Review and Giveaway! "Before Versailles"

"Before Versailles"
by Karleen Koen

Publisher: Crown
Release Date: June 28, 2011 
Source: sent by publisher and TLC Book Tours

My Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Summary from goodreads.com:

New York Times bestselling author Karleen Koen offers another delightful historical novel that will transport you to another time and place.

Before Versailles is the luscious, sweeping story of the young Louis XIV in his first year as king of France. Told in the alternating perspectives of the young king and his first love, the woman who would become his mistress, Karleen Koen's newest weaves a portrait of court and country in turmoil with the legends of this colorful period in history, including that of the mysterious man in the iron mask.

My Review:

There is a lot going on in this book! There's almost not enough time to even grasp everything. I can see this being the next historical series on cable. There's enough scandal and drama in this book for at least three or four seasons.

I really liked Louise from the start. She was so genuinely caring. I might have enjoyed the book more if it had really narrowed its focus down to Louise at court. But there were so many other storylines going on as well, I found myself waiting until Louise showed up again.

I was so intrigued by the bits and pieces of story about the man (boy) in the iron mask. I've always been interested in that story, but again, I didn't feel like there was really enough about his story. I was anxiously reading page after page awaiting the next bit of his story to develop.

I liked that the book was scandalous but it never took things too far. The scandal never got too graphic. The descriptions of court and the exquisite fashions were described in great detail.


Main Characters: 4/5
Supporting Characters: 4/5
Setting: 4/5
Romance: 3/5
Uniqueness: 4/5
Cover: 3/5
Writing: 4/5


Bottom Line: This is a very interesting book if you have the time and energy to invest in so many different stories at once.


GIVEAWAY RULES:

Crown Publishing and TLC Book Tours have generously provided a copy of "Before Versailles" fora lucky reader of my blog!

All you have to do is follow my blog publicly and leave a comment on this review with your email address! Please follow publicly or I can't tell that you are following :) Also, if you aren't comfortable leaving your email here, go ahead and leave a comment and then send me an email with your email addy

Extra Entries:
+1 Tweet this contest (leave link in comment)
+1 Post link in sidebar of your blog (leave link in comment)

Rules:

• US and Canada only
• Must be a follower to enter
• Extra entries are optional and can all be left in the same comment
• Leave a comment with your email address
• Books will be mailed out by the publisher
• Must be 18 or over 

• Ends Mon July 25

Thanks to everyone for entering! Good luck!

More Tour Stops Here: