The Little Book Spy: Queen of Someday by Sherry D. Ficklin

How’s it going everyone. Today, I’ll be reviewing Queen of Someday by Sherry D. Ficklin. Some of you may remember that back in April, I posted a review for a book that she published with another author called Extracted. When I went to see what other books she had written I found this book. When I saw the concept of this book, I immediately thought of the TV show Reign. And if you aren't familiar with the show Reign, that show follows the life of Mary, Queen of Scots. Mainly the show is based upon fiction with a mix of actual history, which is why I though that this book would be a great read. Anyways, let's jump in with my review.

About the Book:

Title: Queen of Someday

Author: Sherry D. Ficklin

Release Date: October 7, 2014

Series: Stolen Empire #1

Genre: Historical
Pages: 262
Age: YA^M (Mature Young Adult Audience)

My Rating: 5/5 ⭐️

Summary:
Before she can become the greatest empress in history, fifteen-year-old Sophie will have to survive her social-climbing mother’s quest to put her on the throne of Russia—at any cost.

Imperial Court holds dangers like nothing Sophie has ever faced before. In the heart of St. Petersburg, surviving means navigating the political, romantic, and religious demands of the bitter Empress Elizabeth and her handsome, but sadistic nephew, Peter. Determined to save her impoverished family—and herself—Sophie vows to do whatever is necessary to thrive in her new surroundings. But an attempt on her life and an unexpected attraction threatens to derail her plans.

Alone in a new and dangerous world, learning who to trust and who to charm may mean the difference between becoming queen and being sent home in shame to marry her lecherous uncle. With traitors and murderers lurking around every corner, her very life hangs in the balance. Betrothed to one man but falling in love with another, Sophie will need to decide how much she’s willing to sacrifice in order to become the empress she is destined to be.

In a battle for the soul of a nation, will love or destiny reign supreme?

My Thoughts:

Like I said in my intro, I got Reign vibes instantly when reading this book. This was one of the first historical romance books that I've read in a while and this book was not a disappointment. This book had a ton of twists and turn that I never expected while reading. This book had me guessing what was going to happen next, some I was able to predicts because I am a writer (and it's second nature and a bad habit) while other plot twists shocked me, I never expected some of these things to happen. I'll leave that vague because I don't want to give away any spoilers. Now, the character that I'm going to describe might seem extremely vague, but you have to read the story to actually understand why I say this, but Peter is a jerk plain and simple. I though he would change during the growth of the story, but the more I read, the more I disliked him, but when looking at history he was exactly the way I described him. His aunt Elizabeth, the Empress of Russia, at first, she gave me the impression that she was nice, sweet woman who knows how to separate her personal feeling and those of being an Empress. Oh, I was completely wrong. She is scary as all heck and evil! Especially when she wants her way. I probably had a deer-in-the-headlights look when I discovered her true personality and there were a few names that crossed my mind to describe her, she also reminded me of Catherine from Reign.

One of the things that I love about historical fiction is how authors have this ability to take fact and use it to their advantage by adding fiction and making their own world within an already created world. I think the author did a tremendous job on this book. Personally, I like history, but even if you aren't a big history fan I think you'll still like this book because, like I said before, the younger years of Sophie's life in this story is mainly fiction, but there are some parts in the story that are based loosely upon things that happened in her real life, like her name being changed from Sophie to Catherine after she converted religions.

Sophie, or Catherine as she's known as later in the book, is a very headstrong and determined girl in this story. The story of her younger years is mainly fiction, but I liked the concept of how the author portrayed her. She's a very likable and smart character, but with some of her choices, you hope that she was doing the right things for the right reason. I definitely suggest reading this book. I could not put it down.

If you're interested in checking out Sherry's pages, the links are below along with places you can get the book.