• About

Kayla's Only Heart

~ Always learning. Always progressing.

Kayla's Only Heart

Tag Archives: Ariel Lawhon

Book Review: I Was Anastasia

17 Monday Dec 2018

Posted by KaylasOnlyHeart in books, Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Anastasia, Anna Anderson, Ariel Lawhon, book review, books, family, historical fiction, I Was Anastasia, mystery, Romanovs

Ariel Lawhon’s I Was Anastasia has given me my first introduction to Anastasia and the Romanov family outside of the animated film named after Anastasia I saw once in theaters as a child, and I have enjoyed learning about the history surrounding the Romanovs, their captivity and Anna Anderson’s identity.

Told backwards from Anna’s perspective and in normal progression from Anastasia’s, the storylines unfold until their timelines converge. This structure keeps readers engaged as well as thinking because it requires another level of thought to keep the events straight. It also carries a certain weight as the anticipation of what readers know comes at the brutal end for Anastasia leaves a feeling of dread in the background. I have learned a lot about these people’s experiences, different as though they stand. Though this book doesn’t fall into an uplifting category, I appreciate how informative and interesting Lawhon has made it.

 

This book has not only introduced me to the Romanovs and their history but to Russian history as well. Somehow I have not learned much about Russia, and I would like to continue. I have a couple classics lined up for reading next year.

If you read I Was Anastasia and would like to pair it with another book that explores some of Russia’s history, I highly recommend the modern classic A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles (my review here). It follows a man under house arrest at a hotel for many years, and it has a great cast of characters and story. This would also pair well with a viewing of Casablanca.

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 880 other followers

You can't make advances if you don't take chances. These posts share my perspectives of my journey as I step forward, walking in the Light.

Recent Posts

  • Book Review: Silencing Insecurity
  • Meeting Autumn
  • Book Review: How Joyful People Think
  • A Future Awakened, Embraced
  • American Dream

Categories

  • Beauty
  • books
  • Essay
  • Journal
  • Monday Motivation
  • Photography
  • Playlists
  • Poetry/Lyrics
  • The Great American Reader
  • Uncategorized
  • Winsome Women Wednesday

RSS my weekly nail creations

  • Starlit Darkness 
              As it felt like I continued to fall deeper into darkness, I reminded myself to keep dreaming positively. My stars matched my pajamas to encourage my sleeping dreams as well.  The following weekend I ventured out with my friends to attend a Taking Back Sunday and The Used concert. Surrounding […]
    Kayla Stierwalt
  • Falling
          These plain manicures go back to the fall. The season marked a time of change and a new look at my world. Perhaps the perspective in what I held in my hands stole some of the focus and expression I would normally have for my nail art.  I went from a bold […]
    Kayla Stierwalt
  • Plain Sparkles
    After the Top Shelf plain manicure, I had another plain one with some sparkles added. I just didn’t feel spirited enough to enjoy my me time. I still made myself go through the motions though. I might not have been applying makeup regularly, but I kept my nails polished. The little touches kept me from […]
    Kayla Stierwalt

Facebook

Facebook

Twitter Updates

  • My Harry Potter reread continues. I'm making my way through The Half Blood Prince and getting more into the series… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… 6 hours ago
  • 4 of 5 stars to Rules of Civility by Amor Towles goodreads.com/review/show?id… 2 days ago
  • I got You're 31 and the character that fits your personality is Elizabeth Bennet from Pride and Prejudice.!… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… 2 days ago
  • On page 269 of 335 of Rules of Civility, by Amor Towles goodreads.com/user_status/sh… 2 days ago
  • I'm so thankful for the immediate and long term benefits of running. Now I breathe a sigh of relief that my morning… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… 3 days ago
Follow @KaylasOnlyHeart

Goodreads

There was an error retrieving images from Instagram. An attempt will be remade in a few minutes.

RSS Pendey in Kensia

  • An error has occurred; the feed is probably down. Try again later.

Blog Stats

  • 8,071 hits

Blog Stats

  • 8,071 hits

Blog at WordPress.com.