TLC Book Tours Book Review: Ribbons of Scarlet

About Ribbons of Scarlet

• Paperback: 560 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks (October 1, 2019)

“The French Revolution comes alive through the eyes of six diverse and complex women, in the skilled hands of these amazing authors.”--Martha Hall Kelly, New York Times bestselling author of Lilac Girls

A breathtaking, epic novel illuminating the hopes, desires, and destinies of princesses and peasants, harlots and wives, fanatics and philosophers—seven unforgettable women whose paths cross during one of the most tumultuous and transformative events in history: the French Revolution.

Ribbons of Scarlet is a timely story of the power of women to start a revolution—and change the world.

In late eighteenth-century France, women do not have a place in politics. But as the tide of revolution rises, women from gilded salons to the streets of Paris decide otherwise—upending a world order that has long oppressed them.

Blue-blooded Sophie de Grouchy believes in democracy, education, and equal rights for women, and marries the only man in Paris who agrees. Emboldened to fight the injustices of King Louis XVI, Sophie aims to prove that an educated populace can govern itself--but one of her students, fruit-seller Louise Audu, is hungrier for bread and vengeance than learning. When the Bastille falls and Louise leads a women’s march to Versailles, the monarchy is forced to bend, but not without a fight. The king’s pious sister Princess Elisabeth takes a stand to defend her brother, spirit her family to safety, and restore the old order, even at the risk of her head.

But when fanatics use the newspapers to twist the revolution’s ideals into a new tyranny, even the women who toppled the monarchy are threatened by the guillotine. Putting her faith in the pen, brilliant political wife Manon Roland tries to write a way out of France’s blood-soaked Reign of Terror while pike-bearing Pauline Leon and steely Charlotte Corday embrace violence as the only way to save the nation. With justice corrupted by revenge, all the women must make impossible choices to survive--unless unlikely heroine and courtesan’s daughter Emilie de Sainte-Amaranthe can sway the man who controls France’s fate: the fearsome Robespierre.

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Review:  If ever there is a must read book for 2019, this book has to be it, especially if you are a fan of historical fiction. I've been waiting on this one for quite a while and it was definitely worth the wait. 

Just look at the names of the authors that are involved in this story. That alone should give this book a top spot on your TBR pile, but more than that, the story is compelling.

Its a story of the French Revolution told from many points of view, which is exactly what makes this a compelling read. That these points of view tie together is even more impressive.  The characters in each story appear again as the revolution moves forward.

Sophie and her husband Condorcet are figures you will come to love and their courtship, while strange may have Condorcet reminding them a little of Big Bang Theory's Sheldon Cooper. He's a brilliant mind, but he's not exactly the more romantic man out there, or for that matter the most handsome.

I found their story to be the one I most connected with. I liked them. Their were others that I didn't like as much. I hated Pauline, maybe it is because of the political climate of the world and the US in particular that made me not like her so much. I understood and felt for their plight, but the hatred and how they turned on so many people made me wonder how France is still standing as a nation today.

As for the figure I most sympathized with, that was Princess Elisabeth. Truthfully, the more I read about the revolution, the more I felt sorry for the King and his family. The divine right of kings aside this royal family had no luck at all.

By the end of the book especially the last parts with Emilie Sainte Amaranthe's story, which is totally heartbreaking as well as the epilogue with Sophie...well, I have to say I was crying

These authors are all supremely talented, in that they created such wonderful stories that put together make this a phenomenal book.

Rating: 5 flowers

Historical Fiction Book Tours Book Review:The Sister Queens

SYNOPSIS

Like most sisters, Marguerite and Eleanor were rivals.  They were also queens.

Raised at the court of their father, Raymond Berenger, Count of Provence, Marguerite and Eleanor are separated by royal marriages--but never truly parted.

Patient, perfect, and used to being first, Marguerite becomes Queen of France. But Louis IX is a religious zealot who denies himself the love and companionship his wife craves. Can she borrow enough of her sister's boldness to grasp her chance for happiness in a forbidden love?

Passionate, strong-willed, and stubborn, Eleanor becomes Queen of England. Henry III is a good man, but not a good king. Can Eleanor stop competing with her sister and value what she has, or will she let it slip away?

The Sister Queens is historical fiction at its most compelling, and is an unforgettable first novel.

Review: Before I start reviewing the book, I have to say, this is one cover that really pulled me in to the book. It is simply stunning.

This is Sophie's first novel and if it is any indication of what's to come, well, move over Phillipa Gregory.

It was nice to read a novel about royals that didn't involve one of Henry VIII's wives or offspring or Marie Antoinette. Now don't get me wrong, I love Tudor novels and Marie, but it is nice to read about another group of royals ever now and then.

In this story you get a queen of France and England. By the end you feel like you've not only read a great book, but you've learned something about these two women, two sisters who are vastly different and how their marriages shaped their lives.

Marguerite and Eleanor are very competitive, or rather Eleanor is very competitive and in a way they both have something the other wants. Marguerite would like the attentive husband that Eleanor has in Henry III and and Eleanor wished her husband was a better king, much like Marguerite's husband Louis IX.

Sophie writes this more as a love story than as a picture of the political climate at the time. Eleanor was not well liked because of her families involvement in English government. She also writes that Marguerite has an affair and one of the royal brood of children does not belong to her husband.

I liked how each chapter started with a letter from one sister to the other and then continued on with the story. It really allowed you to get both sister's stories without feeling partial to either Eleanor or Marguerite.

Definitely a must read for anyone looking for something a little different when it comes to historical fiction.

Rating: 4 flowers

AUTHOR BIO

Sophie Perinot writes historical fiction. In Spring 2012 her debut novel, The Sister Queens, will be released by NAL. Set in 13th century France and England, The Sister Queens weaves the captivating story of medieval sisters, Marguerite and Eleanor of Provence, who both became queens – their lifelong friendship, their rivalry, and their reigns

Ms. Perinot has both a BA in History and a law degree. She left the law to pursue artistic interests, including writing. An avid reader, especially of classic literature, and life-long student of history, it seemed only natural that Sophie should write historical fiction. As someone who studied French abroad and a devotee of Alexandre Dumas, French history was a logical starting point. An active member of the Historical Novel Society, she has attended all of the group’s North American Conferences.

Active among the literary twitterati as @Lit_gal (a moniker she also uses at Agent Query Connect www.agentqueryconnect.com), Sophie is a regular contributor to the group writers' blog "From the Write Angle" http://www.fromthewriteangle.com. Find her on facebook at www.facebook.com/sophie.perinot.author.

 

For more information, please visit Sophie Perinot's WEBSITE.  You can also find Sophie on her blog, Facebook and Twitter.