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3.07k reviews by:
erinarkin20
3.5 stars
Queen of Someday is the first book in the Stolen Empire series by Sherry Ficklin. I was looking forward to reading this book because, while it is definitely fiction, it ties in Russian history and you all know how much I love historical fiction. I love how Ficklin took the baseline of what happened and really made up a story about what she thought could have happened with Catherine the Great. I love when authors do this.
Sophie is a princess but comes from a family that is in some financial trouble when the story opens. Because of this, her mother is working hard to marry her off and when we are first introduced to her, Sophie and her mother are on their way to the Russian Court to see if she is fit to marry Empress Elizabeth’s nephew Peter.
I liked Sophie – she is smart and she quickly realizes who she can trust and who she can’t at court. She isn’t put in a good situation but she realizes she doesn’t have much say in it so she is determined to make it work. Not everything goes her way in this story and to be perfectly honest, there were times where if I were in her shoes I would have probably completely broken down. As a young girl, she is definitely tested but she is strong and she realizes what she has to do to survive and make things work for herself and protect her family.
As Sophie begins to navigate Russian Court, she starts to learn more about who Peter really is and doesn’t really like what she sees. She also begins to grow closer to Alexander, one of Peter’s friends and they soon realize that despite the expectations, they have fallen in love. I don’t want to give anything away around this plot line because this is where things got very interesting. Let me just say that Alexander is definitely swoony and they are both in a tough situation. Needless to say, when the Empress finds out what is going on, it isn’t pretty and things do not go well.
One of the people who quickly becomes a trusted advisor and friend to Sophie is Sergei Salkov who serves on the Empress’s Imperial Court. I have to admit, where their stories ended up together was unexpected but it all tied together and again, Sophie used her brains to come up with a solution that would help her survive. I liked Sergei and if he hadn’t been there for Sophie, I’m not really sure how things would have ended up for her. I also don’t believe that she would have made it through her time in court without him.
This was my first read by Sherry Ficklin and I definitely enjoyed it. It was one of those stories where I wasn’t really sure what was going to happen next and I loved that about this. I am definitely interested to see where Ficklin goes with the next book of this series and will check it out when the next book hits the shelves.
Thank you to Netgalley and Clean Teen Publishing for the review copy!
Queen of Someday is the first book in the Stolen Empire series by Sherry Ficklin. I was looking forward to reading this book because, while it is definitely fiction, it ties in Russian history and you all know how much I love historical fiction. I love how Ficklin took the baseline of what happened and really made up a story about what she thought could have happened with Catherine the Great. I love when authors do this.
Sophie is a princess but comes from a family that is in some financial trouble when the story opens. Because of this, her mother is working hard to marry her off and when we are first introduced to her, Sophie and her mother are on their way to the Russian Court to see if she is fit to marry Empress Elizabeth’s nephew Peter.
I liked Sophie – she is smart and she quickly realizes who she can trust and who she can’t at court. She isn’t put in a good situation but she realizes she doesn’t have much say in it so she is determined to make it work. Not everything goes her way in this story and to be perfectly honest, there were times where if I were in her shoes I would have probably completely broken down. As a young girl, she is definitely tested but she is strong and she realizes what she has to do to survive and make things work for herself and protect her family.
As Sophie begins to navigate Russian Court, she starts to learn more about who Peter really is and doesn’t really like what she sees. She also begins to grow closer to Alexander, one of Peter’s friends and they soon realize that despite the expectations, they have fallen in love. I don’t want to give anything away around this plot line because this is where things got very interesting. Let me just say that Alexander is definitely swoony and they are both in a tough situation. Needless to say, when the Empress finds out what is going on, it isn’t pretty and things do not go well.
One of the people who quickly becomes a trusted advisor and friend to Sophie is Sergei Salkov who serves on the Empress’s Imperial Court. I have to admit, where their stories ended up together was unexpected but it all tied together and again, Sophie used her brains to come up with a solution that would help her survive. I liked Sergei and if he hadn’t been there for Sophie, I’m not really sure how things would have ended up for her. I also don’t believe that she would have made it through her time in court without him.
