Queen Of Someday by Sherry D Ficklin

3.5 Stars

This was my second read through of the book and I did find myself racing through it but feeling somehow cheated.  I remember it being full of far more intrigue than it actually was.  In effect there is a lot of handwringing and overblown emotions that just overpowered the story for me.  Even worse, I couldn't really understand why Sophie was putting her future in jeopardy by catting around with "the help".  Beyond physical attraction there seemed nothing to draw her to Alexander or Sergei and as things progress the "meeting of minds" thing just fell somehow flat for me.

I don't think it helped that everytime Sophie was depicted as being conflicted about something she would more or less retire to her bed and throw a bit of a strop.  Where was the wild creature who took on bandits with a knife hidden in her boot?  It just felt like as soon as she arrived at the Royal Court all her strength and vivacity drained away and she almost became a simpering pawn in the "game" between the Empress and Peter.

The glimpses of the Court Opulence were well drawn, I just felt like the true lavishness was downplayed a little - probably deliberately as even genuine Historical accounts boggle the readers mind and it is hard to really wrap your head around just how much Show there was.  Knowing where the real Catherine's story went gives me pause as to how the future books will handle her development as a ruler.  Although, the way this book opens shows that this fictionalised version has the spirit to become that leader the way it ends makes it hard to comprehend.

Definitely little in the way of genuine history here but it does give you a little taste and did lead me to do some light research in to the real person.  Some of the highlights of her pre-reign are here but a fresh spin has been placed on them to make it all seem a little more Machiavellian and dangerous for her than it really seems to have been - although History is written by the victors so how much spin Catherine herself put on the reports of her early life and reign is unknown.

I am looking forward to reading the next in the series though, see how that pesky married life works out before becoming Empress Consort.