The heart of the Embroidered Book revolves around the concept of power and sacrifice. Set against the backdrop of revolution—The American and French, not to mention a general European uprising against the monarchy and feudalism, two sisters must learn to fight for power just to attempt to survive.

Our heroines are none other than two of the Habsburg sisters, Marie Antoinette (known as Antoine as a girl) and Maria Carolina (Queen of Naples and referred to as Charlotte in the story). We meet them as young girls, discovering their murdered governess’ eponymous Embroidered Book and exploring the magical spells revealed inside. For each spell, they must grant a sacrifice, which could be a simple as a fingernail and memory, or as dire as the love for a brother. These early moments in the novel stole my breath, creating a captivating metaphor for meaning making and discovery of power and loss. The prose is mesmerizing and elegant and the relationships feel deeply authentic.

When their elder sister dies, their strict and power-hungry mother sends Charlotte to Naples to fulfill her sister’s marriage obligations. Charlotte is devastated, as she has been trained her whole life to be the Queen of France. Antoine, fully unprepared, must now become Marie Antoinette, and learn to make France love her. They are determined to do this through their magic. Remember, in this world, magic demands a price, and the sisters must continue to make great sacrifices to become the wildly different rulers they eventually grow into.

As they grapple with the weight of their responsibilities, the loyalty and love they hold for one another is tested, demonstrating the complexity of their relationship in the face of power struggles and external threats.

I could not resist a deep investment in these characters, especially Marie Antoinette. Despite being keenly aware of the tragic outcome (this doesn’t feel like a spoiler, her story is common knowledge), I felt an irresistible urge to root for her survival and triumph! It’s an odd position to find oneself in, when you are vehemently anti-monarchy as a person! However, the emotional investment in her character underscores the author’s gift in crafting a compelling portrayal of one of history’s most fascinating figures.

I particularly loved Kate Heartfield’s exploration of the societal limitations placed on women in the era. Through the magic system, readers are invited to reflect on the sacrifices women make in their pursuit of power, autonomy, and recognition in a world that often undermines their capabilities and potential.

Heartfield’s meticulous research into the history of these formidable women and events is also impressive, as she provides a beat by beat unfolding of the French Revolution’s treachery and multitudes of characters (in fact, so many that I constantly found myself running to google to look up more information on each character).

The Embroidered Book is an enchanting work of magical historical fiction that weaves the fascinating worlds of Marie Antionette and Charlotte. Although the book sags a bit in the middle as the author has a lot of historical detail to navigate and loses the human connection, it’s impossible not to power through to follow the emotional journey of these two incredible queens who make heartbreaking sacrifices for their family and country. This is an absolute must-read for lovers of magical historical fantasy and powerful women—but have your tissues ready!

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Harper Voyager for the advanced copy, all opinions are authentic and my own.

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for an ARC.

I'm not typically a huge fan of books that are based on the lives of real-life people, but Marie Antoinette fascinates me, so I requested this ARC. This book did not live up to my expectations in the slightest. I dnf'd around 14%. I wanted so badly to get through this, but this is so well-encapsulating of the full life that we don't get hints of excitement at all this far in the book. I need more to hook me and keep my attention than the intrigue of royals and hidden magic. When there is no big adventure beyond the palace walls, there is nothing for me to enjoy at the start.

This was good, but not excellent. I liked the main character but it felt a little forced. Was a fine read, but probably wouldn't purchase it for myself!

I truly loved this book. This particular time in history and Marie Antoinette are some of my favorite subjects to dive into. So this book caught my attention immediately for those reasons, the added idea of magic on top was also an intriguing concept that I had to see how the author fit into real life events.

The two main characters of the sisters Charlotte and Antonia are written so well. The bond that they share is so very tangible and real that it almost felt like watching what was going on like a fly on the wall. How it mingled historical events with the magic of the world was top tier and just over all it was really lovely to read. At times, it could be a little long-winded as it had to fit in not just the characters feelings but the politics at the time, but that honestly is not too much of an issue once the girls are sent off to their respective countries and that is where the book really picks up in pace.

The ending is bittersweet and the lead up to it is perfect. This is one of my favorite books of the year.

While this book has a lovely prose to it, it was pretty hard for me to get through honestly. I liked the idea of a history retelling with a magical undertone, but it felt too much like reading a textbook at times.

I found myself really struggling to keep reading and comprehending what was happening in the story as it felt like it sort of went on and on without getting to much of a climax.

I do think there is an audience for this book, likely someone with a deep love of historical fiction rather than the fantasy element. Unfortunately that just wasn’t me.

What if Marie Antoinette and her sister Charlotte encountered magic when they were girls and used them to become powerful women of opposing sides of the world of magic? A question I never asked, but am so glad someone else did.

