interesting take on the is she or isn't she Anastasia Romanov. Jess Morgan is getting ready to start her senior year in high school when while helping her mom she comes across diaries written by her great aunt, written in Russian. With the help of a college student who is majoring in Russian literature they start translating the diaries. The mystery comes to light from the words of the diary from the past and the lives of Jess and those around her.

I like the mystery and the way it is told, my negative about the book is that I didn't really care for the current day characters. Jess lives her life by everyone else's wishes even having a boyfriend of years who she doesn't really like and he doesn't know her. I was rooting for Anna from the past but that was it.

And full disclosure, I listened to this book with an automated voice. I'll never do that again! It was horrible and I am sure affected my enjoyment of the book. Next time I see a warning that it is an automated voice I'll go on to the next book.

I was pretty impressed with the "synthetic" narrator. Did a better job than some human readers. The story was good, but very dated. Any anyone who grew up with the mystery of Anastasia and the disappointing confirmation of her tragic death, you know how this story has to end. It's a sad story and this retelling doesn't add anything new. The setting of a college town is appropriate, but I don't "feel" like I'm in Keene. There are a couple one liners about town occurrences, but none of the magic that is Keene.

DNF at 20%

Unfortunately I hate every single character. I'm moving on.

**Thanks Netgalley for the arc**

Thank you, Goodreads and Harper Collins Teen for the ARC.

This book was delivered to me with AI narration.

The Storyteller by Katheryn Williams was very enjoyable. I love the history of the Romanovs and especially the lingering question surrounding the possibility of Anastasia’s survival. This story hits all marks for a nice YA novel, intrigue, historical fiction, romance, betrayal, and resolution.

You understand how Jess (the main character) would want to believe in her great great aunt’s words in the found journals. She is needing to believe in something greater than her life at the moment with all of the anguish she is experiencing. (Not fitting in, familial strife, figuring out who she is.)

I am very excited to share this with my students!

Since I learned of the fate of the Romanov family, and the possibility of Anastasia's survival, I have been fascinated with the story. Williams captured my attention and created a fabulous story to renew my interest.
I loved the way the story was interwoven with journal entries and the current events in the life of a high school senior. The journal entries (written by the great-aunt of the main character, Jess Morgan) read like a story and were not quick inserts of the day's events.

I listened to the audiobook version, but it was presented using AI. I look forward to listening to this book again with the actual narration. I know it will make the story even better.