A really hard read, but I knew that going in. What Anna goes through it is amazing she has any humanity left at all. The beginning of the book flowed well, but then it became slow and I lost interest.

DNF Extremely graphic depictions of violence that was far too much for me to handle. I think this is a great story, amazingly told. The society, as see it, is brutal, unforgiving, and bent on not changing at all. We know things are wrong from the beginning, and though we're told not to expect more we still do. Things are bad. Things don't change. I think there are so many people who will love this story, the intensity, and the pain, but unfortunately, I am not one of them. Because I really enjoyed the way the story was written and the scope of the book I am still rating this a 5/5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Rebellion, Solaris for providing me with an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

4.25- Set in a fallen world. Anna(not her real name)has made it on her own in the wilds trusting her determinations and instincts to help her survive. That is, until she is captured by a man named Will who sees her as his possession to do what he wants to with. It is not uncommon in this fallen world to take people as possessions and brand them in different ways like someone would do cattle.
This books starts out very gripping,then lulls a bit as she is getting acquainted with her new environment, then becomes fast paced toward the ending.
Enjoyable read!

I don't think I've ever come across a cover that more accurately describes the tone of the book. To me it just screams dark and dangerous and tense. Anna is set in a post-apocalyptic world where wars all over the world have left every country in ruins. Society has collapsed, there's no government, and survivors have been left to build their own small communities. Unfortunately in many of those communities women are seen as property for men to own, to treat however they wish. Anna is captured by a man who believes she would be the perfect woman to own and to dominate.
It's taken me a few days from finishing this book to actually be able to write down my thoughts. It's such a hard book to explain why I loved it and I guess part of that problem is because there's not really any major action points in the plot. There's just this very threatening and dangerous undercurrent throughout the story. Even when things seemed to be ok I constantly felt like it was all still really fragile and could go wrong at any second.
I was really conflicted with my feelings about Anna / Kate. Sometimes I really liked her and sometimes I was really frustrated with her. I was mentally sending her advice during the times when she was in danger and then getting really annoyed with her when she did the opposite ha ha... But I guess none of us know how we would actually react in those situations.
And that ending!!! So frustrating but so good at the same time. I really hope there's a sequel to Anna so that we can follow more of her life and tie up some loose ends.
T/W Sexual Assault, Rape, Physical Abuse, Mental and Emotional Abuse

This was incredible.

I spent the whole day reading this as I HAD to know what happened.

This isn't a fast-paced novel, instead the dread and turmoil builds and builds until you're on the edge of the seat!

First person narratives are hard to connect with as we almost hear and feel too much, but I liked Anna's 'voice' and felt her pain.

The second and third parts were starkly different to the first in tone, pace, and setting and I appreciated us going full cycle. He watched her for three days. So she did the same (mini spoiler).

This isn't the run of a mill dystopia with a clear cut all loose ends tied up ending. This novel focuses on Anna, and Anna's emotions, Anna's life, and nothing else really matters. She is our window into the world and her journey through sexual abuse PTSD.

The message in this is beautiful, but it won't be for everyone.

Edited to add, this is out now and I've bought the audio and oh my gosh, the narration is amazing.

This book just wasn’t for me. What sounded to be an intense but promising read turned out to be quite boring and, at times, confusing book. Anna was riddled with plot holes, and many questions are never answered. The book doesn’t do a good job of explaining the world we’re thrown into and what caused this dystopian nightmare our protagonist is living in.

The first half was brutal. The descriptions of Anna’s torture was horrific. Her fear was palpable. However, her captor, Will, is never really fleshed out, and we know very little about him or why he’s doing this.

The second half of the book felt like an entirely different book. Anna’a life after her escape was so mundane that I often found myself skipping ahead to see if anything would finally happen.

I never connected to Anna, and, in a way, that makes sense. Anna, or Kate, or whatever her real name is keeps the reader at arms length. We don’t know who she really is. And the parts she does reveal about her past seem to come out of nowhere and add nothing to the plot.

