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The Diamond Secret by Suzanne Weyn
Diamond Secretby Suzanne WeynRelease Date:
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Nadya is a mischievous kitchen girl in a Russian tavern. Having nearly drowned in the Iset River during the turmoil of the Revolution, she has no memory of her past and longs for the life she cannot remember.
Then two young men arrive at the tavern and announce that Nadya’s long-lost grandmother has sent them to find her. Yearning for family and friendship, she agrees to accompany them to Paris for the joyful reunion. Nadya eagerly embarks on her journey, never dreaming it will be one of laughter, love — and betrayal. (summary from Amazon)
For good and bad, this book reminded me a lot of the movie Anastasia. Little details were different, and the magic was removed, but it was still extremely similar and followed the same basic plot. But, I loved that movie. It’s probably still one of my all time favorites, and this book appealed to me for the same reasons I loved the movie. So, I still enjoyed the book a lot despite strong similarities (I wouldn’t call it a knock-off/rip-off, but I would understand if someone else said that).
The historic details were much better though, and Weyn painted the time period well. I enjoy Weyn’s writing style and her use of history, but I wish that she’d been able to find a way to give the tale a new twist, instead of just kind of expanding on the movie. I also enjoyed Sergei (not-Dimitri)’s partner, who I felt was much better developed than his counterpart in the movie (not that I didn’t love Vladimir).
For those who enjoy the Once Upon a Time series, especially Weyn’s books in it (which are typically my favorite), I recommend reading the book, but just accept up front that it’s a lot like the movie–it’ll be much easier to read that way.
The book was also awfully predictable, more so than the typical book in this series. I think it was the title, because the title gives away the "mystery" pretty early in the book. As soon as she starts dreaming about a diamond, you know it’s pretty essential to the plot, even more so than just that a reader knows to pay attention to a character’s dream.
Ratings Reasons:
Action 3 1/2 - Like most books in the series, this one moves at a pretty good clip and it probably has a bit more traditional action than some of the series.
Romance 4 - I liked the romance, but I also found it a touch predictable and obvious, but I can’t fault it that much for those qualities, because I tend to expect and enjoy that in this series of books. The secondary romance, the other main character searching for his missing wife, was also heart-touching.
Characters 3 1/2 - Not deep, but enjoyable.
Overall 3 1/2 - Just accept the similarities to the movie and move on from there. I was a major Anastasia fan girl when the movie came out, so I found myself enjoying it. It’s not the best book in the series, but it’s still a good addition.
Extras:
The Once Upon a Time series is getting pretty big. In general I’ve found every book in this series to at least be an enjoyable light read, but some are definitely better than others. Some of my favorites have been the Crimson Thread (probably the best in my opinion), The Story Teller’s Daughter, Scarlet Moon, and The Night Dance. But all the books will give you a nice quick read that should at least be more enjoyable than staring out the bus window on your morning commute.
If you haven’t seen the Anastasia movie by Fox, go pick up a copy today! This was a great movie with a fun soundtrack, just don’t expect much historical accuracy.
Like always, wikipedia has a lot of information about the real Anastasia and all the controversy surrounding her death and whether or not she might have lived. Unfortunately, we now know that she was most definitely a victim of that bloody bloody night. Yet another time period we need to remember so that we don’t repeat.
I don’t know of any other good fiction books about Anastasia, so if you have any titles to recommend, please do! I’d also be interested in simply similar stories, though in fantasy, the last heir to the throne can be a pretty basic plot point.
Parents: 13+ The book gets slightly graphic about the night Anastasia’s family was killed and could be a little disturbing to a younger reader.
I used to be obsessed with Anastasia myself - both with the history and the movie as well. Good times.
My recommendations (neither of them fantasy):
My Anastasia by Sharon Stewart, which is told from the view of Anastasia’s best friend. It’s for younger readers, but it’s really cute, and, of course, heartbreaking at the end.
There’s also a series out (or at least it was when I was growing up) called Royal Diaries, which consisted of the fictional diaries of princesses around the world. There’s a book on Anastasia (Anastasia: The Last Grand Duchess by Carolyn Meyer); I don’t think it was quite as good as some of the others in the series, but I remember that I still really enjoyed it.
That’s all I can remember for now.
[Reply]
O this sounds great. I’m adding it to my TBR list. Thanks!
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