Title: The Sister Queens
Author: Sophie Perinot
Publisher: New American Library
Publish Date: March 6, 2012
Source: Historical Fiction Virtual Tours
Why You're Reading This Book:
- You're a historical fiction fan.
- You like well rounded characters.
- You like family stories.
- You like a bit of romance with your historical fiction.
From Goodreads.com: "Patient, perfect, and used to being first, Marguerite becomes Queen of France. But Louis IX is a religious zealot who denies himself the love and companionship his wife craves. Can she borrow enough of her sister's boldness to grasp her chance for happiness in a forbidden love?"
My Two Cents:
This book was fascinating. I had not heard much if anything about the Savoyard sisters. The book really only focuses on the reigns of Eleanor (who became Queen of England) and Marguerite (who became the Queen of France) but history shows that their sisters, Sanchia and Beatrice, became the Queens of Germany and Sicily respectively. Can you imagine having four queens in one set of siblings? It's pretty amazing from that perspective.
I thought that it was interesting that Perinot chose to focus on the relationship between Eleanor and Marguerite as their two countries, England and France, were often at odds with each other. Yet you can see that the sisters only let this get in between them for just a little bit before they are able to overcome it through the power of sisterhood.
Even though they were both queens during powerful times in their countries' histories, their lives are very different. Eleanor seems to have made a relatively good love match with Henry while Marguerite's marriage to Louis is lacking of so much of what she wants. I loved that you get to kind of see what each respective sister is going through in the letters that they write to each other at the beginning of each chapter. I though that this was a really good touch. You kind of get to see another side of the sisters this way and it definitely makes them feel a lot more real.
This book will definitely appeal to historical fiction lovers like me that love good stories with bright characters and rich detail. Perinot is a great writer and I'm anxious to see what other books she comes out with in the future.
Don't Forget to Follow the Rest of the Tour:
Monday, February 27th
Review at Just One More Paragraph
Tuesday, February 28th
Author Interview & Giveaway at Passages to the Past
Wednesday, February 29th
Author Guest Post & Giveaway at Just One More Paragraph
Friday, March 2nd
Review at A Bookish Affair
Monday, March 5th
Review & Giveaway at Bippity Boppity Book
Tuesday, March 6th
Review at Unabridged Chick
Wednesday, March 7th
Author Guest Post at A Bookish Affair
Thursday, March 8th
Review at Debbie's Book Bag
Friday, March 9th
Monday, March 12th
Review at Ageless Pages Reviews
Tuesday, March 13th
Review & Giveaway at The Owl Bookmark Blog
Wednesday, March 14th
Friday, March 16th
Monday, March 19th
Author Guest Post at The Owl Bookmark Blog
Tuesday, March 20th
Wednesday, March 21st
Friday, March 23rd
Author Interview at Ageless Pages Reviews
Monday, March 26th
Wednesday, March 28th
Review at Broken Teepee
Thursday, March 29th
Review at Books, Belles and Beaux
Friday, March 30th
Monday, April 2nd
Wednesday, April 4th
Love the cover and your review. I am looking forward to reading it
ReplyDeleteOh, it was really good!
DeleteOooh! I got this via Netgalley and I can't wait to read it because I love a little romance with my historical fiction :)
ReplyDeleteI really think you'll like it!
Delete