Possible Spoiler Alert
Is it possible to love and hate a book all at the same time?
I Was Anastasia by Ariel Lawhon is a beautifully written historical fiction novel about Princess Anastasia Romanov and Anna Andrews who claimed to be Princess Anastasia after the Romanov family was brutally executed in Russia.
Historical fiction is my favorite genre and I have always enjoyed learning about Russian history. Lawhon does go back and forth quite a bit in time instead of writing in a straight time line, but that did not bother me and really did seem to work in this novel.
I thought Lawhon did an excellent job of making you hopeful for one ending while giving you very small clues close to the end that maybe it wouldn’t turn out like you hope. But even when I read the ending I still found myself disappointed which is why I say I loved it and hated it all at the same time. I was still somehow hoping for the fairy tale ending even though I know the history and know that the way she ended it is the only way the story could have ended.
If you love historical fiction, especially ones about history of royalty, and don’t mind non-linear time lines, I think you will enjoy I Was Anastasia.
