I hate rating this at 2.5 stars, because I know some people loved it and I had such high hopes, but I feel so disappointed! I’ve always been fascinated by the Romanovs, and to this day I love the animated Anastasia film, so I expected to love a book that explored what would have happened if she had survived her family’s execution. However, this book just fell so flat. The concept itself is fascinating, but the execution left much to be desired, as I felt the author spent so much time telling rather than showing and didn’t spend enough time building Anna and Evgenia’s friendship. The book felt rushed but also incredibly slow paced at the same time, and despite knowing the tragedy of the time, I never felt connected to either girl’s story.