3.75 stars. This book is difficult to review for me. I loved the story; I love historical fiction & am always intrigued by Romanov history. I was captivated by the story. I was in to the mystery. The forward telling of Anastasia’s story is all well and good. But the backward telling of Anna gets really confusing. Especially with characters. I’m still not clear on Prince Frederick- how that came to be and how it ended. It just isn’t as fluid. Being a houseguest everywhere, some of that seemed unnecessary to the overall plot. I have questions about characters - I’m not sure they were answered prior to me realizing I had the question or if their story just got lost in the timeline. Gleb- getting married & what happens between them is alluded to but I don’t remember being flushed out. Worth the read but a bit confusing.