If you read this and don’t automatically start singing Once upon a December… then you obviously don’t understand how awesome the Anastasia cartoon is. Well, I’m getting away from the point, but since a good part of the movie’s story line makes an appearance in this story, the connection is undeniable. In my head at least.

Anastasia is the second of the stories in the Good tales for Bad Dreams series by V.M. Sawh that I have read, and it is sort of a sequel but not really, to Cinders. The story starts with Anna a girl on a ship called the Rasputin (clever, methinks). Anna is looking to make a new life, and her way of attaining that life just happens to be by spreading her legs and using her talents, as they were, to spread the word of her abilities in hopes of landing a spot in the Black House. Even at sea, the Black House is a place to be talked about and dreamed of by men who probably can’t afford it.

When Anna accomplishes her dream and finds her way into the good graces of Stepmother, the madam of Black House, she is transformed into Anastasia. With her place now set, she continues to prove her worth is between her legs. Trouble begins once she looses a toe to that blasted slipper debacle.

Anastasia is a good follow up to Cinders, in that it continues the same story line. Anna finds her way to the prince after running from the Black House, she finds the truth of what happened to Rella, and she offers the prince her sadness, in the only way she knows how. Throughout the story you get glimpses into her past, into who she was before she became Anastasia. And in these glimpses you learn about how she had been groomed to pretend to be the lost princess, and how it went awry.

In all honesty, I think I enjoyed this story more than Cinders. Anna/Anastasia had a real honesty to her, and when she realizes who and what she has become, she does what she can to change it. I give Anastasia a high four stars, and it can be found at Wattpad for free.

And just when you thought you knew your fairy tales... Wicked with a dose of naughtiness. Can't wait to see what's next!

Ahh, the webs we weave, and no one weaves them better into a compact tale with a punch than V.M. Sawh. Anastasia follows a young girl caught up in a plot to deceive the Russian Royal Family that sends her on a journey for survival and a life she never dreamed she would lead. A frightened girl boarded a ship sailing across the seas but a woman skilled in using her body as a commodity landed on a strange shore and into the employ of The Black House, an infamous brothel where eclectic tastes are satisfied. Has the girl now known as Anna become like the wicked stepsister to other girls in the house? Has she lost her compassion along with her dignity and integrity or has she finally learned to play to win in the game of survival in the face of torture, scandal and lust?

V.M. Sawh doesn’t need a lot of words to get his tale across with the feel of living life caught in the dismal carousel that is Anna’s existence. Like a little darkness in your fantasy that doesn’t mince words and can be read on your lunch break? V.M. Sawh makes each bold stroke of his pen count, never missing a beat while exposing raw emotion, dark circumstances and a wicked escape from reality.