The Storyteller by Kathryn Williams ~ 368 pages ~ to be published 1/11/22 by HarperTeen
Goodreads Synopsis:
It’s not every day you discover you might be related to Anastasia…or that the tragic princess actually survived her assassination attempt and has been living as the woman you know as Aunt Anna.
For Jess Morgan, who is growing tired of living her life to please everyone else, discovering her late aunt’s diaries shows her she’s not the only one struggling to hide who she really is. But was her aunt truly a Romanov princess? Or is this some elaborate hoax?
With the help of a supremely dorky, but undeniably cute, local college student named Evan, Jess digs into the century-old mystery.
But soon Jess realizes there’s another, bigger truth waiting to be revealed: Jess Morgan. Because if she’s learned anything from Aunt Anna, it’s that only you can write your own story.
What I Thought:
*I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. Thank you so much to NetGalley and Harper Collins for this ARC!*
I love historical fiction, and after reading I Am Anastasia by Ariel Lawhon a few years ago, I am now very intrigued by the women who have claimed to be Anastasia Romanov over the years. This book was a very interesting take on this part of history!
I was not expecting a large part of this book to take place in 2007. I believe the author chose this time period because of when the bodies of the two missing Romanov children were finally discovered, which I found to be smart and fascinating. I actually really enjoyed how the book hopped back and forth in time from 2007 to the 1910s/1920s. This is often something that bothers me in books, as it takes me out of the flow of the story, but I thought Williams did a fantastic job with making the story very fluid.
I liked that the book was a mixture of historical fiction, mystery and romance. I really enjoy when books are multiple genres. It was dynamic and kept me engaged and wanting to know what was going to happen next.
I was a fan of Jess, and was rooting for her and Evan, but I did find her relationships with her boyfriend and best friend to be a bit lacking in this book. I wish that the author had either gone deeper on those relationships or axed them altogether. It was fun to see Jess start to discover more about herself as she learned more about her Aunt Anna.
I would absolutely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys historical fiction, especially anything to do with the Russian Revolution. I hope this book gets the attention that I feel it deserves!
My Rating:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I gave The Storyteller 4 Stars!
Are you interested in learning more about this book? Check out the links below!
Pre-order The Storyteller on BN.com
Are you a historical fiction fan? Have you read any other good books about Anastasia? What are some of your favorite historical fiction reads? Let’s chat in the comments!
Love and happy reading,
Whitney
Whit Reads Lit 
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