I really enjoyed this book. The main character Jac is so interesting especially considering the time frame the story takes place. She wants all the things a young lady of the court shouldn't want. There's lots of adventure in this story and twists and turns. I couldn't put it down.

A girl with secrets is torn between loyalty to her family, her best friend, and her heart, in the dangerous court of Charles IX of France.

There’s a real skill to being able to help situate the reader in a historical story like this and it’s done very well here. The worldbuilding and exposition are interesting and largely seamless, not holding the narrative up, and I think the supernatural elements will make it of interest to a broader fantasy audience. Parts are genuinely creepy and terrifying, and the plot was full of twists I did not see coming; I had no idea how things were going to end, even though I had a basic knowledge of the historical events.

Tropes like arranged marriage, love triangles, being infuriated by an arrogant-yet-handsome love interest and betrayal by untrustworthy advisors felt like they were completely freshened up and I also like how the traditional sidekick – the loyal best friend/lady-in-waiting of the princess – was the main character.

Plenty of crossover appeal for adult audiences but I think there are heaps of things here that will speak to teenage readers, including themes like trying to navigate friendships and struggling with other people’s ideas of who you should be and what they want for your future.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

You know when you read the right book at the right time and it just ✨hits✨ This was a book I didn't realize I needed to read and I had a grand old time with it.

With a setting in 1570s France, political intrigue, fun characters, LGBTQ+ rep, spies, mystery, and a dash of dark magic, this story gripped me from the beginning and I was gleefully along for the ride.

Highly recommend this book if you're looking for a young adult historical queer romance set in a tumultuous time period with a head-strong FMC, a fierce best friend , and a sweet golden boy MMC.

The way I was obsessed with By Any Other Name could only be matched by her follow-up book. And now I am equally obsessed with this one! No one does LGBTQ retellings like Erin, and I've never seen a more clever adaptation of The Three Musketeers. The romance made me smile so big, and though I am not usually a political fiction fan, let alone a historical political fiction fan, I found myself extremely intrigued by the court. The friendship, the story, and overall representation really tied this all together, and I promise you, this is your next great read of 2025!

I loved this book I found the characters to bounce off of one another great and the dynamic personalities took me on such a story with twists and turns. I think it was a great book with well paced story lines and characters that have a great relationship with one another that you are going to enjoy reading

4.5 simply because i can’t tell if it was a canon throuple by the end

this felt like the reign tv show but more historical accuracy and i mean that 100% as a compliment, i loved that show until francis died. and if you haven't seen reign, just go on pinterest and look at the mood boards and that is this book.

also erin cotter, if you see this, are margot, henry, and jac a throuple please i beg i need them to be

4.5 stars

It's been a while since I've read a historical fiction book like this so it was pretty refreshing for me!
The first half of the book set up Jac's goals and relationships, so the romance progressed pretty quickly. Normally, if there is romance in a book I'm reading, I'm usually more of a slowburn girl, but this was done well in my opinion. The dislike to love made sense, and it was so sweet and enjoyable.

The second half focuses on the political/spy/murder plotline. I was able to guess some twists, but there was one I didn't expect to actually be true! The slight horror elements were unexpected but so entertaining to me, and the intense scenes at the climax were exciting.
There were some errors like typos and such, but they will likely be fixed in the final copies.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

A Traitorous Heart by Erin Cotter

Thank you Simon Teen for the advanced Ebook. This story was a great pallet cleanser as it was a stand alone, steadily paced YA with a lot packed into it.

The story follows Jac, a noblewoman and the princess of France Margot’s lady in waiting. As she decides between the life of nobility or the life of a spy. She can’t have both, to become a spy she must give up her life and her friendships. Staying noble she will be married off, just as bad as giving up her current life.

I love the LGBTQ inclusion here, it also goes into the struggles of this during the time it’s set. It was not just with the main characters but also with the side characters.

The romance was slow burn and perfect in my opinion, it wasn’t overly pushed and the story was not overthrown by it. The book had a lot to offer in ways of mystery, adventure, secrets and plot twists.

If it’s not on your TBR it needs to be!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.75/5

A Traitorous Heart is a beautiful, mesmerizing YA historical fantasy that captivated me from the first page.

Gosh, this was wonderful. If you’ve been following me for a while, you’ll know that Erin is one of my favorite authors and that By Any Other Name (her debut) is one of my all-time favorite books. Erin continues to amaze me with her storytelling in A Traitorous Heart. The characters and character development were wonderful. I loved Jac, Henry, and Margot so much and adored the ending. The settings were beautifully described with Erin’s gorgeous prose, and the incorporation of history and magic was fascinating. The plot was propulsive, and I enjoyed the danger, banter, political intrigue, and adventure in the story. I highly recommend ATH!

Thank you to Erin and the publisher for the free ARC!

I really enjoyed this! There was a lot going on, but nothing felt underdeveloped, and I liked the characters and their relationships a lot. I am definitely going to go back and read Cotter's first YA book now!

If you liked the show Reign, this is definitely the book for you. Historical and fantasy and romance all wrapped up in a beautiful story. I enjoyed the addition of Jac to the story, but how it still managed to hit key historical points.

The magical part of the novel doesn’t come into play into the second half, so the beginning is mostly focused on the romance and female empowerment. Historically, Catherine De Medici was a strong Queen and regent, who firmly believed in the Valois line, Henry IV did become king of France (though this isn’t mentioned into the novel) and marries the youngest Valois princess, Marguerite. The St. Bartholomew Day massacre is also a key point in history and I enjoyed that the author was able to incorporate these significant points while not making the novel feel like a textbook.

The romance was good and not overpowering, and I appreciated the inclusion of LGBTQ characters. I think the author did a great job pulling everything together while being entertaining for a YA audience.

I was hooked from the cover and description, it had that element that I was hoping for and enjoyed in the young adult novel. The characters worked in this time-period and was hooked from the first page. I was invested in what was happening and enjoyed the overall feel of this. It uses the French court element perfectly and was everything that I wanted in this type of book. Erin Cotter wrote this perfectly and was glad I got to read this.