A very interesting book about Napoleon's first fiancé, a young girl living in Marseilles. She ultimately becomes Queen of Sweden. I had never heard of this woman, but her life story makes a great historical novel. If you have any interest in French history, you'll want to read this book. It moves along at a good pace, with interesting historical characters, set against the French Revolution and Napoleon's reign.

Another great historical fiction read by Allison pataki! I’ve always found Napoléon and Joséphine really fascinating, so it was interesting to read from the point of view of napoleons former fiancé. The only complaint I have is it was incredibly long. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free copy in exchange for review.

4.5/5

I loved this book! Allison Pataki really captured the love affair between Napoleon and Desiree, the heartbreak and the shifts in their lives. I really enjoyed this story and would highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in historical fiction, French history, Napoleon or the lives of leaders before they became the men and women they were.

I love Allison Pataki's books. She takes historical fiction to a new level. I love her imaginings of what might have happened during this time period. I don't know much about the French Revolution and Napolean, but she gave me a taste of it. Her characters are rich and multi dimensional. I enjoyed the story of Desiree which I had never heard of before. This book makes me want to further explore the story of Napolean Bonaparte. Thanky you Ne tGalley for the chance to read this novel. High recommended.

I enjoyed this book immensely. Judging by the synopsis, I first thought that there was more invention than truth to this story. I was amazed to learn that I was wrong. Desiree Clary's journey from a fatherless 16 year old girl in France to becoming the Queen of Sweden and all of the events in between was a fascinating tale.

There was more politics in this book than I cared for, but at the same time, learning more about France and the Revolution couldn't hurt. Overall a great read.

Thanks to Netgalley and Ballantine Books for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.

I received early access to this book (scheduled for publication Feb 11, 2020) in exchange for writing an impartial review. I have read nearly all of Allison Pataki’s books and am a huge fan. This one however let me down. It’s not bad; just not up to the standard I’ve come to expect from this author. 3.5 stars is probably more accurate.

What you have here is a truly fascinating character in Desiree Clary, a little known historical figure who survived France’s Reign of Terror, was briefly engaged to Napoleon Bonaparte, became an attendant to Empress Josephine, and wound up as Queen of Sweden. What Pataki tries to do is flesh out this woman’s remarkable life.

But while I agree that Desiree’s life and this historical period are captivating, the narrative didn’t quite hang together as it might have. Certainly there’s plenty of drama to keep you turning the pages. And it certainly begins well enough.

Desiree is a child at the start of the book, telling about her experiences of fear and hunger following the French Revolution. Chance brings her into the orbit of Bonaparte, a young, talented, and ambitious soldier with big dreams. He’s unlike anyone else and they become engaged. However, once Femme Fatale Josephine enters the picture, the book seems to shift from Desiree’s first-person viewpoint to that of Desiree as more of an observer, focusing on the story of Bonaparte and Josephine.

Theirs is certainly an interesting story. But for me, it’s much more interesting to read historical fiction directly from a participant. Less so when the story is told solely through one character’s observations of others. It’s as though we are suddenly one step removed from the action, with no opportunity for the kind of first hand information that, for example, you can “witness” when a married couple is speaking privately. And while Desiree is busy telling us about the Emperor and his wife, her own life gets much less attention, mostly sidelined.

Later, when Bonaparte begins to lose power, we again pick up Desiree’s own more direct story. But shortly thereafter, the narrative starts to skip big chunks of time as we suddenly fly from milestone to milestone in Desiree’s later life. For example, one chapter tells the story of her son’s marriage. The next picks up decades later when it’s time for her husband to die. Then, next section, it’s 16 years later still and Desiree is near death herself.

Since the story had been, up to this point, following events quite closely and sequentially, It suddenly felt to me like the narrative had segments dropped. Almost as though once Napoleon and Josephine disappeared, it was time to quickly close Desiree’s story. As though her story didn’t have sufficient merit of its own, once she was no longer in Napoleon’s orbit.

If you have an interest in Napoleonic history, you’ll want to read this one. He doesn’t come off as much of a hero. In fact he’s not very likable at all. Nor is Josephine. I just didn’t feel the book did justice to Desiree’s story. And that’s what Pataki said (in the Afterword) that she was trying to do.

Allison Pataki does it again! (but then, I think I say that with each of her books, they are all so good!).

