The synopsis for Hall of Mirrors was very intriguing and the cover is beautiful and fitting. Unfortunately, the book didn't live up to my expectations. Having so many characters quickly introduced in the first few chapters made it difficult to remember who they were. The constant switching of how some characters were referred to made it unnecessarily confusing. The backstories were executed well, but I never felt connected to any of the characters and they lacked depth.

I think Hall of Mirrors would be a good TV show, but unfortunately the book fell short.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I read this ARC for an honest review
All thoughts and opinons are mine

A new author to me, I thoroughly enjoyed this
Fantastic premise, loved the historical detail
Can't recomment this enough

I just finished reading "Hall of Mirrors" by Roxanne Lalande. I have mixed feelings about the book. Lalande is a good writer, and I enjoyed that she researched historical details for the novel. In fact, her descriptions are the best thing about the book.

I didn't really enjoy the story about two lesser noble ladies who try to figure out what the significance of a locket are. They involved themselves with the Grande Dauphine and the wife of the king's brother in order to figure out the mystery. So I thought maybe it would be a mystery. Then, we get into the sordid details of certain men at court. And we get some romantic triangles thrown in. The focus seems to change a few times, and I was not really sure of the point.

Overall, read if you enjoy details about life at Versailles including the not so savory ones.

I received an ARC of this book as a reviewer for NetGalley.

Fans of good historical fiction … this is your book.
A well written well designed plot that accurately reflect the dangerous intrigues of Louis XIV court.
A mystery around a silver locket peppered with lust power and jealousies. I was transported.

I have bathed in the royal French history and felt that the life at the palace was correctly portrayed. The historical facts were solid (which unfortunately is not always the case for historical fiction) and the suspense kept my interest. There wasn’t a mind blowing big reveal but it was adequate.
I would definitively recommend this novel.

Thank you to The Book Whisperer and to Roxanne Lalande and for the ARC in exchange for an unbiased review. It was my true pleasure.

Beneath the glamour and opulence of the court of the Sun King in Versailles lurks a secret, danger and court intrigues are abound.

This is a very well historical researched book with compelling characters, by combining historical characters and real events with a fascinating court mystery it brings to life the reign of Louis XIV and will keep you reading until you finish the story, you want to know what happens.

I recommend this book to anyone who loves historical fiction.

Thanks Netgalley, Book Whisperer and the author for my ARC.

I loved Dumas and his musketeers, Milady and even Cardinal himself. I had such great hopes for Hall of Mirrors...

Don't get me wrong. I read it through to the end. It turned out to be a well put together read. However, it falied when it came to plot, suspense and solving the mystery. The aftertaste is a bit sour. The end turned out to be lacking and... missing the point.

Hall of Mirrors had a promise to be a high-stakes, dynamic thriller about goings on at the court of The Sun King: secret societies, intrigues, love affairs and more. It set the place, populated it with real historical figures and made up characters... picked interest, pushed all the right buttons... and let it slide and dissolve.

Having finished the book I kept thinking 'what was the...?'

Roxanne Lalande’s “Hall of Mirrors: A Spellbinding Intrigue Set in the Court of Louis XIV” is an interesting mystery ground in the intrigue of the court.

Set in the Palace of Versailles, Court of Sun King, Louis the XIV. Amidst the lush and opulent surroundings of the Court lies, intrigue, deception, promiscuity, sorcery, a secret society and murder.

Duchess Elizabeth Charlotte d’Orleans, the ostracized second wife of the King’s brother is determined to uncover the secrets and perhaps why her husband‘s first wife died, when human remains and a silver locket are found on the estate next to the palace of Versailles. She and her staff set out to discover the story behind the find.

I loved the authors account of historical figures and the machinations of court life. The premise for the story was excellent, well written and the authors research was impeccable. The mystery was interesting but the reveals lacked something. All in all it’s an intriguing story. I did enjoy reading about the court life.

Thank you so much Ms. Lalande for this story. An ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is yet another historical fiction book set in 1682 which I read while reading another historical fiction book set in wartime.

A shortish book at 226 pages I am glad it wasn't any longer. I found it didn't grab my attention, it didn't flow so well and it wasn't as exciting as I had expected. To me the characters were lack-lustre but there were a few twists and turns which kept me reading a bit longer.

It is I suppose an historical mystery but it didn't have the heart-racing story to go along with it. I read it to the end but I did struggle a bit (maybe because I was reading another book that was so enthralling at the same time).

I am interested in pre-revolutionary France, especially the rule of the Sun King, and have been ever since I read Roasalind Laker’s To Dance with Kings, then there was the interesting Versailles series that aired a couple of years ago, so I was happy to get a copy of Hall of Mirrors.

