29 October 2009

Book Review: Dreaming Anastasia

Title: Dreaming Anastasia
Author: Joy Preble
Published: 2009 Pages: 310
Genre: For Preble on Genre go here


Buy  |  Borrow  |  Accept  |  Avoid


Plot Synopsis
Anna's dreams are full of witch's huts, not-dead royalty, and kisses that kill. Then a stranger enters her life and tells her she's the only one who can save Anastasia Romanov, the not-dead royalty in those disturbing dreams, and Anna's life will never be the same.

My Thoughts
My thoughts are confused, so back to the handy-dandy likey/no likey list.

What I Liked
  • The premise of the story intrigues me. I love the power of dreams possibilities, and the story of Anastasia Romanov is certainly romantic enough to carry such a plot.
What I Didn't Like
  • The constant switching of perspectives from Anne to Ethan to Anastasia. I found this needlessly confusing, especially when perspectives were changing every third or fourth page.
  • The handwritten letters to Anastasia's family were hard to read and seriously frustrating.
  • The ending, mainly the major and unwarranted shift in character personality, really disappointed.
Overall, I enjoyed the book, despite the fact that my no likeys outweigh my likeys. The book kept my interest for the full time reading. At the same time, I was mildly disappointed in that I wanted more: deeper backstory, richer characterization, and a more fitting end.

On a side note, I'm having difficulty as I'm writing reviews for my readathon books, determining how much my experience of the books was effected by the circumstances under which they were read. A certain type of book is more valuable during a 24 hour readathon. I have pleasant thoughts towards those books which were easy to read and consistently exciting. So would I have appreciated this book more or less had I read it on its own over the course of a few days?

Memorable Quote: Well, Duh. It makes perfect sense. Of course Viktor wants to keep his immortality. It's like it's in the Bad Guy's Handbook or something. Keep on ticking as long as possible so you can continue to stay rich and powerful and pretty.

Question: How much do you think the reading situation affects the reading experience?

Other Reviews
If I've missed yours, let me know

Beth Fish Reads; The Zen Leaf; Marta's Meanderings; The Book Lush; Presenting Lenore; Sh

Interviews with the Author and Author Guest Posts
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Today's Adventure; Beth Fish Reads; Mrs. Magoo Reads; Zoe's Book Reviews;
Posted by Trisha at 7:24 AM
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6 comments:

  1. I'm posting much of my readathon reviews in November, but I've pre-drafted them, and had a real hard time reviewing them, too. I think it's because I read them so fast that I didn't think about them much along the way, and then they get all muddled up with the other books I read, you know?
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  2. I have not read this book yet, but it is on the shelf tbr!

    I'm sorry you didn't like this one as much. It seems that maybe the circumstances may not have played a role as much in this case, at least that's what I gather from your review.
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  3. The more reviews of this I read, the more I suspect it wouldn't be for me. It's too bad, because I like the premise quite a bit!
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  4. Amanda - Absolutely! Just yesterday I was thinking about The Vampire's Assistant and picturing the lead in a scene that was actually from Something Wicked this Way Comes...

    Serena - My thoughts are definitely confused. I enjoyed the book, but primarily because it was a quick read instead of my usual reasons like a great philosophical theme or intriguing characters.

    Nymeth - I think this book works if you are looking from a break from serious reading, but it wasn't enough for me to consider it a great read...if that makes sense.
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  5. I'm totally sure different circumstances would have made a difference for you. I too had mixed feelings, with more positive than negative.
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  6. I just wrote a review from the read-a-thon (won't post til next week) and I did mention that I read it between 11pm-6am, so my judgement was suspect ;)
    This book does look interesting to me. I'll have to look for it at the library.
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