I received an eARC from Rebellion Publishing/Solaris Publishing via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I received no other compensation other than the ebook.

******* TRIGGER WARNING******** There is a lot of violence within this book including rape and abuse. If these aspects bother you, I would seriously consider not reading this book.

This book follows Anna who is trying to live and survive within this war torn world. Women are considered property if they are captured and marked with some sort of symbol including branding and scarring. They have zero rights and are treated very badly. Anna is captured and this tale follows her experiences within the dystopian existence.

I have got to be honest that the first portion of the book is entirely about her abusers treatment of Anna. I had to read this book in increments due the the nature and graphic description of the abuse. At times, I found it very hard to read and I don't have any sort of triggers that bother me. The world building and back stories were great for Anna but i found that the history from Will, her abuser was lacking. I wanted to knows why he was the way he was and I did not get that at all.

The ending of the book did feel rushed to me and the last couple of chapters could have been extended. There were a ton of names and side stories that I sometimes had to go back and re read to figure out what was going on. I did enjoy the book but the items mentioned above did lead me to give this book a 3 star review.

This book...it's brutal. Rape, violence, abuse...and it's all pretty constant. It really wasn't a pleasant read, and although I know that was the point, I'm not sure I found the story compelling enough to make up for the fact that reading it was a struggle. It definitely is a strong indictment of the way women are treated, and a chilling look at a possible future, but I'm not sure it's something I'd feel the need to read about. Not necessarily a bad book (although the writing is fairly repetitive at times), but not for me.

Great book, well executed! Though the book made me angry, Anna was a well developed thoroughly researched character. The book takes us through Anna's painful difficult life and sometimes it seems like it just isn't going to get better specially when you have a whole society against you.

Anna is an engaging dystopian thriller about survival, adaptation and humanity.

I always find speculative fiction gripping. Anna features some nice echoes to Atwood and other dystopian greats - although the worldbuilding is a little haphazard at times. It's a recognisable world of the near future, filled with characters who remember what they have come from and all they have lost. A society in the process of rebuilding itself makes for a brilliant setting to explore the themes of power, community and freedom.

The problem is, those themes sometimes get a little bit lost. All the elements for a great novel are there, but not necessarily in the right order. It feels like a sharper edit and a little more structure could've really brought out the bite in this story.

Other reviews describe this as ‘dark and compelling’ and ‘difficult to put down’. I completely agree. Read it in two sittings.
I’ve read a lot of dystopian novels - I find it intriguing that we can come up with so many ways in which our human society can collapse.. and some are frighteningly believable. ‘Anna’ is one such.
The story doesn’t dwell much on how we find ourselves in this new world. Enough detail to to make it realistic, but the focus is Anna. A survivor.. ‘Claimed’ by a man and considered his property in a society where laws are made by those with the power to enforce them.
Anna tells her own story, and I found myself drawn into her world. A world where you do what you must to survive. A world where people can give the dark side of their nature free rein.
I felt a gamut of emotions whilst reading this, and found myself questioning Anna’s decisions a lot. ‘Why did she...?’ ‘Why would she not....?’ ‘I would never...’, before accepting that , of course, I have no idea what I would do if I was the main character in this story.
There were a few minor aspects of the story which I felt didn’t quite ‘gel’, but they did not detract from what is a very worthwhile read.

Billed as a feminist dystopia this book veered for me between torture porn and dull which is an unsettling mix. The dystopian worldbuilding was sketchy, the characters ciphers and although I could see what the author was trying to do (I think) the plot repelled me.
Anna (not her real name) has been surviving on her own in the aftermath of a global war and crash of society when she is captured by a man who brands, beats, imprisons and rapes her, all under the gaze of his town where women are either possessions or colluders (and it's not clear how any escape the first, just one of the ways this world doesn't quite ring true. We are seeing through Anna's eyes and so only what she knows but still, some explanation would be good). The second half follows Anna after her escape in a different town, one which, on the surface, is a better more equal society, although the darkness is never far away.
If the whole book had been set in the second town with flashbacks as to what brough Anna there - the collapse of society, her time alone, her capture and imprisonment, then the first half would have felt less relentlessly graphic and the second had more agency. As it was, I just wanted to get it finished and delete it off my kindle which is a shame. I can see from other reviews that many people loved it including DV survivors but it just didn't work for me.

This book didn't do much for me. It got a bit too repetitive with the captor/saviour trope and SNORE.

I really enjoyed the writing style of this book. And while the first part of this book is difficult to read for sure, you really got a sense of who Anna was and what she was going thru. I am a bit confused on why the world became what it is. I know there was a war of some sort but not a 100% clear on why or how it started and what these new rules were.
I could totally see this being a sequel in some ways. But it ended on a note that gives closure. However I'm dying to discuss the character Will/Daniel/Peter because I think he is someone else entirely and I'm eager to know if anyone came to the same conclusion?
Anyway I don't think I need to give you all a description of what the book is about, but I think dystopia fans will enjoy the novel. And remember to read the publishers disclaimer before reading this book for triggers!

I will preface this with that unfortunately I could not finish this book, although I understood what the novel was about, it became too graphic and distressing and unfortunately I had to put it down after about 60%.

Of what I read, the writing style was good, it captivated me and was difficult to read, but there was a story behind the brutality. In my opinion, this was a little too graphics. The reader could have understood the plot points and how awful the situation was, without need for graphic violence and sex. I also personally did not like the hints toward why Anna's capturer was the way he was, he read as though excuses were being made for him. Although understanding his backstory was important, I'm unsure about the way it was presented. I became incredibly confused as I continues reading, the plot was quite contrived and honestly it was all a little muddles (perhaps that is just me). This was even more confusing during the second part of the book, where Anna's hometown is discussed. The two storylines did not complement each other, or it was just not explained well and it difficult to follow.

Reading Anna had me riding an emotional rollercoaster, it was intense disturbing powerful and uncomfortable reading but necessary because whilst this is set in a dystopian future, it brought to the forefront of my mind the violence and sexual abuse that women have and are still facing throughout the world today.

Anna is an interesting book. I found that "A Handmaiden's Tale" was a huge influence in this story. Anna is a replacement name for this character to survive her kidnapper. The kidnapper is unsettling as he should be but there was something lacking in the story. I couldn't put my finger on it.

I definitely wasn't what I expected, but it was so good. I loved Anna, she was a great character. It was dark and evokes every emotion.

This is going to sound pretty gross, but I loved the first part of the book. I loved that the author really got into the head of Anna and made us feel what she was feeling. I liked learning about Ben and Olly.
I also really liked the second part of the book on how Anna had tried to reinvent herself with the community and tried to get a library going.
The third part of the book was very disorganized and drawn out. I really didn't like it and I won't do any spoilers but the end...took forever to get through.
The beginning was great. Loved the flashbacks and really felt what Anna was feeling.
The book has some issues that need to be addressed....for instance, more character development, what happened in Part 3.
Overall, not a bad post apocalyptic book, just needs some tweaking.

Content Warning for Sexual and Physical Violence

Several weeks back, I got a free advance copy of Sammy HK Smith’s Anna, and while I finished it on the day that I started reading it, Sammy wanted me to hold back the review till nearer the time for release.

I held…

Wasn’t easy…

Anna begins with an assault, and then an imprisonment, and what can only be described as torture. This is not torture in the pulling fingernails out sort of way, this instead is the steady erosion of confidence and the lack of control where you’re in a situation that others say you should just walk out of, but when you’re on the inside of it, it’s really not so very easy.

I’ve been in abusive relationships, I’ve been there when I doubted that I was sane, that what I was going through was real, that it couldn’t be happening to me, and yet it was, and that’s how those sorts of people control you, they make you believe that you can’t fight them, that you can’t win, and that;

You

Belong

To

Them

This is how the story begins, and an uncomfortable read it was, I did pause on many pages while I thought about what I was reading, and as the story went on, I wanted to see Anna escape, to run free, to find a better life, and she does, but her assailant follows her, and that’s when the story really comes into its own.

In the first part of the book, the scenes of imprisonment, of injury, of rape, of coercive control, were harrowing, not made lurid or titillating as other books have done, but laid bare as what they are, but it was when I got to the second part of the book that the true darkness of the situation was laid clear. What happens when you’re being controlled in plain view, when other people think that the person who is doing this to you is a nice person, that they’re your friend, that you want to spend time with them because you dare not go against them. How much worse is a prison when no one knows that you’re in it.

Anna is superb, it won’t be for everyone, because the scenes are written with such power that they burn from the page and into your mind, and the subject matter won’t be something that everyone can read.

And I understand why that is.

Some will say that it’s written to shock, to horrify people, and I don’t see it that way, this book is truth, it’s what happens when bastards can turn the world against you, it’s what happens when no one believes you, it’s what happens when the prison isn’t visible, but you’re still in it.

But you’re here, wondering what happens in the book, because I haven’t told you anything about the events in the book, and that’s for good reason, I could wax lyrical for days on this book and what it means, but all I’m doing is telling you the shortened version of a story that shouldn’t be shortened.

Anna is the story of a woman who suffers as many millions of other people do every day in silence, she finds her strength, but it isn’t enough, and she has to find more, not just for her, but for the child that she was made to carry, and the life that she could one day lead.

Anna is a masterpiece.

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

This review may contain spoilers.

Okay, first things first: the content warnings. This book covers some pretty violent topics, including sexual violence, rape, enslavement, and torture, and a lot of that happens in the first third of the story. Suffice to say, this book may not be for everyone.

I have to admit, this was not an easy book to get to grips with, mainly because of those elements mentioned above. That said, there’s something about the way the story is presented that makes it compelling; we want to know how the titular character copes with the hardships she’s forced to endure at the start of the story, or if she can get away from the man who’s making her life a misery. Along the way, we’re given glimpses into a world where the normal rules of civilised behaviour seem to have been well and truly abandoned, and left with a sense that this is how the world is now. If you need a good example of a dystopian future, you could do worse than the first twelve chapters of this book.

