Sophie Lark

Anastasia is the princess no one needs: the fourth daughter born to an emperor without a son, and the only royal lacking a magical gift.

Until she collides with a young Cossack rebel, changing both their lives forever.

Damien is taken from everything he knows and raised as a ward of the Romanovs.

Anastasia develops a strange kind of magic shared only by the Black Monk Rasputin.

While her power grows in secret, boosted by forbidden contact with Damien, Anastasia makes a mistake with terrible consequences.

Fate grants her a single chance to set it right… but saving what she lost may cost everything she loves.


The Lark Notes:
I think what captivates us about Anastasia is our dream of what could have been. Anastasia’s death was so tragic, I wanted to give her another life.

This book is not a retelling of any other Anastasia story. It’s set in 1919 in a world similar to ours, but with magic. My next series will be a vampire family saga set in the modern version of that same world.

This is my fantasy of the happy ending Anastasia deserved. Not because she was a Romanov, but because she was a human. I want all of you to have the happy ending you deserve - it’s why I love writing romance. — Sophie

“Anastasia” is an epic enemies-to-lovers fantasy romance. It is intended for mature readers and contains spicy scenes not suitable for all.

Anastasia

Nichole Eckman

She was like a pile of kindling catching fire, the color and light moving through her as it took hold, growing brighter and hotter by the minute. 

Whatever else is taken from you, never lose hope. Even if you see how dark the world can be, choose to believe it could be better.

I honestly have no idea what to say for the review of this book. Do I think there was too much here? Yes. Plain and simple. There was so much detail that I was getting lost and because of that was missing bigger parts of the book and kept having delayed reactions to it. The story could have been really goo without so much detail that didn’t seem relevant to the world building or the story. I say that because for me it seemed like some of it felt repetitive or drawn out explanations of some things. But thinking of the main points of the book it was good. I really liked the dynamic of Anastasia and Damien and think they meshed together quite well. The first three parts of the book just are conflicting on that background for me because part of me thinks it was good and other just couldn’t believe how long it was and what it contributed to the overall book, especially when I thought it was saying the same thing in each one. Overall this is a conflicting one for me. 

Priscilla Stanfield

Dominika

This is the best book EVER. I will write a proper review once i have managed to pull myself together after this book. Let it be enough for now. THE. BEST. BOOK.

This was such an engaging retelling of Anastasia!! Anastasia was such a compelling, if a bit typical, protagonist, & the set up between her & Rasputin as the enemy was awesome. I especially love how the author MADE SURE to make this an anti-imperialist retelling, bc hi, there really is no such thing as a ~good~ monarch. & this is what made Anastasia so great — she’s flawed, & she grapples with those flaws beautifully. Also, the slow-burn romance was EXCELLENT. I LOVED how Anastasia & Damien challenged each other & were each others’ best friends throughout!!! My only eh thing was the final climax/ending. [spoilers ahead!] I always feel like using time travel to ~fix~ the issue is such a cop out. A real ending would’ve been Anastasia defeating Rasputin in the present & then moving forward with her life…maybe even working to bring democracy to Russia? Idk, if we’re changing up the history anyway, might as well go all the way!

Sharanya Sharma

Skye

“I was made for him and he was made for me."
“this was our destiny, mine and hers. woven together before we were ever born."

•

this is a solid four star read! it started out very slowly for my preferences, which is the biggest thing that kept it being five stars. like so many 90s/00s kids, I’ve been intrigued by Anastasia Romanov, without really know anything about her. all I had to go off was the Disney movie. so, this took me even longer to read because I was looking up so much history as I went. I wanted to learn what I could from the real time in history as I read this retelling.

it did take a couple turns I wasn’t expecting, and I wasn’t sure how I felt about them at first, but as I read on, the direction grew on me. I loved Anastasia and Damien as main characters. I really wish we had more of Damien’s pov! and I can’t forget about Artemis…a queen!
 
although this is a fantasy book, I appreciate that Sophie Lark made it clear that the Romanov rule wasn’t good for the people. she didn’t try to make heros out of them; rather she shared a fantastical “what could have been” type of story. 

