This third book brings us into the latter years of Louis XV’s life, and the perspective in this story is provided by his daughter, Adelaide. Unusual for the court (although not, perhaps, for the women of the day) Adelaide is prim, proper, uptight and perhaps more than a bit resentful of those who choose or dare to be otherwise.

What I adore about this series, and this book, is Christie’s ability to present facts mingled with fiction in voices that are far from the normal speakers of history. Granted, each narrative voice has an agenda from minor and wanting to be heard, to elevating or preserving their own position in the court. While you never really come to the story thinking “this is only from X perspective, now that the series has come to conclusion, it is easy to see just how well-planned the narrative voices were.

None of the views present Louis as more than a spoilt child, more concerned with pleasures and lazy days fueling his hedonistic desires than fairly, or even halfheartedly, ruling his country. Most of the rule of Louis was performed by those interested in feathering their own nests, with cognizant or callous acquiescence of the king himself. Adelaide is different, seeking to persuade her father to reform and reframe at least the end of his reign in more than licentious behavior and bone-idle luxury. To no avail, his mistress Jeanne Becu is far more interesting than his daughter’s imprecations and constant questions.

While the narrators of this series are not people I would want to spend time with, it is obvious that they had brains and talents, and even outlooks that were surprisingly astute: were they men in the era, they would have ruled, perhaps not to a different end than the bloody revolution, but perhaps been cognizant of the unrest and anger fermenting in their people. It was an interesting, if foregone, conclusion in the revolution but the journey was more than worth the time.

I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

Review first appeared at <a href=”http://wp.me/p3OmRo-8QI”> I am, Indeed </a>

The whole Mistresses of Versailles Trilogy was made for me to be honest. I love historical fiction a lot, even though I don't read it that much. For one I'm obsess with royal history, I don't know why, it's my favorite type of historical fiction to read. Also, they're told in the prospective of the mistresses of King Louis XIV and I haven't heard of any books like that, though I'm sure there is some out there.

I had never read a book bout Madame du Berry. Heck, I didn't know much about her besides her being a mistress of King Louis. This book dives into her history, on her childhood and how she became who we know her as.

Not only do we get Du Berry's POV we also get one of the King's daughter POV as well, oh and I didn't like her one bit, though I can see why she's angry, but still. I felt so bad for Du Berry even though I didn't care for as much.

This was a strong ending for this amazing series and I'm so sad to see it end. I can't wait to read more of this author works in the future.

Thanks Atria Books and netgalley for this ARC.

I've loved this whole series, so I can't wait to see what Sally Christie will write next. I know her novels are always historically researched treats with love, intrigue, adventure, and wit.

Here we are yet again with another book series reaching its conclusion! On the whole this has been a solid, well written, and interesting series and I was sad to see it coming to an end.

I had big expectations for this conclusion and overall I wasn’t disappointed.

Jeanne Becu, a woman of astounding beauty but humble birth, works her way from the grimy back streets of Paris to the palace of Versailles, where the aging King Louis XV has become a jaded and bitter old philanderer.

Jeanne bursts into his life and, as the Comtesse du Barry, quickly becomes his official mistress. “That beastly bourgeois Pompadour was one thing; a common prostitute quite another kettle of fish.”

After decades suffering the King’s endless stream of Royal Favorites, the princesses of the Court have reached a breaking point. Horrified that he would bring the lowborn Comtesse du Barry into the hallowed halls of Versailles, Louis XV’s daughters, led by the indomitable Madame Adelaide, vow eternal enmity and enlist the young dauphiness Marie Antoinette in their fight against the new mistress.


But as tensions rise and the French Revolution draws closer, a prostitute in the palace soon becomes the least of the nobility’s concerns.

There is something so elegant and magnetic about the French court…..at least for me. While my heart will always be in the British court, the French have an elegance and lure that is different than other books on royalty. Having enjoyed the other two books in the series, I was excited to see where this book would take us in the court.

I’ve read some books on royal mistresses so I know a little about the Comtesse du Barry before reading this story. Of all Louis’s mistresses, this was the one that intrigued me the most. Reading her story (albeit the historical fiction version) was insightful and intriguing. One of the things that I noted about Christie’s other books, was the way she portrays her female lead characters.