The story follows Mathilde and Robin as they discover a locket and a burned body at the estate of Robin’s uncle. This starts a mystery that Mathilde is determined to solve with the help of her friends and her Mistress, the second wife of Phillipe Duc D’Orleans, Elizabeth Charlotte, also known as Liselotte. Liselotte does not fit in well at Versailles or as Phillipe’s wife (of course women were not his forte) and she feels that she is always in the shadow of his first wife Henrietta, the sister of Charles the second. Henrietta died young and in mysterious circumstances, some whisper that she was murdered by a jealous lover of Phiilip’s.

I enjoyed the book. I love the time period and the story was engaging. For fan’s of historical fiction, I would recommend giving this book a try.

Thanks to Netgalley, The Book Whisperer and the author Roxanne Lalande for the chance to read and review this book.

Such vivid descriptions and lively characters make this the type of book you can genuinely get lost in. A fascinating setting for a dark mystery - the Palace of Versailles!

I cannot in all honesty give a thorough review of this book. It is poorly written, even ridiculous at times. Passive voice, awkward sentence structure, and a tendency to describe or state what is happening made it difficult to develop interest in the plot. The character speak in a way that seems contrived. Like the author is writing what she thinks the 18th century French nobility would say, instead of giving the characters an authentic voice. I did not finish the book, but I do like the premise. If the author makes extensive editorial revisions I would be happy to revisit and give it another chance.

When human remains and a silver locket are found on the estate next to the palace of Versailles, Duchess Elizabeth Charlotte d’Orleans is determined to find out who they belong to even putting her own safety at risk.

The bare bones of this story were fantastic, a typical who done it murder mystery, set in the Palace of Versailles with Louis the XIV. But for me that was the only good thing about the story. There were to many characters to keep them straight in my head and the writing was sometimes confusing and did not make sense. I also felt that it lacked the suspense to keep me turning the pages.

This book was well researched and I did love how the author used real life historical figures to flesh out the story.

Hall of Mirrors is a beautiful period piece set in France. With so many characters working togther for a common goal though they don't know it Roxanne Lalande tells a beautiful story.
So if you're looking to go back in time a bit then this is the book for you.

Thank you Netgalley, author, and the publishers for allowing me the opportunity to read this e-arc.

A historical murder mystery set in the court of King Louis XIV in Versaille, the seat of opulence itself. Clues to murder are found by duchess Elisabeth Charlotte d’Orleans staff member and she will find the answers. The Dutchess and four others of her staff set off to the darker side of the Sun Kings court.

*Historical
*Romance with ++ spice
*Thriller
*Murder

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC. This review was completely mine and written in my words based on my opinion.

An intriguing historical fiction novel. The story is set at Versailles (France) during the reign of Louis XIV, the Sun king.
Mathilde, a lady-in-waiting at the Court of King Louis, finds a locket that is bound to some horrible events. Mathilde informs her friend Catherine about the find and an investigation is started. The ladies they’re serving also get involved and we get to read about all the intrigues at the Royal Court. Vengeance, love, a little spice and that’s the basis for this story.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early e-arc of this novel..*

I am not usually into historical fiction at all. But this cover spoke to me. The art and mystery portrayed was everything I wanted.

When I started the book I enjoyed the pacing and style of writing.

The mystery was there and I was guessing for quite a bit of the book. But the thriller aspect wasn’t there for me.

Overall this book was not for me. I would give a 2 star review. I’m shocked I even finished it and if not for netgalley I would not have.

The Hall of Mirrors has a perfectly delicious setting for an intriguing thriller: a murder mystery at the palace of Versailles under Louis XIV. In this setting, the discovery of human remains and a mysterious locket compels Elisabeth Charlotte d’Orleans to investigate and uncover a troubling secret that potentially puts her own life in danger.

While the set-up is fine, the book itself was disappointing for me. There's too much going on and the writing was often confusing in addition to feeling too stilted, which makes the story feel more casual rather than urgent--something needed to propel the story when writing about murders, secrets, and other thrilling topics. Far too often the most shocking or intriguing parts of the story were relegated to letters which described the events to the intended recipient, robbing them of their impact. Unfortunately, this gave the book an overall slow, colorless feeling for me.

I did like the emphasis on the frustrating nature of life at the court of Versailles under Louis XIV, with strict impositions, a constant focus on the desires of Louis XIV, the need to be constantly on your toes, deal with gossip which has the potential to ruin your life, etc. I just wish the book's primary murder mystery had as much life as the sections focusing on the psychological impact of living at Versailles.

[I received a copy of this work from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58510694-hall-of-mirrors

I loved this time period and locale. So vivid and intriguing. I didn’t know anything about the Sun King. Thank you NetGalley! A great read. Highly recommended!

I was looking around for something in the vein of Wolf Hall and Roxanne Lalande's Hall of Mirrors ticked so many boxes for me. While Hall of Mirrors is set in France in the court of the Sun King, Louis XIV, and not in Tudor England, it gave the same full-bodied atmosphere and attention to detail as Mantel's trilogy. The writing and character development were nicely executed and made for a satisfying read. All in all, I enjoyed this book and will definitely be keeping an eye out for this author's future work.