Part 1 (Ch 1-9)

[Krista]

So sorry for not making the discussion posts before I left for my trip to the Dominican Republic. I'm back now and very excited to jump into this book.

What did you think of the first hundred pages? Did you connect with the writing style? What do you think of Anna's story so far?

[Debbi]

Honestly, I had a hard time at first with the story line but once I found out Anastasia's story was going forward in time and Anna's story was going backwards it was easier. I did have to keep checking the chapters for dates. I finished this book already but I will save my thoughts for later discussion.

Welcome home, Krista.

[Gail]

I agree that it was hard to connect with Anna's story at first, I was able to connect much more with Anastasia's story in this first section. I think the hardest part with Anna's story moving backwards was there were so many questions and once you figure out how the story is structured, you know it will be a long time until you have answers.

[Lu]

I'm enjoying it, but I find the storytelling a little....clunky? I'm interested to see how it all unfolds, though!

Welcome back, Krista!

[Berna]

I also finished the book and will comment on my thoughts on Anna's story later because I do not remember where Part 1 ends :)

I also had a hard time following Anna's story at first because of book's structure but I also found it very effective for keeping the mystery alive.
I found the writing style and her wording not extremely impressive but good.

[Kate]

I usually don't like to know much about how a book is written before starting it, but the comments explaining how Anastasia's story moves forward in time while Anna's moves backward helped me understand the story faster. That being said, Anna's story is a bit more difficult to follow, but it will be interesting to see how the two stories come together since they get closer together in time as the book goes on. The story must have been difficult to write due to the complex structure, but the writing is good and the story intriguing. Looking forward to part 2!

[Krista]

I am finally getting to this book! I agree with everyone else. The structure is making it feel hard to connect to these characters. I think I do much better with a linear timeline. But at the same time I feel like there might be some good pay off when we finally do see it all together. I'm hoping for that anyways. Until then, I will just have to keep working hard to figure out when we are and who we're talking about. I don't normally want to have to think so much when reading! haha. Lazy, maybe, but truth.

[Kim]

I just finished part 1 and I echo most everyone’s comments. I am definitely enjoying the book but it’s not one of those I rush to get to read, which is disappointing. The Romanov story is so fascinating - my in-laws were first generation Americans whose parents on both sides came from Russia- so reading some of the tragic history of Russia holds particular interest