Search This Blog

Release Day Blitz and Review: The Empress Chronicles by Suzy Vitello


Published by Diversion Books


Purchase on Amazon


Purchase on Barnes & Noble


Purchase on iBooks


Purchase on Kobo



In this dazzling first book in the EMPRESS CHRONICLES series by the author of THE MOMENT BEFORE, one courageous girl seeks keys to the past to unlock the future…


When city girl Liz is banished to a
rural goat farm on the outskirts of Portland, the 15-year-old feels her life spiraling out of control. She can’t connect to her father or his young girlfriend, and past trauma adds to her sense of upheaval. The only person who seems to keep her sane is a troubled boy who is fighting his own demons. But all of this changes in one historical instant.


*


One-hundred fifty years earlier, Elisabeth of Bavaria has troubles of her own. Her childhood is coming to a crashing end, and her destiny is written in the form of a soothsaying locket that has the ability to predict true love. But evil is afoot in the form of a wicked enchantress who connives to wield the power of the locket for her own destructive ends.


*


When Liz finds a timeworn diary, and within it a locket, she discovers the secrets and desires of the young Bavarian princess who will one day grow up to be the legendary Empress of Austria. It is in the pages of the diary that these two heroines will meet, and it is through their interwoven story that Liz will discover she has the power to rewrite history—including her own…


Readers of books like Rachel Harris’s MY SUPER SWEET SIXTEENTH CENTURY will love THE EMPRESS CHRONICLES


Review:


I am a huge fan of the "My Super Sweet Sixteenth Century" series by Rachel Harris. When I heard that this story should be liked by her fans I figured I would jump on it.  I am not totally sure who made that assumption because I didn't find myself enthralled into this book at all. I felt like "The Empress Chronicles" by Suzy Vitello was very slow.


Vitello did a good job in writing the present story with Liz. Liz lives in the modern day and she has many issues including OCD and anorexia. Liz sees germs everywhere which drives her a little batty and all she had do is worry about what germs are affecting her food and what happens if she eats these said germs.


I honestly didn't like Sis's point of view in the story which is the historical fiction part of the story. Sisi is chosen by Franz Joseph to be his new wife and with that she would be the Empress of Austria. Sisi is so young and reckless so when her emotions and feelings started to be all about Franz seemed a little out of place. The magic in the past didn't seem to fit very well. I think it would fit better if it was in the present day story.


I couldn't get into the characters. They didn't seem too exciting or interesting to me. Liz became a little interesting but Sisi was very boring and annoying to me. I didn't feel like I could get much of a grasp on either world present or past. I didn't feel like I spent a whole lot of time in either.


I really don't feel like this story was for me and honestly I don't agree with its comparison to Rachel Harris. The time travel and both books being in the same genre I guess would make them similar but I don't think "The Empress Chronicles" is anywhere near as good as "My Super Sweet Sixteenth Century."



About The Author


Suzy Vitello is a proud founding member of a critique group recently dubbed The Hottest Writing Group in Portland, and her short stories have won fellowships and prizes (including the Atlantic Monthly Student Writing Award, and an Oregon Literary Arts Fellowship).


Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/suzyvitello


website: http://www.suzyvitello.com/


Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SuzyVitelloBooks


Twitter: @suzy_vitello

No comments