•

read if you like:

♡ magical powers
♡ enemies-to-lovers 
♡ romantasy (fantasy romance)
♡ dual POV
♡ vampires
♡ time skips
♡ poisonous touch
♡ slooooooooooow burn 
♡ astrology 
♡ retellings 
♡ time-traveling 
♡ character growth 
♡ forbidden love 
♡ lost royals 

trigger warnings:
☞ bullying
☞ descriptions of warfare 
☞ mention of rape
☞ violence, murder
☞ death of loved ones
☞ tyrannical regimes

Sophie Lark’s version of Anastasia is an incredibly slow-paced but intriguing read that intertwines the Russian Empire with a magical world. She does an excellent job at combining politics and magic, while simultaneously telling the story of a girl going through the hardships of growing up and learning the ways of life into adulthood.

*I’ve seen people advertise this book as a spicy retelling of the movie Anastasia and I want to point out that while that is 

 of what drove me to buy this book, it is not inherently spicy. It does have a few sex scenes, but they feel very fitting of the storyline. I personally wouldn’t describe this as spicy, but in a good way. The only critique I have of the relationship is that I wish it was a little 

**Editing this in: I would also like to say that this is in no way a retelling of the movie Anastasia either. Sophie Lark created her own world for Anastasia and I think she did an excellent job. As I said earlier though, it is very very very slow-paced and while I enjoyed that, some people may not.

Megs

Sophie Lark’s version of Anastasia is an incredibly slow-paced but intriguing read that intertwines the Russian Empire with a magical world. She does an excellent job at combining politics and magic, while simultaneously telling the story of a girl going through the hardships of growing up and learning the ways of life into adulthood.

*I’ve seen people advertise this book as a spicy retelling of the movie Anastasia and I want to point out that while that is part of what drove me to buy this book, it is not inherently spicy. It does have a few sex scenes, but they feel very fitting of the storyline. I personally wouldn’t describe this as spicy, but in a good way. The only critique I have of the relationship is that I wish it was a little more of enemies to lovers than what it was. 

**Editing this in: I would also like to say that this is in no way a retelling of the movie Anastasia either. Sophie Lark created her own world for Anastasia and I think she did an excellent job. As I said earlier though, it is very very very slow-paced and while I enjoyed that, some people may not.



Brittany Cimini

it felt like the build up dragged on forever I had to fast forward through a lot of this book

i really did enjoy this book! like, read it in 3 days and that’s a lot of pages folks. but sometimes it felt so caught up in the actual history of these characters it read as telling instead of showing spots. still! i would recommend it for sure. the use of magic in this world and retelling was so good, the way it contributed to an idea of a happy ending to something that is known as horribly tragic. one other thing i think that is worth noting is that you can see the inspiration of the actual history and some of the animated movie coming together in really small but enjoyable ways.

Cici Pearson

First off, a shout-out to the artist of the stunning illustrations on the book, it made it bearable and a little bit better. 

 was one of my most anticipated releases and it pains me to say that it wasn't what I expected. I love Sophie Lark but this one was a miss for me. 

 - Starting off with the characters, we follow Anastasia throughout her life, from 11yo to her early twenties I think, it wasn't mentioned how old exactly was she when the book ended and with that plot twist at end I'm not sure. 

Point is, I liked Anastasia but I wanted to slap the girl more than once. As a kid she was the cliché princess who doesn't want to be one, acting like a boy but still as spoiled and selfish as any other princess.  

I grew to like her at the end specially on the last 300 pages( we're coming to how long this is later). Her personal growth admirable, I liked a lot how the author developed her character from the spoiled brat to a capable woman. 

