First and foremost I must say, "Thank you" to Bookouture, Meghan Masterson, Amazon Kindle, and NetGalley for this amazing ARC that was absolutely brilliant! It's always a pleasure to work with Bookouture on Blog Tours!
I honestly think I have permanent indentations on my kindle from gripping it so tightly after reading this thrilling work created by Meghan.
Normally as a thriller fan, I don't usually gravitate towards historical fiction but there's something to be said for a synopsis and cover that capture one's attention as this had both beauty and cultural significance that called out to me.
With this noted this book was pure magic with the expansion of this idea centrally focused upon 'proportional representation' and real decision making input in the governing of a country like France.
The situation grows dire as we see the relationship between Giselle and Marie Antoinette blossom. Yet, throughout her reign as queen it's undeniably horrific of some of the alleged allegations against her especially from her very own children. The last queen of France certainly didn't come with the accolades she might've hoped for as she faced backlash for her growing partnership with the French libelles accusing her of harboring sympathies for French enemies, being promiscuous, and even having illegitimate children.
The false accusations came to a head with the Affair of the Diamond Necklace which tarnished her Madam Deficit reputation as she spent lavishly and refused to deal with financial and social reform via Turgot and Necker.
All this coupled with the fact that Giselle now finds herself in her own hot seat really advanced and further propelled this book to a height rarely reached today.
It's mind blowing to see the exchange with the Third Estate and the common people. It reminds me of the dangerous authoritarian/dictatorship style we recently found and the mounting insurrection we just went through here in the States.
It's not surprising that this type of toxicity exists but it's unbelievable to imagine a time in history in which simple allegations could result in execution via guillotine.
The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen was further addressed in this work and shows the extent of the research involved with this writer.
As a matter of fact there's so much turmoil, stress, and fractured relationships in this work that it was distressing at times to imagine how history repeats itself as we see similar events playing out today and that same need for social and financial reforms by leaders that are peaceful in nature rather than ruling with an iron hand.
The rich get richer and the poor get poorer and it's everyone for themselves in big government.
Hundreds of people would've condemned Giselle if they uncovered she was secretly assisting the queen and the royal family.
There's so much to underscore here with reference to the mob, the Reveillon Riots, the Women of Paris who marched to Versailles, the massacre at Champs de Mars, the abolition of the monarchy and beyond-that I couldn't do it proper justice in this review by going into extensive detail- but suffice to say this was truly a unique novel that had a little bit of everything for every reader to enjoy.
The royalists vs. the revolutionaries is where this played out and it was rich with history, detail, and examination of the rights & responsibilities of not just the wealthy but the impoverished.
My favorite part of course, was the relationship between Giselle and Leon -the on again off again- that resulted in a happier setting in the finale.
Can you just imagine a time in history in which hoarding was considered a crime because of the scarcity of food?
I pray our own nation doesn't have a similar repeat as many of us continue struggling to merely survive these trying times.
This book has captured those times between the late 1700's to the 1800's in a way I've never seen illustrated and defined before and I owe a great debt of gratitude to Meghan for bringing such a splendid piece to light.
I hope you find this review and this blog tour helpful .
This is a must read for 2021!
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