Desiree Clary is an important part of Napoleon's life. Perhaps she's his first love, he's certainly hers. She becomes engaged to him early in his career, but he moves on and dumps her as he becomes more and more powerful and marries Joséphine de Beauharnais . But Desiree is no shrinking violet, and when her sister marries Joseph, Napoleon's brother, she can't avoid Napoleon, although she tries. Eventually she falls in love with and marries Jean Baptiste Jules Bernadotte who eventually becomes King of Sweden. Desiree is a key player in these times; at once a rival of Empress Josephine but also a confidant and friend. She is a behind the scenes advisor to her husband and to many others, including her brother in law and a skilled navigator of the politically tenuous times. .

The Queen's Fortune is a stunning portrait of the most extraordinary woman you never heard of. Wife, mother, political advisor, and queen, the story of Desiree is beyond amazing, from her engagement to Napoleon to her crowning as Queen of Sweden, Desiree is quietly influential across a politically fraught landscape. Her's is a story that very well told in The Queen's Fortune.

First let me say how much I have enjoyed this author's previous work. The two books she wrote about Sisi (Empress of Austria) are among my favorite books ever. I was excited to read this book and it doesn't disappoint! Most people know about Napoleon Bonaparte and his lady love Josephine. Another lady was highly involved in their lives and needed to be remembered. Allison Pataki has certainly filled that blank spot. This book tells the story of Desiree Clary Bernadotte, Napoleon's first fiancee. She lived an amazing life, an unbelievable life and we didn't learn about this lady in school! How did my "Women in History" class miss her? She became Queen of Sweden, among other things. This is a must read for Historical Fiction Fans! I recommend this book and this author highly!
Also, I can't just not mention Sisi, Empress of Austria again. Such amazing reading!!
I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley. I love you, Netgalley!
This book comes to stores in February 2020. I will own a copy for my home library!
All opinions are my own. Way more than five stars!!

I love historical fiction. Allison Pataki has a way of bringing it to life and making you feel like you are right there in the story. This book is no different. I enjoyed reading about Napoleon, from his humble beginnings, all the way to his death. The author has done her research and has brilliantly composed a book that i could not put down. 5+ stars. This is a great read and teaches you some history as well. This author is always a must read for me.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I love historical fiction so this book caught my attention when I saw the cover and read the description. I liked it because it was a book about a part of history I never read about before. I would definitely recommend this book to a friend. I can't wait to see what the author comes up with next.

This book was received as an ARC from Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine Ballantine Books in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

This was by far the Historical Fiction novel that just blew my mind. This book had drama all around that was super enticing and juicy that it made you not want to stop. The relationships that become tangled with Desiree and her family members marrying family of ruler Napoleon Bonaparte and that ignites a potential relationship with Napoleon and Desiree until he meets the fair maiden Josephine de Beauharnais destined for one another. Now with a broken heart and vulnerable as ever, Desiree meets Napoleon's confidant and star general Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte who later becomes a rival of Napoleon and now Desiree's world has been shaken up to the nth degree and she is now faced with a difficult choice between her new man or the nation that she loves and its Emperor. Action Drama packed that will leave you speechless with your mouth wide opened. I can't wait to pass this along to our community and have them experience it for themselves.

We will consider adding this title to our Historical Fiction collection at the library. That is why we give this book 5 stars.

The book commences just prior to the French “Reign of Terror” (1789) in Marseille, France. It centers around two daughters (Julie & Désirée) of upper class who fear for their family during these uncertain times. The King and Queen have been tried for treason and executed. Julie and Désirée’s brother has been arrested and jailed and they attempt to beg for his release.

Joseph Bonaparte spots Désirée in line to plea for her brother’s cause. He uses his social connections to save their brother Nicolas, managing to have him released from prison (and skirting the infamous guillotine). Later Nicolas calls upon the two sisters, bringing his brother along - Napoleon! And so the two love stories begin.

Julie marries Joseph while Désirée is courted by Napoleon. One late night Désirée and Napoleon declare their love for each other under the stars and secretly become engaged.

Napoleon goes off to war and and soon his love for Désirée wanes. She senses such in his letters as they become less romantic and more chastising. Soon she learns Napoleon has taken a new lover with much fervor - his Creole Joséphine! Napoleon’s mother and sisters despise Joséphine for many reasons. Her social reputation (a horizontal), her inability to produce an heir and her lavish spending. They would much preferred he had married Désirée!

Napoleon’s love for Joséphine is like no other. However, her inability to give Napoleon what he needs most - a male heir who can perpetuate his reign, proves her downfall. Joséphine already has a son and a daughter and is several years older than Napoleon when they wed.

Because Désirée is Napoleon’s sister-in-law, she is obligated to be a part of Napoleon & Joséphine’s court, where she is introduced to one of Napoleon’s soldiers, Bernadotte. They quickly fall in love and marry. Over time Désirée befriends Josephine; out of obligation first, then perhaps later out of pity. Napoleon eventually divorces Joséphine in an effort to gain an heir. His family is delighted but the irony is that with an heir, they will inherit nothing. Perhaps Joséphine wasn’t so bad after all?

Napoleon grows increasingly unhappy with Bernadotte. Was is because he was jealous Désirée had given him a son? Bernadotte is offered his own kingdom from Sweden, a then ally of Napoleon’s vast empire. He accepts and soon finds himself in war against both his longtime colleague Napoleon and his beloved France.

Joséphine dies of a broken heart and Napoleon dies while in exile. But only after writing his memoirs, which shed an unfavorable light on Désirée and Bernadotte.

The story concludes with the reign of Sweden by Bernadotte and Désirée. Their son Oscar marries the granddaughter of Joséphine, who gives him several sons. Napoleon died without a son to assume his reign, though he was exiled, while Désirée and Joséphine left quite the legacy.

I love reading historical fiction and Allison Pataki does not disappoint! She does much research to bring forward the women behind Europe’s great rulers. There’s even a connection to a previous book of hers - The Accidental Empress.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for an honest review.

Thank You to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for providing me with an ARC in return for my honest opinions

7.5/10. A good read, if you're able to ignore the injustices of the day. As a historical guilty pleasure read, The Queen's fortune was captivating, romantic and held enough petty intrigue to lure and trap a reader. It was a graceful and stylish read that whisked it's audience back to a forgotten time and a romance that didn't make many history books. We could feel this character's brush with greatness and the poignant loss of love and the need for family. The author's prose was admirable and accomplished the goal of drawing us into her heroine's life. So why didn't this get a higher score from me? the simple answer, the book tried to turn a blind eye at injustices commited both towards the characters and towards unseen masses. Yes, the author briefly mentions the evils of slavery, but only to establish that a character "doesn't really" support that. It feels like, as an audience, we are expected to look at crumbs of goodness as substitutes for intact moral character. Honestly, I would've preffered the book if I had felt that the author was trying to send an honest message about the people surrounding Dessiree, rather than feeble attempts to sway us on their morality given a common understood knowledge that speaks the opposite. I enjoyed the book. But that wasn't enough for me to ignore the actual history the book is based upon.

Note: I reviewed an ARC provided to me from Netgalley.

In historical fiction, I require the following:

*Characters that interest me;
*Reasonable fidelity to the known characteristics of famous individuals;
*Reasonable fidelity to historical events
*Something that has its own story, such that I don't feel I'm reading an encyclopedia article.
*And, okay, I admit it--pretty dresses. Don't hate!

"The Queen's Fortune" provides this in spades. The book revolves around the story of Napoleon's first fiancee and her own ascendancy to the historical spotlight. Desiree Clary makes for a truly fascinating story, and Allison Pataki does her justice. Both Napoleon and Josephine appear here as complex individuals, too, and I particularly appreciated how Pataki handled the relationship between Josephine and Desiree. Despite their obvious initial rivalry, the book tosses that aside and makes their connection about more than a man. Brava to Pataki for a truly fun historical romp; I will be going back and reading more of her back catalogue.

I have always enjoyed reading Allison Pataki and this book did not disappoint. Everybody knows the history of Napoleon and Josephine Bonaparte but very few people know about Désirée Clary, his former fiance. The story starts off with the Clary family who are rich merchants during the French Revolution. The family fears being sent to the guillotine as their country goes through sweeping changes. Désirée first meets Joseph Bonaparte who marries Désirée's sister, Julie. Désirée and Napoleon have a love affair and plan to marry. Of course, we know he marries Josephine de Beauharnais instead. Désirée ends up marrying, Marshall Jean Baptiste Bernadotte and becoming the Queen of Sweden. After reading the book I wondered if history would have been different if Désirée and Napoleon would have gotten married.