The book I do feel could have been shorter but I am also a reader who prefers reading without a ton of detail so I think a lot of my struggle with this was that. Overall, a beautifully written book that I genuinely enjoyed reading.

I normally love reading about Marie Antoinette but this book didn't draw me in like I thought it would. The writing seemed good though I just didn't enjoy the plot.

While I appreciated the concept, and I thought the magic system was really interesting, ultimately I struggled to get through the story. The writing was great, I really thought the prose was beautiful, but I just had trouble caring about what was happening.

⭐️⭐️ I really thought this book would have been right up my alley with European History and magic. Maire Antoinette usually always gets high marks, but this book left we wanting a bit more of something.

The intrigue was there along with the magic in the most famous of European courts, but it felt a bit blah. A retelling of history with curious bits of magic added in.

I did enjoy the fact that the author chose to have the characters give up memories and feelings for the magic to work. And that the losses have a deeper impact on not just the main characters but the weaving of the story.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Harper360 and Harper Voyager for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book was so well done, fantastic detail oriented writing and historical facts. Yet at the same time absolutely charming, very readable, unique view of history. This book was a delight and interestingly unique.

I am so sorry but I could not finish this. I read like 150 pages and was still not into it. It was just how the sisters were separated. There was no need for magic in this book but the author relied on that heavily to carry the plot.

I loved this story. I’m a Mrie Antoinette girlie and this was such a fun take on her story as well as her sister’s story. The magic system was fun and I liked seeing the sacrifices the sisters had to make. It upped the stakes from a normal magic system. I loved watching the sisters relationship and dynamics change as they grew as people and rulers. I also really loved the general aesthetics of this book. And the magic items. I just really truly enjoyed reading this

This book far outsurpassed my expectations. Although I enjoy historical fiction novels, I often find them slow-paced and rarely come across one I can't put down. Because this one includes magical whimsy, which spices things up a bit even when it's a part of a familiar story, I found myself quickly captivated. However, the fantasy element is minimal, creatively woven into the historical accounts.

Seeing the world during this time period from the perspective of two important female historical figures, Marie Antoinette (Antoine) and her older sister Maria Carolina (Charlotte), was fascinating. The development (ups and downs) of the sister's relationship over decades was intimate, and as Queens it was also frighteningly utilitarian and stoic. I appreciated the realistic mirroring the fantastical aspects of the story throughout the book.

"The Embroidered Book" was a creative book about historical stories and magic, it was hard for me to connect with the characters and connect with the story. I gave it my best shot, but I just couldn't fall in love with it. I recommended my sister read it because it seems right up her ally and she really loved it, so I just don't know if I was the target audience.

3 of 5 stars

Thanks to Netgalley and Harper 360 for the opportunity to get an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I got bored. There was little that engaged me. It started out good and then became far fetched. Apparently only people famous in history could be Magistrates. Really?
Thank you to Netgalley for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

Twisting the tragic tale of the Habsburg dynasty (which gave the world Marie Antoinette), The Embroidered Book throws potent magic into the existing pile of family tensions, political chess playing, and romantic complications. A few clunky turns of phrase, awkward pacing and a weak magical subplot keep this one from a higher grade, but the worldbuilding is fun, with characters worth caring for.

Empress Maria Theresa of Austria plans on using marriage instead of never-ending war to ensure the safety – if not the happiness - of her thirteen living children. She is not doing this out of altruism of course; she wants Austria to regain its land and political favor, and believes her children will be the perfect pawns in achieving this objective. Thus, two of her girls – Maria Antonia and Charlotte (Maria Carolina) – are destined for politically delicate foreign marriages. In these girls’ cases, however, that destiny is blighted by change – the unexpected death of their sister, Johanna, which means that Charlotte must fill in for Johanna in Naples and France must settle for Antonia instead of Charlotte.

Iron-willed Charlotte’s marriage to the merry, womanizing Ferdinand, King of Naples, is awkwardly forged. They are not attracted to each other, and he demands non-stop procreation. Charlotte will go through eighteen pregnancies during her lifetime, producing seven children who make it to adulthood, and will live to see Napoleon’s invasion – but first she will take on a daring affair and try to gain entrance a secret magical society, along with her lover, Sir John Acton, as well as leading Italy to enlightenment.

The problems of Maria Antonia – redubbed Marie Antoinette by the French - are well known to even history neophytes. While Charlotte had been trained her whole life to participate in the French court, Marie was not; she is only fifteen and not prepared for the harsh spotlight cast upon her, she suffers from homesickness, divided loyalties, scorn and gossip. She becomes a notorious scandal and has an impassioned affair with Count Fersten.

