ONE GIRL WILL BRING AN EMPIRE TO ITS KNEES…
Before she can become the greatest empress in history, fifteen-year-old Sophie will have to survive her social-climbing mother’s quest to put her on the throne of Russia—at any cost.
Imperial Court holds dangers like nothing Sophie has ever faced before. In the heart of St. Petersburg, surviving means navigating the political, romantic, and religious demands of the bitter Empress Elizabeth and her handsome, but sadistic nephew, Peter. Determined to save her impoverished family—and herself—Sophie vows to do whatever is necessary to thrive in her new surroundings. But an attempt on her life and an unexpected attraction threatens to derail her plans.
Alone in a new and dangerous world, learning who to trust and who to charm may mean the difference between becoming queen and being sent home in shame to marry her lecherous uncle. With traitors and murderers lurking around every corner, her very life hangs in the balance. Betrothed to one man but falling in love with another, Sophie will need to decide how much she’s willing to sacrifice in order to become the empress she is destined to be.
In a battle for the soul of a nation, will love or destiny reign supreme?
Series: Stolen Empire #1
Release Date: October 7th 2014
Publisher: Clean Teen Publishing
Source: NetGalley
Reviewer: Elle
Rating:
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Reviewer’s Thoughts
Hello again, my dearest faithful readers and welcome new friends, It has been painfully obvious that I have been an inactive reviewer here on Cocktails and Books, and I do apologize for my absenteeism. It’s just that I really wanted to come out with a bang and I couldn’t seem to find the perfect book to review for Shannon. After a much needed and well deserve blogging hiatus, I can safely say that I am back in action and ready to get reporting. And thus I bring you my first review for Shannon over on C&B and Bookus publishing. Ask anyone who knows me even in passing and they are likely to tell you that it is no secret that I can, will and often do, read just about anything. I read the 50 Shades of Grey trilogy in less than 3 days; granted it wasn’t that hard to chew through as far as a reading level or grammatical Feng Shui was concerned. I had only recently stumbled upon NetGalley and Cocktails and Books when Queen of Someday reached right off its shelf and demanded I give it my attention. I patiently waited to be approved to read this historical fiction for young ladies and, once that approval greeted me one morning in my inbox, I was eager to hit that magical “send to Kindle” button. Yet even after a weeks wait, approval granted and the .mobi file sitting on my Kindle Fire, it would still be another eight weeks before I could finally settle in and give it my undivided attention. I can’t tell you exactly what first turned me on to this work of historical fiction. I simply don’t know. It was out of character for me to choose a young adult/teen romance. Or any form of romance novel really. The usually aren’t my cup of tea. Even more out of character that I would enjoy it, however Sherry D. Ficklin has some amazing voodoo because she cast a web over my eyes so that I could see nothing but her breakout novel as soon as I finally cracked the cover (metaphorically speaking, of course as I typically read on a Kindle). I think the reason behind such an odd choice was simply that I had been neck deep in nonfiction and was planning to wean myself off of them slowly but surely. There was no way that the romantic life of Catherine the Great could possibly be as depressing as Sworn to Silence (Brendan Boland; read my review here) or as tedious as The Wizard of Oz FAQ ( you can follow up with my Non-Fiction Netgalley reviews here). Where I admit that I expected much less from this book, I now cannot seem to stop singing its praises. Much like, I am sure, Catherine herself must have felt arriving at the Russian Imperial court. Another reason I believe that I became so engrossed in this particular work is because of the Author herself. The similarities begin and end with both Ms. Ficklin and I being natural born writers, I can only image what kind of fun she would bring to a dinner party. I can fairly well guarantee she will certainly steal your heart with the first in her Stolen Empire series; Queen of Someday. With its release date set at only a few short weeks away (on October 7th for those of you paying attention) it gives me great please to bring you my (always honest!) review of Queen of Someday by Sherry Ficklin.
Queen of Someday begins with Princess Sofia telling us readers about her journey to Russia to potentially marry the prince and become Queen. While on her journey the book starts getting its action in right away as Sofia and her mother are attacked by bandits. Sofia shows her resourcefulness as she manages to thwart the attackers and save her life as well as her mothers. While running through the snow she meets one of the queen’s guard who sees her safely to the palace. I don’t want to go into too much detail here as I feel that the story should be read as well as reviewed and it really does stand and speak for itself. The intrigue happens right away as Sofia discovers that she will need to win the heart of the fickle prince or be subject to marrying her uncle in order to preserve her family name and her mother’s royal heritage.
After safely arriving, Sophia and her mother are greeted by the queen and her guard who inform the guests that the dear prince is currently away but has assured them that he cannot wait to see Sophia again. They are also then informed that Sophia will have some competition as other princesses and even ladies in waiting will be arriving soon in hopes of winning the prince. Naturally, Sophia’s mother reminds her of all that is at stake should she fail in her efforts to woo her man and gain the throne.
Once Sophia meets her prince, she realizes that it will be harder than she thought to win his heart as he seems to enjoy playing with women more than settling with any given one. No sooner does he lavish her with attention one minute than he is dancing with one of her ladies in waiting the next. Confused and a bit bewildered, Sophia turns to one of the prince’s dear friends and without warning her world turns into a wonderland. Surrounded by attractive guards and admirers, Sophia now must decide if she would rather marry to rule or marry for love. The choice seemingly made in her mind, as she prepares to make her decision know, the Queen discovers what has happened and forces her to marry the prince.
But what will happen to her? Will she reign as queen or will the prince have her dethroned before she can be crowned? The bitter sweet anticipation of the next turn of the page held me in its grip as each event unfolded and I was more than eager to learn more. In closing Ficklin provides answers and a magnificent cliffhanger to enthrall readers and makes waiting for the next book less easy than one would think.
Over many chapters we are introduced to a dazzling cast of characters who do not fail to disappoint in both physical description or in development. Overall, Ms. Ficklin handles herself well in a clean romance novel that is anticipated to carry on for several more novels yet to come. I, for one look forward to seeing out dear Catherine the Great as she transforms from the adolescent Princess Sophia into the great and powerful leader we have all read about in history books.
