Anastasia by Sophie Lark
Published by Indie on 6 December 2022
Genres: Fantasy Romance, Historical Romance
Pages: 686
Format: eBook
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads

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.

I was beginning to wonder if love was the worst trick of the gods.
It seemed to exist mainly to torture us. Unhappy marriages were so much more common than blissful ones.
And marriages that could never occur seemed most painful of all.

Anastasia by Sophie Lark

Anastasia is an standalone historical, fantasy romance inspired by the classic Anastasia story and the history of the Russian Romanov family. I believe that I saw Sophie say that this was not a ‘retelling’ but it essentially is; she’s ‘retelling’ the tragic story and giving Anastasia a happily ever after. The magic system, while simple and straightforward, was incorporated so well into the plot that it felt as if it should have always been there. While still robust, Sophie didn’t over-explain or complicate the fantasy/magic element of her story. It was seamlessly woven through the setting and characters, creating a balanced finished product that didn’t relying too much on one single element to carry the story. 

Anastasia reminded me so much of the BBC TV series, War and Peace; the heartbreak and sorrow, the external and internal conflicts, the moral dilemmas, right versus wrong, recognising your privilege, duty over desire.  

Pace

Anastasia is thick, clocking in at 686 pages (Kindle version), but there was enough tension and surprises sprinkled throughout the plot to keep everything moving at a fairly steady pace. Sophie does a great job at introducing the characters, world, and magic system by actually telling the story instead of just info-dumping everything into expository chunks. Every scene adds another layer allowing the reader to better understand a character’s personality or motivation, or foreshadows a twist or revelation. 

Characters

There are so many colourful characters in Anastasia but Damien is definitely my favourite. Though the first half the book is primarily told from Anastasia’s point of view, we get a deeper look inside Damien’s head in his chapters, revealing how his power affects him in a way that Anastasia doesn’t experience. 

Their romance is so well written. Sophie created exquisite chemistry and conflict between these two. Admittedly, I’m not a fan of insta-love/insta-lust, but Anastasia and Damien’s romantic development is a form of exquisite torture. 

Tropes

• Rivals
• Magic
• Slow Burn
• Opposites Attract
• Forbidden Love
• Royalty/Court Intrigue
• Mystery
• Hidden/Secret Identity
• Dark Secrets

Is Anastasia spicy?

Anastasia’s romance is an emotional, slow-burn with moments of satisfyingly intense spice. There aren’t chapters and chapters of explicit scenes but, as it fitting in a historical romance, there is a lot of pining, tension, and, though very well written, only a handful of  sexual scenes. While I love a good spicy story (to be honest, I actually primarily read explicit romance) I think the spice level is perfect and historically accurate/appropriate.  

My Thoughts

I must admit that this was my introduction to Sophie Lark. I have not read any of her books prior to reading Anastasia, even though I have seen them recommended all over social media and other book blogs. I had a feeling that this book was a big shift for her as an author. I was under the impression that she mainly wrote contemporary romances as I’ve seen several of her books and series featured in spicy book lists. So, I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect but I’m happy to say that I was pleasantly surprised. 

Though it wasn’t as spicy as I was anticipating, if you like the forbidden nature of romances across class that is often found in historical romances, then you will love Anastasia. And, honestly, you won’t miss the level of spice you would find in a contemporary or fantasy romance. I thoroughly enjoyed the blending of historical and fantasy romance (as I did in The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels by India Holton) and Sophie did a great job at developing a balanced plot that didn’t lean too heavily on one element but rather blended the magical, romantic, political, and historical themes into a great story. 

Add Anastasia by Sophie Lark to your TBR if you…

• like period dramas like War & Peace
• are an adventurous historical romance reader
• love a twisty, slow-burn romance