I have a special place in my heart for historical fiction but the way The Embroidered Book blends fantasy with historical events was something exciting and fresh that I really enjoyed.
I'm not usually one for hard literary fiction so the mash up worked for my fantasy loving heart even if the actual book was an almost 700 page monster! Because of this i opted for the audio book and it was wonderful.

TEB is about sisters and best friends, Antoin and Charlotte who are born princesses of Austria and sent to marry the heirs of France and Naples respectively. As children, they discover a book of magic spells and we follow the girls journey from childhood to adulthood as they discover the scope of this magic and how it effects their lives and relationships with one another.

Charlotte is the smarter of the two and has always known she would sort a position of power as queen rather than just be a trophy wife. Antoin is the opposite. Very flighty and concerned with how much people like her and as we all know, this plays a heavy part in her ultimate demise at the hands of the French revolutionists.

What makes this book great is the fact that we know what happens to Antoin - later Marie Antoinette - and the author weaves such a wonderful web of intricacies and characters and dialogue that kept me invested in the outcome. I enjoyed the POVs from both women but can admit that Antoinette's were a little more exciting simply because you could see the trainwreck before it had occurred and just had to know, how she so naively got herself into these situations.

Charlotte's political exploits were great to be able to see how a woman was able to claim power within a space that was vehemently against it. She was the most like her mother, a powerful woman in her own right even if a little flawed.

My only criticism of this is that it was just too long for me. The length was required to fit in such epic lives from the two women but it was a lot of talk rather than action/drama which is what i enjoy. It sounds silly to think an HF set in the 1700s is going to be dramatic lol its just something i enjoy to give me the full 5 star experience. If not for the audio, i probably wouldn't have got through it as quickly if at all because of the pacing which is a personal thing rather than an issue with it.

The characters are great, the magic is interesting and the price paid to use it. There is romance, there is a drama, its incredibly intelligent and i recommend if you can commit the time to it. The nature of women in the old world is wonderful to read and experience to an extent, especially when it came to the children and the demand on women's bodies to breed. Alongside their desperation to be seen as and be more than a brood mare.

I enjoyed and I think you will too.