Desiree Clary's life is turned upside down when the Revolution begins in France. When she meets the ambitious soldier, Napoleon Bonaparte, she quickly becomes secretly engaged to him. But marriage to the military prodigy is not to be, and she must learn to find her way among the ever-changing French capital.

I don't know a great deal about French history, so I found this woman's life to be fascinating. She goes from a country belle to queen of a country in the span of her lifetime, with a multitude of other experiences in between. While this is a fictional telling of it all, it has its basis in fact. What a life this woman had!

The writing is excellent and the plot moves at a fast pace. The one qualm I had was the sex scene. I wondered why it was even included since it added nothing to the story, but it too had a basis in fact. When writing his memoirs, Bonaparte wrote -for all the world to know- how he had slept with Desiree and felt obliged to see her married when he was in a position to influence matters. (Not cool, Bonaparte.) And while the scene wasn't written in great detail, it was enough to make me uncomfortable.

Aside from that, it was an interesting read. I would recommend it to readers looking for a remarkable heroine to get behind.

Like the author of this book, I knew nothing about the main character, Desiree. In the span of a few hundred pages, Pataki introduced me to and charmed me with one of the most fascinating females in history. Through Pataki’s prose, I felt as if I were right along side this amazing women and queen through her entire life. This was truly and enjoyable read!

Author Allison Pataki has done it again.
Telling the story of Desiree Clary, who almost became Napoleon Bonaparte's wife before being spurned by him in favor of Josephine de Beauharnais. She later marries his confidant and star general and the two men become rivals. A blurb describes this book as "meticulously researched and brilliantly imagined" - which perfectly describes the wonderful weaving of fact and fiction in this story, the sign of the best historical fiction writers. Pataki's style is smooth and vivid, making you feel like you've stepped back in time and you're witnessing the rise, and subsequent fall, of Napoleon right along with main character Desiree.

I requested this book simply because it had ties to the Swedish royal family. Weird, since, as an American, we don't really have links to royalty, except for England maybe with Meghan, Duchess of Sussex now (who I also adore). However, the Swedish royal family, namely Crown Princess Victoria, fascinate me! So this book, a background on the first Bernadotte family, who CP Victoria is a descendant, seemed interesting to me and it was! I had no idea the first Désirée, Desideria as they wanted to call her, was secretly engaged to another powerful ruler...Even though she was devastated by that loss, she seems to have gotten the better end as her descendants are still prominent. CP Victoria even holds her name as one of her middle names, which is also her aunt's name, so it has remained quite prominent in the Bernadotte family. This book was fascinating and I lost sleep reading it! Such an interesting look into the history of France and beginnings of the Bernadotte family in Sweden.

Désirée Clary is the daughter of a wealthy silk merchant in Marseille, France. Her sister, Julie, is older, but Désirée is the beauty. They meet Joseph and Napoleon Bonaparte, and their lives are never the same. Julie marries Joseph Bonaparte. Désirée is courted by Napoleon and then is secretly engaged to him. Napoleon is very ambitious and is frequently away conquering other countries. He makes excuses for not seeing Désirée until she learns of the presence of Josephine in his life. Because of the connection between her sister and brother-in-law, Désirée is connected to Napoleon for the remainder of his life. He tries to marry her off to an older man while in Italy. That fails when the man is killed. She meets Jean-Batiste Bernadotte at a ball thrown by Joséphine and Napoleon. They marry, Bernadotte is a high ranking official in Napoleon’s army. Désirée is part of Josephine’s court.

There is much detail given to the lives of Napoleon and Joséphine. One truly wonders why the French people tolerated this having just overthrown the last royals. Joséphine seems to be just as flagrant in her waste of money as Marie Antoinette. Josephine’s big mistake was that she never gave Napoleon an heir. It’s obvious that she was the great love of his life. But who was the great love of Desiree’s life? Was it Napoleon or Bernadotte?

Although I love reading historical fiction, I was not aware of Désirée Clary. I loved her story. The author does a terrific job conveying it. You feel as though you know Désirée, what’s important to her, what makes her tick. There is even a connection to Siri, the Empress of Austria, in the book. There was not a slow part in this book where I felt I could put it down. I was angry I had to stop reading to go to work, cook and act productive! It is very well written. If you love historical fiction, don’t miss this one!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.