I enjoyed this for the most part but since I was reading Sister, Mother, Warrior at the same time I think it overshadowed this one a bit. Vanessa Riley definitely knows her history and does a good job bringing her fictional story of a real person to life within the characters. I’ve never heard of Queen Marie-Louise Christophe, who escaped a coup in Haiti to set up her own royal court in Italy during the Regency era, where she became a popular member of royal European society.

Louise was the wife of King Henry who ruled the kingdom of Haiti after the Haitian revolution. Their kingdom was on the verge of collapse because of Henry’s mental illness, foolish mistakes, and debt yet Louise did her best to hold things together. Even after Henry passed and she was forced to leave Europe and live in exile with her children because it was no longer safe. She still found a way to maintain her wealth and social status.

Queen Louise took so many losses literally tragedy after tragedy. From her husband, sons, and then eventually her daughters. I was surprised to see her remain strong through it all. She even tried her hand at love again only to find herself falling for a man that was looking to marry a wealthy wife.

Overall, it was okay could’ve been a few chapters shorter but again filled with so much history. The pacing was very slow the entire time so if you’re looking for a quick read this definitely isn’t it.

Rating: 3.5/5⭐️