The ending was fine but entirely predictable. Overall, Anna was an uninteresting book that fell short of my expectations.

“Adaptation, like creation and death, is one of nature’s imperatives, part of the perpetual cycle. The world has suffered, we’ve annihilated each other and yet we’ve adapted and moved on, and the land renews, it forgives. Our fitness for the world is repeatedly tested.”

Brutal and painful, Anna is a dystopian fiction that will squeeze your heart into a tight ball. The world we know is torn apart by wars and conflict and replaced with chaos leading to the survival of the fittest. There’s not much detail as to the hows and whys but we observe the new world from the point of the protagonist. In the first part of the story, we get to know Anna as she keeps surviving in a deadly environment for two years when she’s captured and forced to become a property of a man, living under constant physical and psychological torture. Her struggle and the overwhelming amount of violence kept me awake at nightd while reading this. The second part is about adaption to a new environment and forgetting about past while she’s haunted by past memories. As a lover of dystopia, I thoroughly enjoyed the novel even though I did not like the character flaws of our weak, victimized protagonist but she’s so real that I could not help admiring her in the end. A must-read for the lovers of the genre but keep in mind that it deserves all the trigger warnings that we women readers care about.

This is an intense, adult, post-apocalyptic book following our protagonist's desperate desire to survive. The narrative and internal dialogue of our main character was so intense, in the best way for such a heavy book. We're both incredibly present and detached from all of the atrocities happening to and around Anna, just as she herself is

The man who treats Anna so badly, Will, is so well written that he made my skin crawl. He's the epitome of an abuser, telling her she's only safe with him while harming her. Protecting her from even worse man to make her see how good she's got it

One thing that didn't totally gel with me was the set-up of the world, the totally break down of society to the point where men openly brand and own women. I just couldn't totally see how society could spiral so far, but perhaps I'm just an optimist

I've seen other reviews saying that the depiction of domestic abuse is accurate and sensitively done, though I can't speak on that myself. Be mindful of the triggers, it deals with very heavy topics throughout

TW: rape, emotional and physical abuse, graphic violence

Trigger warning - this book contains sexual assault, rape, branding, abuse, and violence.

Spoiler warnings ahead

This book takes place after a world war has ravaged the world and left it a completely different place.
Anna is on her own in the wilderness when she is captured by a man who calls himself both Will and Daniel, what happens next could be hard to read for some.
He takes her back to the place he calls home and brands her as his own. He is convinced he is saving her and protecting her from those that would harm her, but in truth he subjects her to a brutal regime of rape and violence until she submits to him.
When Anna falls pregnant and welcomes her child in to the world it gives her the strength to run from him to protect her and her child.
But as she starts a new life in a small village that at first seems idyllic, she realises nothing in this new world is really as it seems.

This book is hard reading at times, and there are several questions left unanswered about why the world is as it is, and why some women are allowed to do as they please and others are free to be taken by any man that chooses.
What Anna goes through is at times really hard to read and could be very disturbing for some, please bear this in mind before buying this book.

I so wanted to like this book.
The first half was gripping, shocking and, at times, hard to read. On occasion I felt I did not want to finish it - it was that dark! However, there were lots of questions about why the world had become this way, who is Will and what is going to happen to "Anna".
The second half was, to be blunt, boring. It was mundane and did not keep me engaged at all. I know the author was trying to show polarities between the brutal life "Anna" was living and the more "normal" life now but I feel so much more could have been done. The ending also felt rushed and a bit predictable.

ANNA was by no means an easy read, but it was certainly a rewarding one. Set in a dystopian but eerily realistic future, the story follows a young woman trapped in a marriage to an abusive man, forced to be subservient in order to survive while also reckoning with her own traumas and demons.

The story is raw and insightful into the psyche or such a scared yet strong character. The cast of supporting characters all had their own voices as well, and created a well-rounded and engaging story that feels full somehow.

