Thanks to Shadow Mountain Publishing, NetGalley, and Austen Prose for this free digital copy in exchange for an honest review. This book is out 10/4!
I’m excited to be today’s stop for the “In the Shadow of a Queen” book tour!
Book Details:
“Based on the True Story of the Free-Spirited Daughter of Queen Victoria.
Princess Louise’s life is upended after her father’s untimely death. Captive to the queen’s overwhelming mourning, Louise is forbidden to leave her mother’s tight circle of control and is eventually relegated to the position of personal secretary to her mother―the same position each of her sisters held until they were married.
Already an accomplished painter, Louise risks the queen’s wrath by exploring the art of sculpting, an activity viewed as unbefitting a woman. When Louise involves herself in the day’s political matters, including championing the career of a female doctor and communicating with suffragettes, the queen lays down the law to stop her and devotes her full energy to finding an acceptable match for her defiant daughter.
Louise is considered the most beautiful and talented daughter of Queen Victoria but finding a match for the princess is no easy feat. Protocols are broken, and Louise exerts her own will as she tries to find an open-minded husband who will support her free spirit.
In the Shadow of a Queen is the story of a battle of wills between two women: a daughter determined to forge her own life beyond the shadow of her mother, and a queen resolved to keep the Crown’s reputation unsullied no matter the cost.”
I really don’t know a lot about Queen Victoria and her children, so this novel based on the life of Queen Victoria’s daughter Princess Louise was super interesting! She was a trailblazer in her own right and I definitely want to learn more about her. I really enjoyed seeing Louise’s relationships with her family as well as her growth throughout the novel. I thought Moore did a great job of moving the reader through time and did a great job of fleshing out each character–even the ones that weren’t in the main focus. Additionally, one of my favorite parts of this story is how Princess Louise found her way to make her own choices within the confines of the royal family–I found the romance in this novel especially sweet.
I definitely recommend for fans of historical fiction–especially as it relates to the British Royal Family! Moore includes an informative author’s note as well as extensive chapter notes at the end, which I found extremely helpful.
AUTHOR BIO
Heather B. Moore is a USA Today best-selling and award-winning author of more than seventy publications, including The Paper Daughters of Chinatown. She has lived on both the East and West Coasts of the United States, as well as Hawaii, and attended school abroad at the Cairo American Collage in Egypt and the Anglican School of Jerusalem in Israel. She loves to learn about history and is passionate about historical research.
The Bookish Bird 