The diamond secret is a retelling of Anastasia. A tale where the main character was created from a real princess but the outcome of her life as a fairy tale instead of the sad actuality.

This book has two things I enjoy; one it's a fairy about a princess and two the princess is Anastasia Romanov. I am very interested in the lives of the Romanovs and have read many history books about them. And like so many others I wish this fairytale was true.

I am not a fan of the title of the book. If I went by the title and the cover image I would have thought it was another retelling of Cinderella. Frankly, there are too many Cinderella stories so the fact that it wasn't was refreshing.

I hope to read more of this series which is a retelling of fairy tales...even if there is a Cinderella one I will read it. ( )

This book is part of the "Once Upon a Time" series, a series that rewrites fairy tales for young adults. This story tells the story of Anastasia Romanov. My biggest complaint about this book is that it really was JUST LIKE THE MOVIE. The villain was Rasputin's assistant and there was less of a magical element, otherwise it was still the story of a girl found by two con men who wanted to pass her off as the Princess Anastasia. The personalities and stations of the two men were even the same, and although Ivan was a soldier and not a castle worker, he lies and tells Nadya that he was a castle worker.

IF the reader can past the similarities between this story and the movie (or if you have never seen the movie), then the book is actually pretty good. Dialogue is interesting and the added drama of Sergei and his missing wife and child add an interesting side plot. My only other gripe was that the foreshadowing in Nadya's dream was a bit heavy handed, I mean we already know from the blurb on the back that she is supposed to be Anastasia, they didn't have to spell it out quite so much in her dreams.

This series is written by many different writers, and I am curious to see how other's in the series are. I might try to pick up another one. ( )

This book is part of the "Once Upon a Time" series, a series that rewrites fairy tales for young adults. This story tells the story of Anastasia Romanov. My biggest complaint about this book is that it really was JUST LIKE THE MOVIE. The villain was Rasputin's assistant and there was less of a magical element, otherwise it was still the story of a girl found by two con men who wanted to pass her off as the Princess Anastasia. The personalities and stations of the two men were even the same, and although Ivan was a soldier and not a castle worker, he lies and tells Nadya that he was a castle worker.

IF the reader can past the similarities between this story and the movie (or if you have never seen the movie), then the book is actually pretty good. Dialogue is interesting and the added drama of Sergei and his missing wife and child add an interesting side plot. My only other gripe was that the foreshadowing in Nadya's dream was a bit heavy handed, I mean we already know from the blurb on the back that she is supposed to be Anastasia, they didn't have to spell it out quite so much in her dreams.

This series is written by many different writers, and I am curious to see how other's in the series are. I might try to pick up another one. ( )

This book is part of the "Once Upon a Time" series, a series that rewrites fairy tales for young adults. This story tells the story of Anastasia Romanov. My biggest complaint about this book is that it really was JUST LIKE THE MOVIE. The villain was Rasputin's assistant and there was less of a magical element, otherwise it was still the story of a girl found by two con men who wanted to pass her off as the Princess Anastasia. The personalities and stations of the two men were even the same, and although Ivan was a soldier and not a castle worker, he lies and tells Nadya that he was a castle worker.

IF the reader can past the similarities between this story and the movie (or if you have never seen the movie), then the book is actually pretty good. Dialogue is interesting and the added drama of Sergei and his missing wife and child add an interesting side plot. My only other gripe was that the foreshadowing in Nadya's dream was a bit heavy handed, I mean we already know from the blurb on the back that she is supposed to be Anastasia, they didn't have to spell it out quite so much in her dreams.

This series is written by many different writers, and I am curious to see how other's in the series are. I might try to pick up another one. ( )

This book is part of the "Once Upon a Time" series, a series that rewrites fairy tales for young adults. This story tells the story of Anastasia Romanov. My biggest complaint about this book is that it really was JUST LIKE THE MOVIE. The villain was Rasputin's assistant and there was less of a magical element, otherwise it was still the story of a girl found by two con men who wanted to pass her off as the Princess Anastasia. The personalities and stations of the two men were even the same, and although Ivan was a soldier and not a castle worker, he lies and tells Nadya that he was a castle worker.

IF the reader can past the similarities between this story and the movie (or if you have never seen the movie), then the book is actually pretty good. Dialogue is interesting and the added drama of Sergei and his missing wife and child add an interesting side plot. My only other gripe was that the foreshadowing in Nadya's dream was a bit heavy handed, I mean we already know from the blurb on the back that she is supposed to be Anastasia, they didn't have to spell it out quite so much in her dreams.

This series is written by many different writers, and I am curious to see how other's in the series are. I might try to pick up another one. ( )