I was fully on the edge of my seat for the full ride, and finished the novel feeling complete, yet missing Anna herself. The novel is indeed fiercely feminist, and I am already wanting to dive back into it.

Anna is a contemporary dystopian thriller with a distinctive feminist slant. Strength comes in many forms, and Anna tells the story of one woman who becomes someone else in order to free herself. Anna is a possession. Meek. Willing. Subservient. Raped. Branded. Strong. In a post-apocalyptic near-future society a global war has devastated the Unlands in which Anna spent two years alone fighting to survive the hellish conditions which is only possible if you are intelligent, cunning and thick-skinned. Unfortunately, though, her nightmare was just beginning as her life becomes even worse when scavenger Will captures and enslaves her; a very normal aspect of life in a broken and ungoverned society. As possessions, women, seen as weak and to be preyed upon by the strong (men), are branded like cattle, chained up and treated like animals, and Anna is shown no mercy by her captor. She quickly realises that her only way to survive this disturbing treatment is to comply with his desires as a means of self-preservation. She becomes obedient, and adopts the name Anna to distance herself from what she has been forced to become, believing it would please Will but this sadistic sociopathic abuser has other ideas. He is determined to break Anna's spirit. After months spent suffering at his hands through horrific violence and sexual assault, Anna falls pregnant and acknowledges that the only way to keep her and her baby safe from any more harm is to escape. She manages to make it to a cooperative homestead, a place of relative safety, and prepares as best she can for the birth of her son.

But the horrendous pain and suffering she has endured has left a thousand scars and memories she simply cannot forget. Can she survive on her own with a baby boy in tow in such a soul-destroying world? Anna is a compelling yet uncomfortable read with a profoundly affecting and chilling narrative; it is certainly difficult to imagine this level of abuse even as someone, who like myself, has suffered at the hands of a narcissistic abuser as well as a sexual abuser. It is about one woman’s fight for survival in a cruel, damaged, socially regressed and dysfunctional society and regardless of gender, if you display any weakness, you’re fair game to those that want to control both the lands and the people. It addresses lost identity and explores issues of subjugation and abuse, but also hope and strength, and I admire Smith's unflinching depiction of violence against women and the trauma and impact this has on their life from that moment forward. This is an emotive and brutal story that'll tear your heart from your chest as it ruminates on the psychological effects of abuse both at the present moment and in the future. Its immersive, searingly intense and powerful pull no punches writing demands your attention for the entirety, unsettles you but grips you too. We follow Anna’s story and the emotional fallout of dealing with sexual abuse and PTSD in a dystopic future not far from our own reality and timeline. Her strength comes from within and she shows us that whilst physically she appears weak, she’s so much more inside.

Excellent addition to the new wave of feminist dystopian books I’ve read this year. Anna is a very well written, tense book, that grips you by the throat and doesn’t let go. We go through the pain and suffering with her as she’s captured and psychologically broken till she makes her escape and starts to breathe. We go through the growing pains of surviving and making a new life for herself till it all comes crumbling down again.

This book is taut and the character development is an interesting one because “Anna” is a made up character that Kate creates to escape her torment, and uses as a means to separate herself from what is happening. It is how she preserves her sanity and sense of self even as it is erased and chipped away day by day by what her captor does to her. As Kate, she’s strong and fierce and stands up for herself, even as she wants a quiet life and not to make any waves.

I loved reading every part even the difficult painful bits and was totally gripped till we get to the end when she flips the tables on her tormentor. That bit felt a little convoluted and confusing and I felt there were too many loose/implausible ends. The ending was the only disappointing bit (for me) in the whole book which is why I’m giving it 4.25/5 stars. Still a really incredible read and one I would recommend highly.

This book is brutal, and uncomfortable, but also contains enough hope to keep the pages turning. (I’ll do a trigger warning up front that there is a ton of abuse, sexual and physical, rape and kidnapping, and it’s a tough thing to read, no question.) But I absolutely recommend it, if you’re able to handle the subject matter.