Set in a post-apocalyptic dystopia, the story starts with Anna’s capture, and explores the way she is broken down by her captor through violence, humiliation, and emotional abuse. We’re told the entire story from Anna’s point of view, and have to watch helplessly from the sidelines as her will to fight is gradually eroded by the brutal treatment of a man who claims he just wants to love and care for her.

Through Anna’s eyes, we get to see the lives of other people, and witness how they’ve adapted to the collapse of society around them, how they’ve learned to do whatever is necessary to survive in a world seemingly without rules. And we find ourselves being worn down just as much as Anna by the apparent lack of a way out of this hellish parody of civilisation. The final nail in the coffin for Anna is the moment she realises she’s pregnant with her abuser’s child.

Fortunately, by the end of the first part of the narrative things take a turn for the batter. Escaping her captivity, Anna becomes Kate and finds her way to a more humane settlement. This is a town where people work together, where the houses have power, and heat, and in some cases running water. Welcomed into the town by the inhabitants, a heavily pregnant Kate slowly overcomes her fear and distrust and gradually becomes a productive member of society once again, taking charge of the town’s library, and helping with the implementation of a school for the local kids. And just as she’s beginning to take the safety and comfort for granted, the dark-eyed abuser from the first part of the novel comes back into her life.

As I’ve already mentioned, despite the dark tone and gut-wrenchingly brutal narrative, there’s something seriously compelling about this book. The way we’re so intimately inside Anna/Kate’s head throughout the story makes it our story as well. We suffer as she suffers, and view everyone she meets with the same trepidation and paranoia. But we also get to watch as she rebuilds her confidence, and can’t help but cheer her on as she digs deep inside herself for the strength she needs to overcome the forces ranged against her. We want Anna/Kate to succeed, because if she fails, then we’ve failed as well. And that’s where this book works so well.

It’s one hell of a ride, but it’s a ride worth taking. A solid four and a half stars for this one, and a strong hope that there’s a sequel so I can find out if Simon gets what’s coming to him, and if Rich ever gets his picnic.

Minor spoilers ahead.

“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.”

After finishing this I felt like I’d been emotionally beaten. Which is kind of the point I guess. Be warned this book deals with sexual violence and domestic abuse and it’s told from the point of view of the victim. It doesn’t pull any punches and is unflinching. Our main character ‘Anna’ (she refuses to give her abuser her real name) lives, at the beginning of the book, in the Unlands in a post-collapse dystopia. She is captured, ‘owned’ and branded by a man who, for the minimalist and existentially terrifying part one of the book abuses her. (You know very little about how the world works in this first part, bits and pieces are drip fed but the unknown is claustrophobic here.)

Anna is held captive, literally chained up, and emotionally and physically abused with only brief periods of mental escape playing Monopoly with another branded captive. This was difficult reading but, as the foundation of part two, absolutely necessary to understanding Anna’s later new life (trying to minimise the spoilers here) where the people she trusts and likes see her abuser as a popular and nice guy. The psychological nature of the second part was difficult to read too, but in a much more emotional way. Smith kicks you in the head, in the heart and in the gut with this. Like I said it felt like I’d had an emotional beating when I finished reading it. It’s a book I think will stay with me. Did I like it, though? I’m not sure that’s the right question. If you ‘enjoyed’ The Road and Room then this is for you. Grab a blanket, a comforting hot drink, take a few deep breaths – and read.

Powerful stuff. Recommended.

Wow!! Anna was extremely unsettling and dark, yet I could not put it down. I don’t usually give five stars to books, but this one deserves them all.

If you read this be aware of trigger warnings for rape, psychological and physical abuse, among others. This book delves into some heavy topics and is often bleak, but it never feels gratuitous. It feels like you’re right there with Anna.

This is a dystopian novel that immediately starts with the main character, Anna, who is captured by a man who ends up stripping her of all autonomy and tries to break her. This is a dangerous world where wars have broken out across the globe and people are left dealing with the aftermath and are fighting to survive. It’s a world where one’s rights can be stripped away without anyone blinking and where a narrow, regressed view of morality rules.

Even though this novel is hard to read there are parts where hope and happiness seep through. This book will take the breath out of you.

Thank you Netgalley, Rebellion and the author for a digital ARC of this book!!

Anna is a possession. She is owned by the man named Will, shielded from the world of struggles and possessions by his care. He loves her, protects her, and then breaks her. Anna is obedient, dutiful, and compliant. Anna does not know her place in the world.

WoW what a book this was! Ill admit this was at times a little hard to read. But my goodness the storytelling here s fantastic. I devoured this hardcore read.

This book is more of a 2.5 stars.

I'm conflicted with this review because eventhough I could not put this down, it lacked so much.
The plot had massive holes, character development was just not there and I skipped over a few bits.

The story is essentially about a girl self-called Anna who is captured, abused, falls pregnant and escapes. He finds her again. The cycle repeats. A bit boring tbh.

It have taken me forever to read this one. Something didn't click much. It was fun, it was okay, just never was quite able to fully get into it... don't know why!