I didn’t know I loved reimagined pasts until I read this. It tore at my own belief system and mixed history with the potential story it left behind. I just wanted a little more of an ending. 

It starts out very slowly. The plot is urgent from the jump, but the constant bickering and shallow “Communism will save us!” or “Tsarism is good!” debates are nonstop and grow tiresome because both characters are just repeating the same talking points about their ideologies which is just boring to read as neither girl says more than the same few quips over and over again. At about 45% the book really starts to pick up and becomes much more interesting to read.

Anna being THE Anastasia isn’t some great reveal. Anyone with even a fleeting grasp on Russian history can figure that out less than five pages in.

The ending also felt very rushed. I think another chapter would have helped. The story is an interesting one! The characters feel a little flat but their ordeal is compelling to read and you still are rooting for the main heroines even if their identities don’t feel particularly fleshed out. It’s a solid premise with genuinely harrowing action sequences. It’s hard not to get sucked in.

By far the greatest strength here is the nuance with which O'Neil alternates between Anna and Evgenia's POVs. When I read Anna's chapters I loved Anna and loathed Evgenia. And when I read Evengia's chapters I loved Evgenia and loathed Anna. This 180 in my loyalties reflects that both heroines were well developed, realistic, and had complicated backstories which affected how they viewed both each other and the conflict surrounding them. *Chef's kiss* characterization here!

Anna and Evgenia also served as a jumping-off point to more complexly consider how the narratives we create around historical events determine who is painted the hero and who the villain, particularly given the fact that the inspiration here features real historical figures and a "What If?" that continues to captivate so many readers (myself included).

However, I struggled to get through the last half of this book, because there was little variation in momentum throughout the story. Everything felt high-stakes in tone, which became tedious to read and left me wanting some quiet moments to see these characters interact in a moment of calm. I'm also not a big fan of the writing style featured in a lot of middle-grade and younger-YA fiction (including this book), which features simpler, more straight-forward prose. Nothing wrong with it, just not my cup of tea.

But check this one out if you're looking for an intriguing alt-history "What if Anastasia survived" story that is both gut-wrenching but also not-too-intense with well-developed characters and a satisfying conclusion.

This will definitely be great for historical fiction fans; it's fast-paced and has a lot of great characters. Stay tuned for a review next week!