We meet the main character when she’s in hiding, trying to live off the grid, because society has straight up collapsed. She’s lost everyone she’s known, and is in the woods, alone and scared. Shortly after, she’s captured by a vile man, and she tells him that her name is “Anna”, unwilling to relinquish the rights to her true name. He will, over the course of the first third of the book, steal literally everything else from her; her keeping her name is one of the few things she is able to hold onto, and it is positively gut-wrenching.

I worried a bit that the whole book would be that way- horribly depressing and full of despair. But it wasn’t! I have seen some reviews that criticized the slower pace of the middle third of the book, but I positively loved it. “Anna”, as the synopsis will tell you, does manage to run, and reinvents herself as “Kate”. There are signs of hope and love at this point, where at the start I couldn’t see many. It’s the thought that there may actually be some decent pockets of humanity left that makes the story so full.

Obviously, things aren’t going to remain idyllic for the remaining two-thirds of the book, but to prevent spoiling anything, I don’t want to say much else. But from that point on, you can see glimpses that life can be more than what “Anna”, and so many others, experienced in the first third. That maybe, just maybe, horrible men like her captor won’t retain power forever. It’s a terrifying scenario that feels all too plausible, and the author does an incredible job of making the reader feel for “Anna”, want so badly for her to have a better life. My emotions were on overdrive during this story, and I felt quite glad I took a chance on it.

Bottom Line: Beautifully written in a nightmarish hellscape, “Anna”‘s story is one that won’t be leaving me anytime soon.

This book is well written and I was intrigued to keep reading to find out where the story would go. The first half of the book is agonising and great. The trama Anna suffers is a tough read. I really liked the second part there were some great characters introduced and the story was really interesting. This was a very different read from part one. The third part of the book was very dislodged, I struggled to keep up with this section and felt it didn’t link in great with the rest of the story. I also felt the world created was very vague and would’ve been much better if there was some back story on how we got where we were.

Anna is a triggering book, it explores themes that are dark and hard to read. I did struggle to get through the first part of the book however overall it was a good book.

What a ride.
This was incredible. I felt every emotion reading this. It made me so very angry in places. My heart broke. I laughed at a few quips (though there wasn't much joy in places) but the sense of satisfaction was intense.
The end (no spoilers) was also so very thoughtful and made me pause to think.

I think the themes of rape and abuse were handled expertly and not once did I feel the violence was glorified or used to titillate.
I'm editing my review here to say that I'm surprised that people feel there are any instances of torture porn here. Quite the opposite in fact.

Each chapter had purpose to Anna and felt like it was a reflection of her different states of mind and emotions. We have the harsh, cruel, fast pace of abuse in the first section. The calmer state of healing in the second, and then a mix of them both in the final part as demons are faced and challenges conquered.

I recommend this for those that have read and appreciated books that are more literary in nature. If you want guns ahoy and romance then this is NOT for you. If you want thoughtful reflections on society and human emotion and behaviour - pick up a copy. You won't be disappointed.

