What a fun little time! The idea of Marie Antoinette in the future is such a fun take and was done relatively well. I'm not the biggest sci-fi fan, and I may have liked it a little more if I was, but I still had a great time reading this one.

This was a wonderful concept! I'm not sure it was executed as well as it should have been, but I'd absolutely read more by this author in the future!

Cake Eater is a futuristic  Young Adult retelling about Marie Antoinette. Taking place in 3070, we meet a young influencer in Marie and her computer whiz prince. Going into this story I was intrigued by this unique retelling because it is not often you see a mix and mash of different genres. I do want to preface that a 3 star rating is still a good rating in my opinion.

Before I dive in, I will state again that the blending of genres was something I saw a lot of promise in this novel and the author did as good as they could to deliver a fairly good and enjoyable read. For anyone who knows of the original story of Marie Antionette, there were no real surprises for me in regards to the events. However, the ending was the one part of the novel that I was a bit disappointed in. If it was executed a bit better, this story would have been so much more enjoyable for me. Although the ending wasn’t for me, there is an audience of readier who will thoroughly enjoy the story. To be fair, I really enjoyed the futuristic backdrop of the novel and the focus on social media – something that is very prevalent for teens today.

What I enjoyed the most aside from the characters, because both Marie and Louis had redeeming qualities was the romance. The romance felt sweet and not rushed. Marie and Louis and the example of when opposites attract. Now, back to the characters, Marie is so relatable because she is navigating being in a uncertain environment and finding her self within. Readers know from the beginning that Marie gives up her old life when she is set to marry Louis. This self discovery in done in a tech and social media heavy world, which again is something may people can relate to now with how influential social media can be in people’s decision making and discovery of their identity in the real world and internet world.

Cake Eater is a coming of age story set in a futuristic world where a historical story is intertwined in the grasp of a very social media heavy world. It is filled of twists and turns, a good romance and two main characters you want to know more about. While the pacing wasn’t consistent and the ending felt off, Cake Eater overall was a good read and would be a great read for anyone interested in a unique and creative retelling of an infamous historical events.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for giving me free access to the advanced copy of this book to read.

This story has a really interesting premise and the world building was well thought out but I had a hard time getting by the society's obsession with social media. It felt too on the nose as a criticism of today's youth. I also found the characters hard to identify with as they felt flat and under developed for quite a bit of the book. I will pick up more books by Allyson Dahlin but this didn't work for me.

I will say, for being a retelling of Marie Antoinette’s life, this book was pretty solid. I think it offered a similar story to the real queen Marie but it also brought forward a character that we could root for and support despite her situation. I think it did tend to drag a little in certain parts and that it was longer than necessary. But other than that, it’s not bad. I enjoyed the characters Marie and Louis. I’m glad that this book showed Marie trying to get Louis to communicate with her more, that was a plus! Also, I liked Louis’ siblings, especially Elizabeth! One thing I can’t wrap my head around though, is that these people are all supposed to be like 16? I feel like they came off as more early 20s if that makes sense. Honestly, I don’t get why they’re set as teens when it doesn’t seem that way. Anyways, not bad but it was a bit slow at some parts.

Unfortunately, I just couldn't finish this one. Couldn't get into the story or the characters, despite loving historical fiction and Marie Antoinette's story. It would probably work better for readers who prefer sci-fi to historical fiction.

I started this book around Thanksgiving; however, the holidays were rather depressing and I set it down for awhile. I picked it back up and I realize how much of a gem it is. I read a lot of books. I come across unique and great concepts frequently, but this is the first time I ever even heard of historical fiction set in the future. I absolutely loved the concept of this novel.

We all know the phrase history repeats. This story proves that premise to be truth. Marie Antoinette is "reborn" in the future and destined to the same fate despite the technological advancements, the neon lights and androids. I really loved the blend of actual history with a futuristic setting. I think this is a new genre! More stories need to be done like this one! I love that the author kept the novel as close to actual dates in history.

I am not so sure how I feel about the twist at the end. It splits from historical accuracy, but I am not sure if that's the part that leaves me unsettled. The ending does leave it open for a sequel, so we shall see if that's in the cards.

If you love historical fiction and you want a new twist on something you love - check this one out! Or if you love historical fiction in general - you've got to pick this one up!

Cake Eater was a fascinating experience. To me, it was both sci-fi dystopia as well as historical fiction, which I didn't think could be done, but Allyson Dahlin did it, and for the most part, did it really well.

I won't reiterate the plot, but here are some thoughts I have about it. I wasn't sure for a while if this was a retelling of the history behind Marie Antoinette. Admittedly, I'm more of an Anglophile than a Francophile, but I do know the basics of her story. This book, at the beginning, and most of the way through, seems like a retelling of that same story set in far future. When I discovered it wasn't necessarily a retelling, but a warning about history repeating itself, I really thought it was done well.

The other aspect of this book that I really loved and what made it unusual was that this book is trendy. I do think it's the kind of timeless trendy, if that's a thing. I think the trendiness is relevant to teens now, and I think it will still be relevant and trendy ten years from now. This is not an easy thing to accomplish, and I really enjoyed that aspect of this novel.

I realized about 2/3 of the way through this book how it was going to end, and I really did dread the ending, knowing what I knew. It's hard to spend nearly 500 pages with these characters and think you know what is going to happen to them, it's really hard to want to finish it. I did finish it, and there were some surprises along the way, which I'm thankful for, because otherwise, I'm not sure I would have recommended this to.

I don't think you need to have a knowledge of French history to appreciate this novel. It was a really fascinating look at social media, government influence and censorship, arranged marriage, family, friendship, and artificial intelligence. I also enjoyed the use of language and the new slang that was invented for the novel but it made so much sense and worked really well within the context of the novel. It was really an interesting book and I did really enjoy it.

