Queen of Always by Sherry D. Ficklin

(Stolen Empire #3)

Published by: Clean Teen Publishing

Publication date: September 15th 2015

Genres: Historical, Young Adult

 

 

Synopsis: If her time at court has taught Catherine anything, it’s that there is no room for weakness in Imperial Russia. With the Empress’ health failing and rumors of a change in the line of succession, her place in the royal line is once more in jeopardy. Tormented by her sadistic husband and his venomous mistress, Catherine must once more walk the fine line between pleasure and politics—between scandal and survival.

 

When her young son becomes the target of those rebelling against Peter’s reign, Catherine will have to rise up to protect herself, her child, and her nation from his unstable and potentially catastrophic rule. This means putting herself at odds with the most dangerous man she’s ever known, trusting those who once proved to be her enemies, and turning a nation against its sovereign. In the ultimate battle for the crown, new alliances will be forged, loyalties will be tested, and blood will be shed.

 

Don’t miss this breathtaking conclusion to the Stolen Empire series! Queen of Always is a YA historical fiction based on the life of young Catherine the Great. Fans of the hit TV show REIGN will devour this scandalous glimpse into the life of one of the most dynamic women in history.

 

Excerpt: “I have done dreadful things, Dash. I have made mistakes that I will never be able to atone for, and I have allowed myself to be selfish in ways you might never understand.” The bitter memory of sprinkling the poison in the Empress’ tea floats into my mind. I think of every lie I’ve told, of every misstep I’ve made. “I’m not proud of my choices, but neither would I retract a single one,” I say finally.

 

“Sometimes, the only choices you have are horrible choices,” she says. “But you must still choose.” I glance at her, admiring her quiet fortitude. She is, in so many ways, like Rina. So wise for her years. Wise and kind and good.

 

“You are a good soul, Dashka. I wish I were as good.”

 

She shakes her head, “Don’t say that, Your Grace. You are a good soul as well. Not innocent as or naive as I, but nevertheless good. You will be a good queen.”

 

“I hope so,” I mutter around another bite. There’s a cup of what looks like pitch black tea. I pick it up, examining the contents. It smells burnt somehow. “What on earth is this?”

 

She nods to it, “That’s a new drink the cook thought you might enjoy. It’s called coffee. It can be bitter so there is cream you can add to it. She says it’s all the rage at French Court.”

 

“Coffee? Odd.” I take a sip and nearly gag. It’s strong, so much more bitter and heavy than tea, but, still… I take another sip. “It’s quite good, I think.” I say, admiring the warmth of the cup in my hand.  Dashka beams.

 

“I thought you’d enjoy it.” As we begin the tedious process of dressing and grooming, I sip on the beverage, asking for a second cup soon after the first. Soon I feel my heart speed up, my face flushes, and I feel more awake and alive than I’ve felt in weeks. I let my mind drift. Someday, sooner than later, I will be queen. What sort of queen do I want to be? I know I will have to decide. Will I be loyal? Faithful? Will I be kind or courageous? Will I be content sitting quietly, or will I stand boldly against those who oppose me? Suddenly, things seem very clear.

 

“It’s the coffee,” Dashka smirks.

 

Somehow, I think it’s more than just that.

 

 

 

 

 

Purchase at: Amazon / B&N

 

 

 

Sherry D. Ficklin is a full time writer from Colorado. She can often be found browsing her local bookstore with a large white hot chocolate in one hand and a towering stack of books in the other. That is, unless she's on deadline at which time she, like the Loch Ness monster, is only seen in blurry photographs.

 

She is the author of over a dozen novels ranging from contemporary romance to science fiction. In her spare time she co-hosts the Pop Lit Divas radio show and is a contributor for Fangirlish.com.

 

Connect with Sherry on her: Website / FB / Twitter / Goodreads

 

 

 

Queen of Someday held a lot of promise but it never got fulfilled. It’s a shame because this is my first historical fiction read (I am not counting Infernal Devices since it was more of a steampunk and fantasy series) after so many years and it really disappointed me. I wish I just picked up any of Julia Quinn’s or Judith McNaught’s books.

