Queen of Tomorrow, by Sherry Ficklin
Stolen
Empire #2
Published by: Clean Teen Publishing
Release Date: July 14, 2015
Release Date: July 14, 2015
Genre:
Young Adult, Historical Fiction
Pages: 280 paperback, 166 Adobe Digital
Editions
Source:
Xpresso Book Tours, NetGalley
Sophie—now
Catherine, Grand Duchess of Russia—had a tough first year at Imperial Court.
Married at sixteen to Grand Duke Peter, heir to the throne, and settled in
their own palace, things are finally looking up. As a new day dawns she thinks
only of securing her future and the future of their country during one of the
greatest political upheavals of her time. Fighting desperately against forces
trying to depose the Empress Elizabeth and put the young Prince Ivan on her
throne, Sophie soon finds herself in the middle of a war brewing between her
beloved Prussia, and her new empire. But even as she navigates the fragile
political landscape, she quickly realizes that she has only begun to discover
the tangled web of deceit and infidelity woven over the lavish court of Oranienbaum
Palace.
When a strange and delicate alliance forms between the young couple, she glimpses a future of happiness, only to see it lost in a moment at the hands of those who still seek to end her life—and prevent her reign. Out of favor with the empress and running out of options, Sophie will have to sacrifice her own innocence on the altar of Russia if she is to save the nation, and herself. To survive, she will have to do the unthinkable, betray those closest to her and become something greater and more dangerous than she ever imagined she could be… a queen.
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Reign
fans, and readers interested in the story of Sophia who becomes Catherine the
Great of Russia, will love this book!
Young
Sophia (also called Sophie), managed by her stage mom, Princess Johanna of
Holstein-Gottorp, is married off to Grand Duke Peter (eventually Peter III),
heir presumptive and nephew to Empress
Elizabeth of Russia. Peter was actually Sophia’s second cousin in real life.
It’s
August 1745 and Russia, as ever, is vast and struggling.
Truly
a YA novel as Sophia is just 16 when she is married to Peter (17), Queen of Tomorrow is book #2 in the
Stolen Empire series, about Sophia’s rise to power. This is not so much a
romance, as a personal telling of
Catherine’s (Sophia is re-christened) struggles though it is a fictional
account.
So,
we have a story focused on the political machinations of royal life and what
Catherine must do to manage her way through the dictums of Empress Elizabeth, the
daily issues with her mentally quixotic husband, and her own desire to prove of
service to her new nation. Of utter importance is that an heir is produced for
the succession of the crown.
I
like that we see the old adage, look not to your husband but your husband’s
mother, to understand who you’re married to, come into play. I also think the author strikes an
interesting balance showing Catherine wanting her marriage to Peter to work out
while becoming clever enough to navigate her way through his mental
eccentricities and the political complexities of the time to ensure her own
survival.
Peter
is sometimes portrayed in film as something of a lunatic. Apparently Catherine
in her memoirs calls him ‘an idiot’ and ‘good for nothing,” etc. Being of German birth, Peter didn’t want to
learn Russian and his sentiments fell with his country of origin, which caused
him a lot of problems at home in Russia. Was he mad or just a man in the wrong
place at the wrong time?
Queen
of Tomorrow is well written, and the author gives Catherine a strong, determined,
think-for-herself attitude which of course would have been a necessity in her
position if she hoped for any success.
I
really enjoyed this read and would highly recommend it, especially for those
looking for strong heroines in their books. I’m really looking forward to book
3!
Find author, Sherry Ficklin on the Internet here:
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