*Much thanks to Netgalley and Solaris for granting me an ARC copy of this book*

Why I Read It: While on the hunt for books similar The Handmaid's Tale, I came across this one, and at least based on the synopsis I thought it was similar enough, dealing with a woman's freedom and abuse of power from a man.
What It's About: A woman, Anna, is snatched by a man, who works to break and remold her, in order to protect her from the rest of the world. When she gets an opportunity to escape, she runs and must evade him as best as she can, because her life isn't the only one at risk now.
Cons: The first part of this book was so brutal, with so much violence, it reads like violent erotica, but with much less sex. I felt actively sick while reading this and there are very few books that receive that distinction. The second part takes a massive shift in tone, trying to be more slice of life, however, once the abuse is removed from the narrative, nothing is put in to fill that space, and it's just a void until the author starts adding the abuse of power and trauma narrative again. To sum it up, this book felt like it focused far to much on the violence, mostly for the sake of creating drama in the narrative. The other major issue I had was that I expected this to be a dystopian like The Handmaid's Tale, where the readers clearly see this change in society. That's not how this book was. If the author or editor cut certain parts, like references to conflicts, the story would be the exact same just in a contemporary setting. So the dystopian elements seemed to be there just so that the book could be labeled dystopian, but in reality it is a frightening contemporary thriller, which is a genre I don't reach for.
Pros: The second setting that Anna resides in, the little sea side village, was an okay palette cleanser, at first. Things quickly go sour as the “police force” easily takes more and more control.
Finishing Thoughts: If I remember correctly, there was one review I read about this book that described it as either torture porn or bland oatmeal, and honestly I agree with that. There was no thread of hope, despite all the nastiness, and there was certainly nothing making me want more, especially based on what I heard about the second half of the novel. Ultimately I just don't have the time for stories that I am not actively enjoying and/or don't have a point to them.

"Anna" is a novel set in a dystopian world, where women have lost most of their power. By reading this little description I expected a specific type of book and I don't feel like I got that. So it might be my fault for misunderstanding the premise of this novel.

The book is divided in three parts. Part one is exactly what I expected. We meet our character before a major event happens and while all of this is being told, we also get information about the world. Why is society acting the way it is? What are the big historical events that led to this new way of doing things?
That was good and interesting, but there was not enough of it, in my opinion. I feel like we barely scratched the surface and that confused me and prevented me from enjoying the story more.

In parts two and three, we completely change the setting without a proper explanation. Why is this area different from the rest of the world? I was looking forward to an explanation that I never really got.

It's a book that, in my opinion, focuses too much on just one character, when it would benefit from showing us the world. The different types of people and how they are dealing with this new situation they have to face after the wars and everything that took place.
And because of that lack of worldbuilding, I feel like I coulnd't connect to the main character enough to care about everything that happened to her. I did on part one, but after that it became harder for me. The stakes were high, sure, but I also didn't get to see how high they were. Because everything switched all of a sudden without an explanation.

There was definitely potential in this story but the execution was lackluster.

It has been four or so days since I finished reading Anna by Sammy H.K. Smith and I still can’t get it out of my head. It was compulsive and I read it until 4.30AM.

If I had to describe Anna I would describe it as a cross between The Road and The Handmaid’s Tale but much more bleak.

A quick warning before you decide to read it – Anna has a whole host of trigger warnings not least violent sexual assault and physical abuse to name just two. However, neither of these things felt gratuitous in anyway.

Beaten. Branded. Defiant.

Anna is Will's possession. Will loves her and protects her from the harsh world outside. Anna is branded and broken.

When Anna becomes pregnant, she knows she must run and leave her name behind but when Will finds her, she won't be the only one at risk.

“He called me Anna. I was Anna now. I must remember. They say you can tell someone’s personality from a name. Anna was gracious. Anna was compliant. I had to be Anna.”

Women are like cattle, a commodity. Will chains Anna to him whilst she is a captive and people don’t bat an eyelid.

I liked how the author gave us some glimpses into the past and what lead to society breaking down but without giving all the details. It seems quite a plausible situation.

Anna is superbly written, haunting, and I couldn’t put it down.

Wow. I'm speechless.

This was terrifying, horrifying, beautiful, insightful and a wonderful example of dystopia done well.

Anna herself could be any of us. She's written in such a way that I think the reader can really visualise themselves in her shoes, which is terrifying.

The world has gone to pot. How? We're not told but world wars have ravaged the land and the hints of fuel being expensive and economy falling apart lead us to make up our own mind

The descriptions are raw and powerful. Nothing is left to the imagination and we suffer with Anna through the pain. Her reactions have helped me understand how one might feel in a situation of hopelessness and abuse.

To say I loved this would be wrong. It is an important book covering important issues. A masterpiece for sure!