"Becoming Marie Antoinette"
by Juliet Grey
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Release Date: Aug 9, 2011
Source: sent by publisher and TLC Book Tours
My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Summary from goodreads.com:
This
enthralling confection of a novel, the first in a new trilogy, follows
the transformation of a coddled Austrian archduchess into the reckless,
powerful, beautiful queen Marie Antoinette.
Why must it be me? I wondered. When I am so clearly inadequate to my destiny?
Raised
alongside her numerous brothers and sisters by the formidable empress
of Austria, ten-year-old Maria Antonia knew that her idyllic existence
would one day be sacrificed to her mother’s political ambitions. What
she never anticipated was that the day in question would come so soon.
Before
she can journey from sunlit picnics with her sisters in Vienna to the
glitter, glamour, and gossip of Versailles, Antonia must change everything
about herself in order to be accepted as dauphine of France and the
wife of the awkward teenage boy who will one day be Louis XVI. Yet
nothing can prepare her for the ingenuity and influence it will take to
become queen.
Filled with smart history, treacherous rivalries, lavish clothes, and sparkling jewels, Becoming Marie Antoinette will utterly captivate fiction and history lovers alike.
My Review:
I really enjoyed this book, more than most historical fiction. It was such a different view than what we normally see of Marie Antoinette. I feel like the author really searched deeper in her research and actually cared about Marie.
I previously had no idea of all the pains that were taken to make Marie "worthy" of the French crown. The braces that were put on her teeth, with no anesthetic at all, sound like complete torture!
As a lover of romance, of course I was the most interested in Marie's relationship with her husband, Louis Auguste. Their relationship was bittersweet in many ways, but also very sweet and genuine. I was yearning to read more about them both. It's hard to remember sometimes how very young they were when they became King and Queen.
This story was highly readable and written in a very relatable way. Not once did it feel like dry historical facts. There was also a sympathy for the characters that you don't often see in the historical fiction genre. I really liked this writing style so much more than a lot of historical fiction, because it wasn't so harsh.
I did not realize this was the start of a trilogy, so I wasn't prepared for the slightly cliffhanger is ending. I absolutely cannot wait to read the next installment.
Main Characters: 5/5
Supporting Characters: 4/5
Setting: 4/5
Romance: 4/5
Uniqueness: 5/5
Cover: 4/5 (I love that it looks modern)
Writing: 4/5
Bottom Line:A wonderful, heartfelt version of Marie Antoinette's story, and this book is just the beginning.
GIVEAWAY RULES:
Ballantine Books and TLC Book Tours have generously provided a copy of "Becoming Marie Antoinette" for a lucky reader of my blog!
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