Review: Médicis Daughter: A Novel of Marguerite de Valois by Sophie Perinot

Title: Médicis Daughter: A Novel of Marguerite de Valois
Author: Sophie Perinot 
Format: ARC
Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books
Publish Date: December 1, 2015 (Today!)
Source: Author

What's the Story?:

From Goodreads.com: "Winter, 1564. Beautiful young Princess Margot is summoned to the court of France, where nothing is what it seems and a wrong word can lead to ruin. Known across Europe as Madame la Serpente, Margot’s intimidating mother, Queen Catherine de Médicis, is a powerful force in a country devastated by religious war. Among the crafty nobility of the royal court, Margot learns the intriguing and unspoken rules she must live by to please her poisonous family.

Eager to be an obedient daughter, Margot accepts her role as a marriage pawn, even as she is charmed by the powerful, charismatic Duc de Guise. Though Margot's heart belongs to Guise, her hand will be offered to Henri of Navarre, a Huguenot leader and a notorious heretic looking to seal a tenuous truce. But the promised peace is a mirage: her mother's schemes are endless, and her brothers plot vengeance in the streets of Paris. When Margot's wedding devolves into the bloodshed of the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre, she will be forced to choose between her family and her soul."

My Two Cents:

"Medicis Daughter" is the story of Marguerite de Valois, the daughter of the infamous Catherine de Medici (oh, how I love reading about her!!!). I knew a lot about Marguerite's mother but I didn't know much about Margot, as she is called in this book, at all so I was very intrigued to read this book. I also really enjoyed this author's previous  solo release, "The Sister Queens," and was looking forward to reading more by her. The author was also a contributor to last year's "A Day of Fire," another great histfic release!

As with so many noblewomen during her time, Margot understands the importance of being married to another one of Europe's powerful men in order to advance her mother's desires. Obviously, Catherine de Medici was an incredibly powerful force. Not even her children knew how to overcome. Margot is torn between love and duty and she knows that if she follows her heart, she's going to displease her very scary mother. Margot is torn between her two brothers but promised to another that she does not think she can possibly find it in her heart to love. I love the way that the author brought Margot to life. She did a great job of making her feel real. I loved following her through the story and wanted more when it was all over! 

The writing of the book is great. The author uses a lot of historical detail in order to make me picture exactly what it would've been like to go through all of the things that Margot goes through in this book. This is one of those books where I wish I would've had more time to read the book in one setting. It was so hard to pull myself away. If you're fortunate enough to have time on your hands, this would be a fantastic book to while away an entire afternoon with. This is indulgent histfic!