Oh boy, I have thoughts. This was hard to rate. The first 30-40% was a 4 star. The last 30% was close to a 5 star. But that middle bit was a generous 2 star. So I settled on 4 stars.
This was long and I would argue too long. So many moments were drawn out. I think it makes sense for this to cover as much time, but some things should’ve been more like a montage. Some scenes were just repetitive or a tad navel-gazing like. I think tightening those things up would’ve shaved off like 10K words and made it better in my opinion.
Then, there’s the genre. Is this a fantasy romance? I’m honestly not sure. The last 30% or so felt like a romance, but not the rest. I’m not sure I can tell you how much romance you need to be classified as a romance, but I think there should be more. I think this would be more enjoyable if you know most of it won’t be romance-heavy.
Anastasia is a difficult character. I can see people not liking her and DNF-ing because of that. I found her frustrating, but also fairly real. She’s raised in a very specific world which breeds some unlikable characteristics. She does also go on a very interesting journey.
Damien is the love interest and a much easier character to like and connect with. I would’ve preferred more of his actual POV. He is a compelling man and I want to know more about him and his magic.
Ms. Lark plays with the history of the Romanovs and the Russian uprising. There are a lot of the known players like the Tsar and Rasputin, but it’s in a fantastical way. There is magic and fantasy characters. Generally, I liked what she did with all of that and I was often on the edge of my seat. It was stressful waiting to see how she was going to resolve things.
Then, there’s the romance. I liked it-especially when it actually went somewhere. This wasn’t a slowburn-just slow. For a while I felt the attraction between Anastasia and Damien was forced for the sake of the plot. But eventually I came around. I don’t want to go into spoilers, but there were some very beautiful moments in the romance. The fire dance scene really stands out to me.
I enjoyed a lot of the side characters and plots. Anastasia’s siblings-especially her sisters-have my heart. Irina and Felix, too. And Artemis. She’s probably my favorite character. I love her sass and personality.
OK, I think I’ve gone on long enough. I’m glad I read this even though it wasn’t quite what I thought or hoped it would be. It definitely feels like a passion project and Ms. Lark should be happy with what she’s done.
Thanks for reading!
Holly