Struggled to finish this book. Wanted to like it but I just couldn't get into it. I could see how someone who likes Marie Antoinette would like it. Or someone who likes to think of historical figures in the future would to maybe. But while the premise was intriguing it wasn't for me. (Still bought it for the library, just not something for me)

I really wanted to love this book because I’m a huge Marie Antoinette history buff, but this fell all kinda of flat. Shallow, odd… I could not get into it.

I requested this book on the premise and the cover. However, no matter how hard I tried I really could not get into the book. I really wanted to love this one...but, in the end, I was disappointed.

I was intrigued by the idea of a futuristic take on Marie Antoinette and Louis, and Cake Eater by Allyson Dahlin did not disappoint in that regard! The story takes place in 3070 after an Event has left the world in turmoil. Marie is betrothed to the Dauphin, Louis. She moves to Franc (not a misspelling) and begins her new life in Versailles. What she didn't expect was to slowly find out that nothing in Versailles is what it seems and that she is being constantly watched and controlled.

Dahlin creates a believable world heavily influenced by social media to include fashion, jargon, daily life, and, well, pretty much everything. I will be purchasing this book for my library, and I recommend it for grades 9 and up. That being said, I see two issues for this book. The first is that historical novels do not appeal to everyone, and while this is not a historical novel, I see some students being turned off by the idea. The second is that the jargon can make the story feel young for a high school reader, but I think most will be able to move past that.

“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”~George Santayana
This quote kept echoing in my head while reading this book. Ms Dahlin does a fabulous job of weaving history and science fiction together in this young adult historical fiction that blossoms into a dystopia novel. In parts, I was reminded of "The Truman Show" in others of the works of Isaac Asimov. Historical fiction is not usually my wheelhouse, but this novel had my voraciously consuming page after page. Be warned, even though it is written in a diary-style fashion, it is difficult to put down. Might be fun to read when learning about the actual French Revolution and draw comparisons. Kudos to the author for including so many figures from history. Though, perhaps credit should go to The First Estate...

Ok listen, when you start reading a book about Marie Antoinette, you have to resign yourself to know that, yeah, this book isn’t going to have a happy ending.
But then you realize that it’s based in 3070, miles ahead and into the future and you just.. you allow yourself to hope. Just for a second…
And I wouldn’t have started hoping if this author wasn’t as good as she is. I was completely immersed into this world she created. It’s not completely perfect, I have some questions about the world overall: what happened in the Event? Where is the rest of the world? All we know is the Austro-Lands and France but like… where’s everything else? I would have loved to hear more about the world at large, but maybe Marie didn’t even know. Maybe nobody told her. Surprisingly, I also loved the slang words used in this book. Typically, I hate how authors incorporate slang for YA books, as sometimes it can come across as inauthentic. But Dahlin really nailed it for me.
I completely fell in love with the characters. There were almost too many to remember but it didn’t become distracting. I loved how Marie’s story ebbed and flowed. I loved the romance of it, how this romance can somehow become real in a world where nothing it real.

God, I love this book so much. I want more from this author.

Just no. I really wish I could have gotten into this book, but it was an absolute struggle. As a fan of historical fiction I thought Cake Eater would be the book for me, unfortunately I was wrong. It was too sci Fi for me and I thought my love of historical fiction would outweigh my dislike of scifi. To be honest I'm sure sci Fi fans will love Cake Eater, but this was not the book for me.

This book just wasn’t for me.
I did think that the slow building romance between Marie and Louis was very well done, but I did not like the sci-fi, futuristic spin on Marie Antoinette’s story. My favorite part of this story was definitely King Louis XVI. My heart went out to him.

“Sometimes I’m afraid I’m nothing more than what others have taught me to be. And at those times, I’m not sure I like who I am”

“We change things… in little ways that become big ways.”

First off, this is a beautiful cover that caught my attention! I loved that it emulated Sofia Coppola's Marie Antoinette film with the bright/pastel-like colors. This book is a fantastically unique and futuristic telling of the Marie Antoinette story in the year 3070. It's relatable for young adults as Marie is a social media influencer, concerned with followers and fashion. Although I found the book to be a little too long, I was glad to have followed through until the end. I think everyone familiar with history will be wondering...will she lose her head at the end? I liked the added concepts of AI and robots, and the possible romance between Marie and a robot. I thought we were going to have an example of someone asexual in Louis, which would have been really great and groundbreaking in a YA novel, but I'm unsure if the author thought it might not be relatable, or wasn't sure where to take the story, ultimately. With this aside, I was excited to read and felt this book really painted a cool picture of what France would look like in the future. I think this could be an incredible television show, if optioned!

As a big fan of the Sophia Coppola's movie, I really wanted to love this book, but it had a few issues that I can't overlook.
The first half of the novel was a drag to read. Not much happened except we see Marie try to fit in the Franco court. The second half was much better, but whizzed by so fast, it was difficult to keep up. The relationship between Louis and Marie is given time to develop and it was really cute, so the inclusion of Fersen was weird, especially how it played out. There were a lot of things about Marie's life that was changed or omitted from this book, so the inclusion of Fersen was just made weirder. The world in Versailles is pretty well established, but zooming out brings in some questions that are not answered. Plot threads and questions are brought up, then immediately dropped. I understand this could read as a "doomed to repeat history" warning, and commentary on social media, but it felt so fake in this new Eat the Rich era. Marie was very much giving Kendall-Jenner-Pepsi-Commercial in one scene (when she met the Wastelanders outside of Versailles).

There were good parts of the story, but it is way too long for how much it ended up achieving.

It's almost as though, when we fail to learn from the mistakes of the past, we are doomed to repeat them. Imagine.....