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carriesouthard's review against another edition
3.0
A lot could have been dropped
Some of this book was really good and really captivating. Some of it, I felt, was completely unnecessary for the development of the story and could’ve been dropped. This made it hard to pay attention to in some parts and found myself having to reread.
Throughout reading the formatting and run on paragraphs really irritated me- it wasn’t until I read the ‘about the author’ section that I learned that this was a translation. I wish I’d known that starting the book but I understand a different language will format a lot different.
Some of this book was really good and really captivating. Some of it, I felt, was completely unnecessary for the development of the story and could’ve been dropped. This made it hard to pay attention to in some parts and found myself having to reread.
Throughout reading the formatting and run on paragraphs really irritated me- it wasn’t until I read the ‘about the author’ section that I learned that this was a translation. I wish I’d known that starting the book but I understand a different language will format a lot different.
nicoyarose's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
slow-paced
3.0
Very long, somewhat interesting. It’s a fine book.
amysbrittain's review against another edition
3.0
It's 1863, and Princess Charlotte, called Empress Carlota by the people, is behind the scenes in Mexico running things for Napoleon III alongside her philandering, frivolous husband Maximilian von Habsburg of Austria. Carlota and Maximilian are meant to squash Juarez's Mexican regime on Napoleon's behalf and establish a stronghold of European rule.
Carlota is smart, savvy, hardworking, and she loves her adopted country of Mexico--the landscape, the language, the foods, the people, and the rhythm of life there. But men are maddeningly following their own whims and wielding the power here as they are everywhere in the world at this time, and Carlota keeps getting her legs swept out from beneath her by the foolish, proud, greedy males in charge.
The rulers and their doomed colonialism aren't welcome, and Carlota trusts those she shouldn't. Her brother in Belgium, her husband, her trusted ladies of the court--all are betraying her in one way or another, and one unmitigated disaster after another is beginning to snowball toward a horrific end to the Europeans' Mexican experiment.
Carlota and Maximilian each begin ill-advised, passionate affairs outside of their loveless marriage--thereby opening themselves up to enormous vulnerabilities, intertwining their own tenuous fates with the shaky future of the kingdom, and potentially laying the groundwork for the destruction of their many ambitious plans.
I think the shifting back and forth in time could have felt jumpy, but it worked well for the story's pacing. I didn't feel emotionally tied to the players, and each turn of events was more ill-fated and darker than the next, all barreling toward ruin and destruction. The story of tragic Carlota was interesting but tough to read because of the increasingly cataclysmal goings-on.
I received a prepublication copy of this book through Amazon Crossing and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I first mentioned this book in the Bossy Bookworm Greedy Reading List (along with The Fighting Bunch and The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, both of which I really liked) Three Books I'm Reading Now, 12/2/20 Edition.
For my full review of this book on the Bossy Bookworm, please see The Empress.
Carlota is smart, savvy, hardworking, and she loves her adopted country of Mexico--the landscape, the language, the foods, the people, and the rhythm of life there. But men are maddeningly following their own whims and wielding the power here as they are everywhere in the world at this time, and Carlota keeps getting her legs swept out from beneath her by the foolish, proud, greedy males in charge.
The rulers and their doomed colonialism aren't welcome, and Carlota trusts those she shouldn't. Her brother in Belgium, her husband, her trusted ladies of the court--all are betraying her in one way or another, and one unmitigated disaster after another is beginning to snowball toward a horrific end to the Europeans' Mexican experiment.
Carlota and Maximilian each begin ill-advised, passionate affairs outside of their loveless marriage--thereby opening themselves up to enormous vulnerabilities, intertwining their own tenuous fates with the shaky future of the kingdom, and potentially laying the groundwork for the destruction of their many ambitious plans.
I think the shifting back and forth in time could have felt jumpy, but it worked well for the story's pacing. I didn't feel emotionally tied to the players, and each turn of events was more ill-fated and darker than the next, all barreling toward ruin and destruction. The story of tragic Carlota was interesting but tough to read because of the increasingly cataclysmal goings-on.
I received a prepublication copy of this book through Amazon Crossing and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I first mentioned this book in the Bossy Bookworm Greedy Reading List (along with The Fighting Bunch and The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, both of which I really liked) Three Books I'm Reading Now, 12/2/20 Edition.
For my full review of this book on the Bossy Bookworm, please see The Empress.
elishabird's review against another edition
2.0
I rarely write reviews but given the low rating I gave the book, it seems unfair not to give reasons for such strong criticism. Conceptually, the book is fascinating- given its basis as historical fiction, it doesn’t follow a predictable everyone wins in the end story arc. While sad, it is refreshing to read something unique. That said the execution of putting the concept into story form needs significant editing.