Next up, we have Damien. The Cossack boy who was forced away from his family by the Tsar, Anastasia's father, only to find a ( supposedly) great friend on Anastasia. With how long this book is you'd think I'd know everything there's to know about him but even having his POVes I still feel like I don't know him. He's still an enigma to me, I would've loved to see some flashbacks from his life in the wilds with his family, his struggles with his power because yes, they were mentioned more than once but never showed how he came to accept them or when he first realized he had that kind of power. I would've also loved to see glimpses from his relationship with his father, that man who seemed love Damien to no end and would sacrifice anything for him but sadly, was barely on scene three times and on passing. So, it's understandable that I didn't care much for our hero. 

Then we've got Rasputin, a man that I refuse to put on the side characters category. He had more presence than Damien himself and was the most intriguing character in the whole book. A mysterious man who calles himself a sorcerer and who charmed all Rusya with his magnetism. I spent the better part of the book trying to figure him out, is he as selfless as he claims to be or a wolf in sheep's clothing? Needless to be said, he was my favorite character in the book regardless of the ending. 

We've got a lot of side characters, Anastasia's siblings, parents, aunts and uncles, friends and so on. In my opinion the best executed part of the book were the characters because Damien apart, Miss Lark managed to breath life to all of them and give each and everyone a unique personality that makes them in some way or another unforgettable. 

 - I've read Miss Lark's Birthright series and although they were not the best that I've read and some were better than others, it's one of the few series that I still remember so I wasn't surprised when she came up with an amazing atmosphere for Anastasia, the writing was on point, the descriptions so realistic and vivid that I felt the cold of St. Petersburg in my bones and the action scenes breath taking. 

 - And now comes the reason why I didn't give the book a higher rate.

The book is around 700 pages( kindle edition) and if we take the illustrations we're left with about 600 pages of story( call me crazy but I did count them) so how, someone explain to me how, the plot was nearly non-existent. Half the time I felt stuck reading it because nothing was happening and the progress was so slow that I wanted to bang my head with the closest wall. 

Is it supposed to be focused on the romance? Because I didn't see any. There's a couple of interactions throughout the years and then off scene letters between the MCs that we were showed a couple of them that were as bland as they can get and then there's the big reunion that left me unimpressed. I don't know if it's a me problem but the chemistry between the MCs was below zero. Thank God for the illustrations, at least there I could see something. 

Or was it supposed to be focused on the political side? Those were a  mess of glimpses of events here and there until the big revolution and war. I wish it were focused on them because the little bit that I got was really interesting. 

Then we've got the magic side. Original? No but for someone writing  fantasy for the first time, the magic system was solid even if I wish it had a bigger part of the story. True, there was more towards the end but still, the first half was painfully slow and dull. 

One last aspect of the plot was the plot twist at the end. It was going so good, I was so invested by then and loving where it was headed and how it could've ended but then 

change of plans. It's hard to explain without giving any spoilers but I wanted to scream my frustration to the sky then. I would've liked it better if it continued on that path because after that nothing was the same. That's why the logic side of the book is so low rated because seriously? Was that the only solution to give Anastasia a happy ending? 

 - Surprisingly( or not), I did enjoy it for the most part, ups and downs, frustration, boredom and excitement all were packed in here.   

As a last note, I'd like to say thank you and sorry to 

 because there wasn't a day that I didn't bug her an insufferable long-ass rant about this thing or other. Seriously, thank you. 

Souhaila

Characters - 8; Atmosphere - 7; Writing - 7; Plot - 4.5; Intrigue - 6; Logic - 4; Enjoyment - 6

First off, a shout-out to the artist of the stunning illustrations on the book, it made it bearable and a little bit better. 

Anastasia was one of my most anticipated releases and it pains me to say that it wasn't what I expected. I love Sophie Lark but this one was a miss for me. 

Characters - Starting off with the characters, we follow Anastasia throughout her life, from 11yo to her early twenties I think, it wasn't mentioned how old exactly was she when the book ended and with that plot twist at end I'm not sure. 

Point is, I liked Anastasia but I wanted to slap the girl more than once. As a kid she was the cliché princess who doesn't want to be one, acting like a boy but still as spoiled and selfish as any other princess.  