 

I am not sure what went wrong with this one. Is it because it was too short that the story was not fully realized? Is it because the heroine grated on my nerves to no end? Anyway, I am not going to fill you with so many questions. Instead, let me share my opinion of this book by scrutinizing the synopsis so as to prevent this review from becoming an incoherent mess.

 

<b>"ONE GIRL WILL BRING AN EMPIRE TO ITS KNEES…"</b>

 

The first sentence of the synopsis. Grand, isn’t it? I seriously assumed that I’m going to see our heroine, Prussian Princess Sophie, achieving lots of outstanding feats here. Not only that, I also expected that little Sophie would be well-versed in politics and will be witty at all times. I think that my expectations are only logical because the sentence above is pretty bold. One girl will bring an empire, the RUSSIAN EMPIRE, to its knees. Now, if you heard someone declaring that to the whole world, your expectations will be the same as mine. Unfortunately, our little Sophie was neither wise nor capable of achieving exceptional deeds.

 

So far, her accomplishments in this book were:

 

1. Seduced three boys- The Prince heir, a nobleman, and the general of the Russian Court imperial guard. And no, I am not joking.

 

2. Killed three (or was that 4 assassins) while she and her mother were travelling from Prussia to Russia. It was quite unbelievable though because their guards got killed and yet Sophie, managed to kill the assassins. Oh bravo! YOU ACTUALLY MANAGED TO KILL TRAINED ASSASSINS? Are you Celaena Sardothien, Sophie? Remind me again how old were you when you started playing with your knives and accompanying your father during his hunts?

 

3. Able to learn the Russian language and spoke it like a true-bloodied Russian. But I haven’t seen her speaking in actual Russian. The story just told that she finally learned it.

I have never seen this girl even demonstrating that she has the IT to be deserving of the empress throne. All throughout the book, she was busy flirting with all the three love interests, wondering how their lips and hands would feel on her body. I am seriously at a loss here. Makes me think that instead of her strength and brain powers, she’s planning to use her body and knack for flirting to seduce the entire Russian court to bring it to its knees.

 

<b>"Before she can become the greatest empress in history, fifteen-year-old Sophie will have to survive her social-climbing mother’s quest to put her on the throne of Russia—at any cost."</b>

 

Yeah, you did survive, Sophie. But that’s because you are one lucky girl. And most of those obstacles that you’ve encountered were quite petty. What if I place you in A Game Of Thrones-esque setting, let’s see if you will still survive the ordeal.

 

When you got poisoned, you were just lucky that you were with your love interest. But after you recovered, what did you do? Did you actually spare some time to formulate a strategy to show the Imperial court that you are a force to be reckoned with? No, you just continued with your clandestine meetings with your love interests. And you even played knight in shining armor to your killer. I cannot for the life of me…

 

Oh, Sophie, I am sorry but I haven’t felt that you actually faced a difficult time while you are making it to the top in the Russian court. Whatever difficulties that you’ve faced are because of your stupid decisions. No, Sophie. Please just go back to where you belong.

 

<b>"Imperial Court holds dangers like nothing Sophie has ever faced before. In the heart of St. Petersburg, surviving means navigating the political, romantic, and religious demands of the bitter Empress Elizabeth and her handsome, but sadistic nephew, Peter. Determined to save her impoverished family—and herself—Sophie vows to do whatever is necessary to thrive in her new surroundings. But an attempt on her life and an unexpected attraction threatens to derail her plans."</b>

 

Imperial Court holds dangers like nothing Sophie has ever faced before.—> This! WTF? REALLY? Those dangers are quite meh and very PREDICTABLE. Hahaha. Beware, I am going to be writing a lot of spoilers here. So read at your own risk.

 

1st Attempt on Sophie’s Life: The Ambush (Happened in the first chapter)

This seems like a plot device just so the author will have the opportunity to show that Sophie is a Wonder Woman who is capable of killing highly trained assassins. Her guards were just there as props.