It seems as though both women are destined for unhappy lives, but a secret binds them together. In their childhood, they discovered the titular embroidered book, which belonged to their governess. Using the spells within, the sisters teach themselves the dark sacrificial magic it holds, creating, among other things, enchanted portraits through which they can speak. But magic has a price. Are they willing to pay it?

This is a solid piece of historical fiction that perhaps binds itself too strongly to the movement of history. Sadly, the most disappointing facet of The Embroidered Book is its use of magic. The magic the sisters practice is incredibly painful and sacrificial; important artifacts, memories and even blood itself must be sacrificed to encourage the existence of magical artifacts or a piece of good luck. The problem with that is that the inclusion of magic does little to sway the bend of history in any unique way. The sisters cannot save others with it, rewind time, or poison their enemies. The most interesting use of it surrounds the secret magical society Charlotte encounters.

Much of the book is about Charlotte, whose story is lesser known, and although, by the mid-point, the narrative lean becomes more evenly distributed between the sisters, hefty chunks of Antoinette’s life story are skipped to get to the Big Sweeping moments (the birth of her son, the affair of the necklace, the storming of the Bastille, the execution). But the sisterly connection – close in real life – remains paramount.

Also - points off for some too-modern turns of phrase. I doubt either princess used four-letter words in courts where their every word was attended to. But The Embroidered Book is worth a read due to its strong historical research. Perhaps it would have worked better without the magical components, but it’s still compelling.

Schoenbrunn Palace - 1767

The many daughters of the widowed Austrian Empress Maria Theresa contemplate their sad fates on the European marriage market. They've lost siblings and in-laws to smallpox, a governess to murder, and their father to a stroke, but still their domineering mother schemes, angling to marry the girls off to beastly grooms for the empire's benefit. Charlotte and Antoine, 15 and 11 years old and afraid of what their future holds, resort to an embroidered book of spells in order to somehow influence their fates. They swear to do no harm, but magic isn't an exact science as they quickly learn. Sincere good wishes for other produce unintended consequences for their own futures. Now, Charlotte is sent to Naples to replace her late sister Josepha, while Antoine will go to Charlotte's intended, the Dauphin of France. They promise each other not to do spells going forward, but life proves too difficult not to improve it with some magic and create allies when needs be. The inevitable "deal with the devil" performing magic represents impact the women and those around them more than anyone could ever anticipate and eventually sweeps them into rival factions.

This is an imaginative and more empowering version of two historical women's stories, which is always appealing. The tale is overly long, however, and feels heavy with telling and little action, which make many parts a slog. At nearly 700 pages, this could have been much tighter, with far more momentum. The magic feels rather silly in some circumstances and downright malicious in others. All in the all, the concept was solid, but the execution left a lot to be desired.

3.5 stars
Thanks to NetGalley for providing a free ARC in exchange for an honest review!

“The Embroidered Book” is a richly detailed, deeply researched accounting of the lives of Marie Antoinette and her older sister Charlotte, with fantastical elements added in. If you took the magical vibes of “Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell,” made it much more enjoyable to read, and incorporated a sister dynamic reminiscent of Jennifer Saint’s Ariadne and Phaedra, you’d get something like this book. Can two sisters who love each other and share secrets survive when their marriage alliances and magical allegiances place them on opposite sides of a war?
I found the magic system in this story truly fascinating: each spell requires a sacrifice, either of a memory, an emotion, or a piece of your body (blood, hair, etc). Characters frequently experience situations where there is information that they should know but don’t, and realize that they must have sacrificed it earlier. This, and the relationship between Antoinette and Charlotte, is what made me really enjoy this book. It could probably be 200 pages shorter, and there are definitely unnecessary passages and scenes; some more discerning editing probably could have made this book even more effective. If you like historical fiction and fantasy this book is a great read!

I thought the magical premise sounded neat, but I quickly became bored and impatient. I think the prose is good and if this had been a purely historical fiction book, I might have stuck it out. But there was a lot of repetition in only the first couple of pages, namely about Josepha being meant for Naples and Charlotte being meant for France, when that's obviously not how it will work out. It just seemed like there was a lot of this kind of drag ahead of me.

Wow. This book blew me away. The creativity of weaving magic into history was stunning.

I loved the way the author told the story of these two sisters, queens and magicians, falling apart and then falling back together. Heartbreaking, but beautiful.

I would not pass this book off to a young teen: too much of sex and marital disloyalty for me to be comfortable. The system of magic also relies upon sacrifices, which are often blood.

If we rank books on being brilliantly written, this gets a 5 star review. If ranking it on how well I liked the story, the rating would be lower. But I'm rating on brilliancy of the writing here, and giving the disclaimer: this book is sad and quite miserable. The writing is well done, and to be applauded. Again, I just was fascinated by the creativity with which Kate Heartfield wove magic into history!

I received a free ARC from NetGalley, all opinions are my own.