by Meghan Masterson
Publisher: Bookouture
Pages: 318
Format: eARC
Buy the Book: Amazon
Goodreads: Paris, August 1856: An ordinary woman far from home. A plot against the crown. Those she loves in terrible danger…
Livia, a humble doctor’s daughter from the Italian countryside, arrives in Paris with her new husband. At first, she feels alone and isolated among the gray, rain-drenched streets. Until Elisabetta, the Emperor’s clever, beautiful mistress, takes her under her wing, and finally Livia has a true ally.
The two women are soon inseparable, strolling arm in arm down Paris’s wide boulevards and dancing the night away at masked balls. At last, Livia feels happy in her new life.
But when Elisabetta is mysteriously poisoned, the tables turn and it is Livia who has the power to shape the destiny of those around her. She must draw on all her knowledge of herbs and medicine to cure her friend. And the stakes soon become higher than she ever imagined, when her husband is falsely accused of treason and conspiring against the crown.
With Elisabetta close to death and the future of France in peril, Livia will need to draw on all her courage to save the lives of those she loves… as well as her own…
Kritters Thoughts: In 1856 in Paris, France and Emperor Napoleon III is in reign, there is a woman who has married up and is now close to one of his mistresses and in turn ends up close to him and with the skills she acquired by her father's side as a child, she is able to save lives and make an impact on the future of a few countries!
While I know this was true fiction, it was fun to pull up Napoleon's wikipedia page and read a bit and get to know the truth to help put this story in perspective. Livia was a woman from humble beginnings who ended up in quite the predicament, but in the end she was in a better place than even she or her family could have imagined - being vague, it is a great plot point that is spoiled in the synopsis!
But more than her marriage, Livia's relationship with the Emperor's mistress was so interesting and I loved the dynamic these women had as they were women in this moment in time and each trying to find their place in such a volatile world. While this book did a good job of showing romantic relationships, for me the relationship between these women was the heart of the story and I loved that the author focused on that and how women could come together and support each other no matter where they came from.
My second Meghan Masterson read and I sure hope she has more up her sleeve!
Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row
Ebook 2021 Challenge: 99 out of 100
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one copy of this book free of charge from Bookouture. I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.
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