Most problematic- the book shifts times and perspectives frequently. At the beginning of some chapters, the shift is noted with a reference to a geographical location and a date. However, other chapters do not have such a designation even though the perspective has shifted. Given that the plot involves some elements of a mystery, this can lead to a lot of confusion. Sometimes several paragraphs in a chapter had to be read before you could tell which characters perspective was involved and whether you were reading about the beginning of the story or the end. Far and away, some simple edits to provide consistency in communicating to readers which timeframe each chapter focused on would help the book’s readability enormously. One caveat - there were chapters where the perspective shifted within the chapter without warning (ie- narrated by one character initially and then changing to another character mid-chapter). This also could be confusing and will not be fixed by the chapter headings.
The second major flaw - the narrative was extremely repetitive in both small ways and also across the greater plot line. Several times entire paragraphs in close proximity repeated the same concepts. Beyond just the over verbose nature of these localized areas, the same flaw appeared on major plot points. What was stated in one chapter (frequently as a key to some of the mystery in the story) was then repeated again. While some of this was clearly intended as a rhetorical method, it was either overused or sloppily edited. The book would be greatly improved by focusing on providing key details once, explaining them adequately that first time, then trusting that readers are paying sufficient attention to find their significance. Significant editing could solve this problem.
Also, the book opens with a very descriptive and detailed sex scene. While I understood the relevance to the plot by midway through the book, such an explicit start almost led to me putting the book down as I did not wish to read something that bordered on verbal pornography-especially if that would be the theme of the whole book. It was not. However, that also affected my opinion.
Most problematic- the book shifts times and perspectives frequently. At the beginning of some chapters, the shift is noted with a reference to a geographical location and a date. However, other chapters do not have such a designation even though the perspective has shifted. Given that the plot involves some elements of a mystery, this can lead to a lot of confusion. Sometimes several paragraphs in a chapter had to be read before you could tell which characters perspective was involved and whether you were reading about the beginning of the story or the end. Far and away, some simple edits to provide consistency in communicating to readers which timeframe each chapter focused on would help the book’s readability enormously. One caveat - there were chapters where the perspective shifted within the chapter without warning (ie- narrated by one character initially and then changing to another character mid-chapter). This also could be confusing and will not be fixed by the chapter headings.
The second major flaw - the narrative was extremely repetitive in both small ways and also across the greater plot line. Several times entire paragraphs in close proximity repeated the same concepts. Beyond just the over verbose nature of these localized areas, the same flaw appeared on major plot points. What was stated in one chapter (frequently as a key to some of the mystery in the story) was then repeated again. While some of this was clearly intended as a rhetorical method, it was either overused or sloppily edited. The book would be greatly improved by focusing on providing key details once, explaining them adequately that first time, then trusting that readers are paying sufficient attention to find their significance. Significant editing could solve this problem.
Also, the book opens with a very descriptive and detailed sex scene. While I understood the relevance to the plot by midway through the book, such an explicit start almost led to me putting the book down as I did not wish to read something that bordered on verbal pornography-especially if that would be the theme of the whole book. It was not. However, that also affected my opinion.
jordana_dear's review against another edition
4.0
Beautiful Story
It may take some time to adjust to the writing style, understanding this was translated to English, and it's timeline as it bounces back and forth to different points of the story and history but overall it was a beautiful story and leaves you feeling a little heartbroken for Carlotta.
It may take some time to adjust to the writing style, understanding this was translated to English, and it's timeline as it bounces back and forth to different points of the story and history but overall it was a beautiful story and leaves you feeling a little heartbroken for Carlotta.
inkspots's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
slow-paced
3.0
cassia8720's review against another edition
5.0
This was not my usual reading genre but the peek into Mexican history and heritage was too fascinating for me to put it down.
sammy_'s review against another edition
4.0
This semi-true story sheds interesting light on a period of history I knew nothing about, when an Austrian Archduke and his wife (the eponymous Empress) were installed on the throne of Mexico by conservative Mexicans in an attempt to establish a European-style monarchy. I don’t think it’s a spoiler (since you’re told from the outset, and we know that modern-day Mexico isn’t a monarchy!) to say that the attempt failed. This is ultimately a compelling story of how, told through the eyes of the Empress, Carlota, and her Mexican ladies-in-waiting (one of whom is not all she seems). It’s also a story about the extent to which women could - and couldn’t - wield power in the 19th century. An enjoyable and thought-provoking read which left me wanting to learn more about this period.