Anastasia Forever Blog Tour

I am so excited to be a part of the exclusive ANASTASIA FOREVER BLOG TOUR!  Only a lucky few have the chance to debut this trailer, and I’m beyond thrilled to see where Anne’s dreams lead her in the third and final installment of the DREAMING ANASTASIA Series.  Will she unlock the secrets of the past before they destroy her future?

Here’s the scoop on the DREAMING ANASTASIA Series!

There is so much to love about this series as Joy brilliantly blends Russian history, romance, magic and mythology into an enticing adventure.

In DREAMING ANASTASIA, Anne Michaelson begins to have unusual dreams and discovers that she is the only one who can save the daughter of the last tsar of Russia, Anastasia Romanov.  Believed to be dead by the world, Anastasia has been kept captive all these years by the Russian witch Baba Yaga, and only Ethan, a handsome and mysterious 18-year-old, can help Anne free Anastasia.  

Anne once again leaves behind her ordinary life in HAUNTED to join forces with the mysterious and gorgeous Ethan as the journey with the Romanov continues.  This time she is haunted by classic figures from Russian mythology, a rusalka, a Russian folklore mermaid with a malevolent streak –  and a particular interest in Anne,  who tells her that Anastasia is still alive.  As she and Ethan team up, Anne’s search for the rusalka’s identity reveals deep and startling secrets - including the true source of Anne’s powers.

Now in ANASTASIA FOREVER, having survived Baba Yaga and the Rusalka, Anne finds herself bound by the witch to undertake a journey into past, present, and future that will determine her destiny - and that of everyone she loves.

Catch a preview of the danger, romance, and magic await Anne in this exciting glimpse ahead of ANASTASIA FOREVER by taking a look at a special sneak peak with the first three chapters here!

ANASTASIA FOREVER comes out this August, be sure to look out for all things Anastasia at Joy’s website joysnovelidea.blogspot.com.

Review: Dreaming Anastasia by Joy Preble

Title:  Dreaming Anastasia
Author:  Joy Preble
Pages:  310
Genre:  Young Adult Fantasy, Russian Folklore
Publisher:  SourceBooks
Obtained:  Purchased
Summary:  Anastasia Romanov thought she would never feel more alone than when the gunfire started and her family began to fall around her. Surely the bullets would come for her next. But they didn't. Instead, two gnarled old hands reached for her. When she wakes up she discovers that she is in the ancient hut of the witch Baba Yaga, and that some things are worse than being dead.

In modern-day Chicago, Anne doesn't know much about Russian history. She is more concerned about getting into a good college--until the dreams start. She is somewhere else. She is someone else. And she is sharing a small room with a very old woman. The vivid dreams startle her, but not until a handsome stranger offers to explain them does she realize her life is going to change forever. She is the only one who can save Anastasia. But, Anastasia is having her own dreams...

The Dish:  What did happen to Anastasia Romanov, the youngest daughter of the Russian tsar?  That is a mystery that has plagued historians for years, but in Dreaming Anastasia, Joy Preble has managed to integrate the mystery into a fairytale that readers will feel is more real than originally thought.  While the focus is not on Anastasia (at least not entirely), she is the key at the heart of the quest that brings together Ethan, a man who has been searching for the one girl who will help him free Anastasia, and Anne, a modern girl just trying to make it through high school.

I adored both Anne and Ethan.  Both of them developed as characters quite well considering the short amount of time they spend with each other.  It was a great big plus in my book to be able to get inside both of their heads as well as Anastasia's in chapters of alternating points of view.  For Anastasia, I feel as though I knew her more through her letters to her family, and how hard it must have been for her to write each of them.  There were a few chapters where I forgot who was talking and became a little confused, having to go back to the beginning of the chapter and remember whose point of view I was reading from.  However, once I dove further into the book, Preble's transitions between our three main characters were seamless.

Seeing the villain of a fairytale like Baba Yaga being used as a force for good puts the entire "good vs. evil" arguement in perspective.  There are always areas of gray matter in which a hero might be forced to do something wicked and a villain might do something beneficial for someone beyond themselves.  Characters that break the molds of their stereotypes draw my interest and curiosity, so I'm eager to see how Preble will utilize Baba Yaga in the next books. 

While Russian folklore isn't studied or read as often as other fairytales, I'm glad to see an author like Joy Preble thinking outside of the box with her Anastasia trilogy.  I'm looking forward to reading the continuation of Anne and Ethan's story in Haunted and Anastasia Forever (which is due to be released in August). 

Book 4