 

2nd Attempt on Sophie’s Life: Poisoning

Could have been prevented if f***ing Sergei (the general of the Russian Imperial Court) was not an incompetent dummy. He already knows that there’s a lot of threat to Sophie’s life and yet, he didn’t arrange for a food taster. I would have let it slide if only the manner of poisoning was pretty sneaky and brilliant. But no, Sophie got poisoned in the most boring way possible. Really, it could have been prevented if Sergei and the rest of his subordinates have an ounce of common sense. Oh Sergei, ever heard of risk assessment and danger forecasting? Why not spend your time learning those instead of caressing Sophie every chance you get?

 

3rd Attempt on Sophie’s Life: The Russian Empress threatened to destroy Sophie after the latter was discovered cheating on the Prince Heir

 

See? This danger should not have happened if not for Sophie’s stupidity. She’s already betrothed to the Prince Heir but she kept on meeting and kissing handsome Alexander that it even reached a point that she was ready to run away with the latter. Yes, you are 15, Sophie, and your being impulsive is understandable. But if you are hailed as the girl who can bring down an empire to its knees, I expected better from you especially that your family is depending on you.

 

<b>"Alone in a new and dangerous world, learning who to trust and who to charm may mean the difference between becoming queen and being sent home in shame to marry her lecherous uncle. With traitors and murderers lurking around every corner, her very life hangs in the balance. Betrothed to one man but falling in love with another, Sophie will need to decide how much she’s willing to sacrifice in order to become the empress she is destined to be."</b>

 

Know what, Sophie? I know that this is pretty lame and I know that I should respect you as you. But you really failed to demonstrate that you actually have the wisdom, the strength, the cunning and the overall capability of becoming an empress. Maybe you should start befriending other princesses and queens from other books and learn from them. I have some recs if you’ll have them.

 

And oh readers, are you excited that this book is set in Russia? I am sorry but you’re going to be disappointed. I didn’t feel that this book was really set in Russia. For example, I haven’t seen the characters speaking in Russian. I haven’t read even a simple “привет” (pronounced as privet) which means “hello” in Russian. I haven’t even gotten a glimpse of the Russian culture in the old days. Really, if you are only picking up this book because you want a Russian setting, just pick up Laini Taylor’s The Daughter of Smoke and Bone.

 

Verdict: I really tried to love Queen of Someday but it was one of those awful books that heavily relied on the romance, love quadrangle to be specific, to tell a story. It felt unresearched, rushed and didn’t really offer something new to the table. Even the romance did not work for me.

 

1.5 stars because this is not the worst book that I’ve read, the cover is gorgeous, and what Sophie/Catherine did at the end slightly took me by surprise but it doesn’t mean that that was pretty cunning. She can do better.

I received this as an advanced reading copy from Clean Teen Publishing through NetGalley, so first of all I'd like to say a big thank you so much to them!

Did you love season one of Reign? Are you itching for a historical fiction about a younger historical figure? Allow me to introduce Queen of Someday.

I was initially drawn in by the beautiful cover of this book, and the interesting summary. This book follows the life of Catherine the Great before she was Catherine the Great, so obviously it's a historical fiction. Who is Catherine the Great you say? Well in this book, she is the young Sophie, who has been invited with her mother as a guest of the empress Elizabeth in Russia.

It sounds so cliche but I could not put this book down. I expected to take a week and read this book and it ended up taking me two days. Fast paced, and full of twists, I found myself one-more-chapter-ing all night until I realized that I had no more chapters. I already can not wait for the next book in this series (Stolen Empire). I actually know very little about historical Russia, Catherine the Great, or most of history for that matter, but even I found a few references that I understood. There is an author's note about historical accuracy and creative liberties, and I'm not sure how a history buff would feel, but with my casual knowledge level I enjoyed this book very much.