This was my first read by Sherry Ficklin and I definitely enjoyed it. It was one of those stories where I wasn’t really sure what was going to happen next and I loved that about this. I am definitely interested to see where Ficklin goes with the next book of this series and will check it out when the next book hits the shelves.
Thank you to Netgalley and Clean Teen Publishing for the review copy!
I love historical books and Sekret by Lindsay Smith was one of those books that I put on my to read list because I thought it sounded super interesting - I mean, “Espionage thriller with a dash of both history and dystopia.” Sounds fantastic and right up my alley! It was really good and Smith does a wonderful job of creating the make believe but also integrating the history of how the Soviet Union was during the 1960’s.
Yulia is able to read people through touch and for the last few years, Yulia, her mother, and her younger brother have been hiding from the government. See, Yulia’s father and mother used to work for the Communist Party as researchers and when they ran, the government began searching for them. By using other teenagers who have similar abilities, the KGB finds Yulia and her family and all of a sudden she is pulled into a world that is filled with secrets and danger.
The KGB has a psychic program that, as I mentioned, includes other teens like Yulia. It also happens to be run by a man named Rostov who doesn’t really care who he takes down or hurts as long as he gets what he wants. He uses Yulia’s family to coerce her to work with him and gain power. He also has a power that is referred to as “scrubbing” which means he can erase pieces of people’s memories. Because of this, he is very dangerous.
While diving into her life with this group of teens, Yulia has a hard time figuring out who to trust. She already knows from her interaction at the market with Misha and Masha that she can never trust them but she also meets Sergei, Valentin, Ivan, and Larissa. She has to figure out who she can rely on to help her escape her current situation and those that will turn on her. There are some missteps along the way but eventually she does find someone that she can trust and ultimately will come to rely on for more than just an escape plan.
I really enjoyed how Smith combined the historical aspect of this story with the paranormal. She gives the reader just enough history about Communist Russia while mixing in this idea that the government would use psychics to help them get what they needed to beat America in the space program as well as protect their own information. I don’t want to give away any of the story as there is quite a bit of mystery here and as a reader, you have to figure things out alongside Yulia. There are some unexpected twists that add to the overall story and made it something that I had a hard time putting down. Definitely check this one out when you can - I know I will be waiting for the next book to see what happens next!
Yulia is able to read people through touch and for the last few years, Yulia, her mother, and her younger brother have been hiding from the government. See, Yulia’s father and mother used to work for the Communist Party as researchers and when they ran, the government began searching for them. By using other teenagers who have similar abilities, the KGB finds Yulia and her family and all of a sudden she is pulled into a world that is filled with secrets and danger.
The KGB has a psychic program that, as I mentioned, includes other teens like Yulia. It also happens to be run by a man named Rostov who doesn’t really care who he takes down or hurts as long as he gets what he wants. He uses Yulia’s family to coerce her to work with him and gain power. He also has a power that is referred to as “scrubbing” which means he can erase pieces of people’s memories. Because of this, he is very dangerous.
While diving into her life with this group of teens, Yulia has a hard time figuring out who to trust. She already knows from her interaction at the market with Misha and Masha that she can never trust them but she also meets Sergei, Valentin, Ivan, and Larissa. She has to figure out who she can rely on to help her escape her current situation and those that will turn on her. There are some missteps along the way but eventually she does find someone that she can trust and ultimately will come to rely on for more than just an escape plan.
I really enjoyed how Smith combined the historical aspect of this story with the paranormal. She gives the reader just enough history about Communist Russia while mixing in this idea that the government would use psychics to help them get what they needed to beat America in the space program as well as protect their own information. I don’t want to give away any of the story as there is quite a bit of mystery here and as a reader, you have to figure things out alongside Yulia. There are some unexpected twists that add to the overall story and made it something that I had a hard time putting down. Definitely check this one out when you can - I know I will be waiting for the next book to see what happens next!