I’ve read a a lot of nonfiction books on royalty and that talk about the relationships Louis had with his mistresses, but none of the books made the mistresses stories as ‘real’, sexy, and yet modern as Christie has done in her books. And this installment was no different.

Christie keeps the dialogue modern, the text crisp, and the historical facts to the point and relevant. She doesn’t go off on tangents and I love that about her novels! The story alternates between Jeanne and Madame Adelaide’s perspectives which kept things interesting and moving along briskly.

The one things that bothered me at times throughout the novel was Madame Adelaide’s inner dialogue and thoughts. I felt like she was spoiled and arrogant and kind of annoying at times. Yes she was a princess and as other reviewers commented, her inner dialogue was a little over the top which I would agree with.

Overall I thought the account of their lives was believable and interesting. I wasn’t as invested in this one as I had been with the other books in the series but on the whole I felt like it ended on a high note. I liked how this book incorporated the Revolution as well as the having Marie Antoinette come into play. This is a well researched but yet fresh and modern novel with scandal and intrigue built it!

Kindle Copy for Review

Once again we are swept away into the past in Sally Christie final book in her Mistresses of Versailles. We are shown life of Louis XV and his daughters as well as his mistress. In a world that people vie for power in court and out.

We are shown the rise of a young Jeanne who becomes a prostitute and then the Comtesse du Barry as she becomes the aging mistress to the jaded King. She brings light into his world.

The princesses are not happy with the King behavior after suffering having had one of their father’s previous living and dying in their home. Adelaide finds herself disliking the new mistress as she tries to look out for her father and be the dutiful daughter. We watch take on the role to save their family.

We are swept into their world where no one trust anyone and power is everything.

This is the final chapter of the series which depicts the life of Louis XV. The first book told the story of his lovers... 4 sisters out of a family of 5 sisters. The second book told the tale of his most influential lover, Marquise de Pompadour. This final book tells of his infamous affair with Comtesse du Barry, who went from being a commoner who entertained influential men in the bedroom, to Louis's lover and companion for the final years of his life. I was not familiar with any of these stories so I have been enthralled since book one. She tells the story in such a way that you feel as if you are there on the sidelines, watching it all unfold. This is definitely a must-read for all historical fiction fans out there.

Sally Christie closes the doors of Versailles with the last book of her magnificently tantalizing trilogy we have all been impatiently waiting for since her last release. Through the splendor of palaces, to love and heartbreak, Christie has created such a fun, colorful—and in the end tragic—picture of life during such an important time in history. She gives life and a voice to several women, all interesting in their own right, throughout her books. In Enemies of Versailles, it is the infamous Comtesse du Barry and Princess Adelaide. Much like The Sisters of Versailles and The Rivals of Versailles, The Enemies of Versailles contains all the charm, the naughtiness of court life, and the addictive gossipy fun plus more.

You will be tempted to drop everything to finish this book and the entire series if you haven’t yet had the chance to pick these books up.

Personally, I found the contrast and the stark differences between the comfort loving Comtesse du Barry and the proper Princess Adelaide to be highly entertaining—from Adelaide’s shock and disgust to Comtesse du Barry’s want of affection and acknowledgement. The two women were strong and knew what they wanted in life, and both facing tragedy within the rise of the revolution. I’m very sympathetic for their fates.

I can’t wait for Sally Christie to write more books (and soon I hope).

*Review will be posted during my blog tour stop date on March 27th*

http://themusingsofabookjunkie.blogspot.com/2017/01/enemies-of-versailles-by-sally-christie.html

Scheduled 3/20/17

The court of the Sun King evolves after the death of much hated Madame de Pompdour. Adelaide, eldest unmarried daughter of the king is determined to become her father's companion. Louis has other ideas and is introduced to Jeanne, the Countess du Barry. Jeanne comes to court and becomes Louis' mistress. The women vie over control of the king, court and the newly welcomed dauphine.


I really enjoyed this finale. This book focuses on the lives of the court women leading up to the French Revolution. The book is narrated by Louis' daughter and his mistress, Jeanne. I enjoyed Jeanne's voice much more, but she could be very frivolous. I also liked seeing the revolution from different views other than Marie Antoinette's. A very good book to end the series with