I grew to like her at the end specially on the last 300 pages( we're coming to how long this is later). Her personal growth admirable, I liked a lot how the author developed her character from the spoiled brat to a capable woman. 

Next up, we have Damien. The Cossack boy who was forced away from his family by the Tsar, Anastasia's father, only to find a ( supposedly) great friend on Anastasia. With how long this book is you'd think I'd know everything there's to know about him but even having his POVes I still feel like I don't know him. He's still an enigma to me, I would've loved to see some flashbacks from his life in the wilds with his family, his struggles with his power because yes, they were mentioned more than once but never showed how he came to accept them or when he first realized he had that kind of power. I would've also loved to see glimpses from his relationship with his father, that man who seemed love Damien to no end and would sacrifice anything for him but sadly, was barely on scene three times and on passing. So, it's understandable that I didn't care much for our hero. 

Then we've got Rasputin, a man that I refuse to put on the side characters category. He had more presence than Damien himself and was the most intriguing character in the whole book. A mysterious man who calles himself a sorcerer and who charmed all Rusya with his magnetism. I spent the better part of the book trying to figure him out, is he as selfless as he claims to be or a wolf in sheep's clothing? Needless to be said, he was my favorite character in the book regardless of the ending. 

We've got a lot of side characters, Anastasia's siblings, parents, aunts and uncles, friends and so on. In my opinion the best executed part of the book were the characters because Damien apart, Miss Lark managed to breath life to all of them and give each and everyone a unique personality that makes them in some way or another unforgettable. 

Writing & atmosphere - I've read Miss Lark's Birthright series and although they were not the best that I've read and some were better than others, it's one of the few series that I still remember so I wasn't surprised when she came up with an amazing atmosphere for Anastasia, the writing was on point, the descriptions so realistic and vivid that I felt the cold of St. Petersburg in my bones and the action scenes breath taking. 

Intrigue, plot & logic - And now comes the reason why I didn't give the book a higher rate.

The book is around 700 pages( kindle edition) and if we take the illustrations we're left with about 600 pages of story( call me crazy but I did count them) so how, someone explain to me how, the plot was nearly non-existent. Half the time I felt stuck reading it because nothing was happening and the progress was so slow that I wanted to bang my head with the closest wall. 

Is it supposed to be focused on the romance? Because I didn't see any. There's a couple of interactions throughout the years and then off scene letters between the MCs that we were showed a couple of them that were as bland as they can get and then there's the big reunion that left me unimpressed. I don't know if it's a me problem but the chemistry between the MCs was below zero. Thank God for the illustrations, at least there I could see something. 

Or was it supposed to be focused on the political side? Those were a  mess of glimpses of events here and there until the big revolution and war. I wish it were focused on them because the little bit that I got was really interesting. 

Then we've got the magic side. Original? No but for someone writing  fantasy for the first time, the magic system was solid even if I wish it had a bigger part of the story. True, there was more towards the end but still, the first half was painfully slow and dull. 

One last aspect of the plot was the plot twist at the end. It was going so good, I was so invested by then and loving where it was headed and how it could've ended but then boom! change of plans. It's hard to explain without giving any spoilers but I wanted to scream my frustration to the sky then. I would've liked it better if it continued on that path because after that nothing was the same. That's why the logic side of the book is so low rated because seriously? Was that the only solution to give Anastasia a happy ending? 

Enjoyment - Surprisingly( or not), I did enjoy it for the most part, ups and downs, frustration, boredom and excitement all were packed in here.   

As a last note, I'd like to say thank you and sorry to @amirasreading because there wasn't a day that I didn't bug her an insufferable long-ass rant about this thing or other. Seriously, thank you. 

wowowow. even though this book was thick (almost 900 pages on kindle) i never wanted it to end! it had so much detail & the plot twist gave me the same feeling as watching Twilight’s Eclipse in the movie theatre years ago (iykyk). I am glad Sophie has a heart because if she didn’t make this story a happy ending I wouldn’t be able to handle it! 

Anastasia

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