Title: Queen of Someday
Series: Stolen Empire (Book 1)
Author: Sherry D. Ficklin
Publication Date: October 17, 2014
Pages: 262 pages
Format: eBook
Source: Author
Purchase: Amazon
Summary (Goodreads):
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?
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Queen of Someday is the first book in a great historical fiction series about the Russian court and how a young 15-year-old comes to be the famous Queen Catherine. There’s love and deceit, political struggles and lots of murder. This book, while is not action-packed or terribly exciting, really makes up with how complicated it is to navigate life at court.
Sophie is a young, smart girl that I immediately liked when we are first introduced to her. Despite her own wishes, she is sent off to marry the Duke of Petersburg because it’s the only way to keep her family from falling down the social ladder. As it turns out, Peter is a cruel soon-to-be-king boy and very difficult to please, yet Sophie manages to keep her position as the betrothed even when there is more than one wishing to see her dead.
I really liked how Sophie slowly develops into a clever woman fit to rule, because not only does she have to deal with Peter, but also the current Russian Empress, Elizabeth. Everyone, including Elizabeth, are cruel and calculating, wishing to only control Sophie to fit their own needs instead of wishing to see her succeed.
Like everything else in this book, the romance is also a cruel and unfair thing, though fairly sweet too. My heart broke for Sophie and what she had to do in order to keep her loved ones safe. The worst of sacrifices. But she gains lots of respect from me.
Since I already read the sequel, I can tell you that this series keeps getting better. So if you love historical fiction and want to read a brutally honest tale, then you should read Queen of Someday.
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