I received a temporary digital copy of The Embroidered Book by Kate Heartfield from NetGalley, Harper Voyager and the author in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Queens Maria Carolina and Marie Antoinette sit on the Naples and French thrones, young, alone, and miles away from their home. As children, the two girls discovered a book of spells, which they interpreted as best they could and used to their advantage in court. However, each spell requires a sacrifice, sometimes trivial, other times as great as love for another. The two sisters will use their magical knowledge to guide them through their reign, making friends and enemies along the way, and maybe even taking down one another.

The Embroidered Book was hands down creative. It was really fun to read of the spells Maria Carolina and Marie Antoinette creates in order to assist them as queens. Heartfield uses magic to explain natural disasters, court rivalries, ailments, relationships, and politics. It truly sparks one's imagination and was extremely innovative. Like many of the other reviewers, I found that this book went on just a tad bit too long. I think 100 pages could have easily been cut out.

The beast of Naples, aka the 16-year-old King Ferdinand — magic gloves, a book of coded spells and Austrian Princesses — intruiging and political scheming, reminiscent of Phillipa Gregory but with spells. Working their ways into the courts with secrets, and rule breaking rituals. But … ultimately, even with all that loveliness, the story moved a bit slowly and with this particular writing style, I didn’t really become invested in any of the characters. .

The Embroidered Book is everything I've been wanting in a book since FOREVER!

-Historical setting
-Magic!
- Royalty from our real world, a la Marie Antoinette and Charlotte from the Habsburg dynasty
- Sisterhood
-Fantasy
_ Complicated relationships (forced marriage, becoming enemies,etc. )
- Mystery

I give this read 5 stars, as it has been one of my favorite reads of 2023 and I'm so excited for everyone else to read it. I'm definitely buying a physical copy when it releases, and possibly gifting a copy to my sister and best friend.

The Embroidered Book by Kate Heartfield is a captivating historical novel that tells the story of Charlotte and Antoine, two sisters who use a book of spells to take control of their lives during a time of vicious court politics and change in the 18th century. Charlotte, daughter of the Habsburg Empress, travels to Naples to marry a man she has never met, while her sister Antoine is sent to France and renamed Marie Antoinette. The book of spells that they discovered as children proves to be a powerful tool, but every spell comes with a sacrifice, and as their love turns to rivalry, Europe is sent spiraling into revolution.

Heartfield's writing is beautiful and descriptive, transporting readers to the opulent courts of Europe in the 18th century. The characters are well-developed, with Charlotte and Antoine's sisterly bond being a highlight of the novel. The use of magic adds a unique and intriguing twist to the historical fiction genre, and the consequences of each spell keep readers on the edge of their seats.

Overall, The Embroidered Book is a captivating and entertaining read that is perfect for fans of historical fiction and magical realism.

There were many things about this I liked: the setting, the magic system, it was EXTREMELY well researched. It had all the best ingredients for an incredibly rich and immersive read, but unfortunately it fell flat for me

The use of 3rd person/present tense felt very clinical, and it was extremely difficult to feel connected to the characters. The storytelling was sterile and in some places very boring. I felt very little emotional connection to the characters and the character’s own emotions did not shine through because of the detached narration of the story. It ended up feeling very two dimensional.

I wanted to like this, it is just the sort of historical fantasy I love, but it just didn’t strike the target.

*I reviewed this ARC from NetGalley for my honest review.

I enjoyed this book, and its story of Marie Antoinette and her sister Charlotte. I do believe it could have been cut down some, as it is quite long, and some of it felt unneeded. The author did a good job with research for the book.
I really disliked Charlotte. Her character was very narcissistic in my opinion. Even when she was suppose to be helping others, I felt like she was still looking for what she could get out of it.
Overall, the book was well written, and I would suggest it to anyone who likes historical fiction.

This was a lengthy and sometimes wordy book. The whole magic concept, The Order, etc. were a little distracting for me, and I usually really enjoy magic intertwined within a story. It would be hard for me to truly leave it in the historical fiction category. The historical events were accurate and you can tell the author did her research before diving in to writing. Sometimes the time jumps worked but at times I wish we could have seen more of what happened during those times. I would have enjoyed it more if it was a little shorter, but that is just how my attention span for books is personally! I would try another book by this author.