This was a 3.5 rounded up for me. Like all Millennial women, I too am obsessed with Anastasia which is why I picked this book up even though it's definitely outside of my reading comfort zone. That being said, I did enjoy this book. The action was great and was paced out well to keep me wondering what was going to happen next. I love the friendship between Anna and Evgenia, and it was clearly very well researched (we love a fiction book with a bibliography!). I can't articulate what wasn't prefect for me, but I think it's just a genre preference. If you like historical fiction, war, action stories I would recommend picking this one up. There is a fair amount of violence and gore.

This was such a powerful, thought-provoking book! I've always been interested in Anastasia, and the myths surrounding her. So as soon as I saw this book on NetGalley, I knew I had to read it! And Daughters of a Dead Empire did not disappoint! The characters felt so real that I instantly connected to them. I loved seeing their development and growth throughout the story. They were all unique in their own way, and I could understand what each was thinking. Even though this was historical fiction, and I generally knew how things were going to end, I still felt so invested in this book. I loved the integration of history and fiction. It made the story feel that much more real. My only complaint was that I felt the ending was a bit rushed. I would have liked a little more time spend tying up loose ends. There was some closure, but I was still left needing a bit more. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys historical fiction. It isn't a happy book--in fact I nearly cried on a few occasions. But it is so well-written and really made me think. Thank you to NetGalley and Roaring Brook Press for the chance to read Daughters of a Dead Empire in exchange for an honest review!

I don’t have a lot to say about this, except how a large portion of this book just felt like a back and forth - no progress. Sure, there were more action scenes than I expected but the writing was unexceptional; almost everything was unbelievable and so, fell flat for me. The themes were interesting though, just disappointed about the execution. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the arc!