One of the things that I really enjoyed about this book was the way that the romance aspect played out. It did not feel rushed, or forced, but it was also not drawn out or exaggerated. Sophie's love life felt natural, and of course passionate! Something that I felt was not quite as natural feeling was Sophie's mother. I wasn't sure if I was just frustrated with her, or if it seemed like a skewed point of view.
I would have to say that my favorite part was the beautiful way the author gave the feeling of time drifting past our dear Sophie in the way that she went from a day to day description, to a faster week by week chapter. Well done!

This book comes out on October 7th 2014, and I will most definitely be getting my copy!

Review post on my blog

As some reviewers have mentioned, Queen of Someday is in fact a Russian version of the show Reign. This is not a good thing.

I'll call Queen of Someday a "Wikipedia Historical". In this regard I mean that the history is shallow enough to be included in a brief Wikipedia entry and nothing more. I understand that the author warned readers that she was not in fact sticking to history but creating her own, but I do not understand the point. Why not just invent entirely different people then? The connection to Catherine the Great is not strong enough to even bother, in my opinion. This is, in fact, the same case for the CW show Reign. Really, why did they bother?

My biggest issue in the novel was the love quadrangle. There was Sophie/Catherine plus Peter III, Sergei and Alexander. One thing I will note is that these are in fact Catherine's lovers, but the timelines are not right. However, why the need to have them all vying for Catherine at the same time? (I tentatively include Peter despite end results.) The author then chose to have a rather crazy series of events occur when it came to Alexander (He is threatened to be killed but Elizabeth marries him off to Sophie's friend instead. Okay, but if Alexander loves Sophie and no one else yadda yadda, well how quickly and happily you got your new wife pregnant eh?. I also did not appreciate that due to Sergei's loyalty (and apparently how much trust Sophie had in him immediately, it was insta-trust), Sophie runs to him in the end and essentially uses him for her own gains/enjoyment rather than attempting to get out of her situation with Peter III.

The main character, Sophie/Catherine, was inconsistent. Her narrative voice even differed from situation to situation. I found her irritating in large part. The beginning where she was worrying more about her ruined dressed than people attempting to kill her and her mother did not help make her likable. Seriously, they're trying to kill you. (I won't even go into the knife skills she apparently had...that was a over the top as well.)

Overall an irritating misuse of history in order to grace us with love quadrangle drama.

Quotes I found...wrong.

Her lips are large and puffy like Elizavetta's, only, somehow, they sit just right on her face. Location 841 Do tell us more!

"He likes military things," I remember.
She looks off in the distance.
"Yes, that's something you can work with."
"How?" I ask.
She sets down her cup of tea. "My first suggestion, have a gown made that greatly resembles a military uniform."
"Then what?" I ask nervously.
She begins a detailed plan of seduction. Location 1341

What the bloody hell is that? A military uniform dress for seduction? Oy.

I received this book from Netgalley and Clean Teen Publishing to review.

 

 

Queen of Someday is an enchanting story that is elegantly written to make your heart ache and swoon. I fell in love with Princess Sophie almost immediately. The book starts off very strong and holds your attention the whole way through. This is a story filled with secrets, betrayal and the feuding between the head and heart

 

There were many lines of this book that I highlighted on my kindle. The writing is marvelous and really conveys the emotions that Sophie feels without spelling it out for you. I loved all of the references to different poems, I found that aspect of this story rather romantic.

 

Princess Sophie goes through quite the dramatic change, we watch her grow into a very different woman as the story progresses. I think that the character development was done very well, as living at court can change a woman drastically.

 

I feel as if many will say that romance was a little rushed and that Sophie fell too hard and too fast. But I believe that is how love happens, especially young love and especially when you find your true love. We can not forget that Sophie is only 15 years old at the start of this story. I would not say that this book contains the dreaded insta-love that we have all grown to hate.

 

I was initially drawn to this story because of the beautiful cover, but the words contained once you open it are twice as beautiful. I would suggest this book to nearly anyone. It is a compelling, quick read. I am very much looking forward to a sequel.