tweetybugshouse
Written on Jul 7, 2015
Sophie—now Catherine, Grand Duchess of Russia—had a tough first year at Imperial Court. Married at sixteen to Grand Duke Peter, heir to the throne, and settled in their own palace, things start to look up. As a new day dawns, Catherine thinks only of securing her future, and the future of their country, during one of the greatest political upheavals of her time. Fighting desperately against forces that try to depose the Empress Elizabeth and put the young Prince Ivan on her throne, Catherine soon finds herself in the middle of a war brewing between her beloved Prussia and her new empire. While navigating the fragile political landscape, she quickly realizes that she has only begun to discover the tangled web of deceit and infidelity woven over the lavish court of Oranienbaum Palace.
When a strange and delicate alliance forms between the young couple, Catherine glimpses a future of happiness, only to see it vanish at the hands of those who still seek to end her life—and prevent her reign. Out of favor with the empress and running out of options, Catherine must sacrifice her own innocence on the altar of Russia if she is to save the nation and herself. To survive, she will have to do the unthinkable, betray those closest to her and become something greater and more dangerous than she ever imagined she could be… a queen.
- ISBN10 1634220706
- ISBN13 9781634220705
- Publish Date 14 July 2015 (first published 11 June 2015)
- Publish Status Transferred
- Publish Country US
- Imprint Clean Teen Publishing
- Format Paperback
- Pages 278
- Language English
Reviews
angelarenea9
Written on Jul 4, 2015
This is the second book in the Stolen Empire series. I have been waiting for this book to come out since I received an advanced reading copy of the first book Queen of Someday, and May I be the first to say that this book was every bit as good as the first!
From the absolutely stunning cover to the wonderful way the author has crafted this compelling story from the genius of her imagination and the dramas of history, I could not put this book down! Unfortunately my boss does not accept that as a reason not to show up at work so it did take me 3 sittings to finish.
Queen of Tomorrow continues to follow the life of Catherine the Great as she maneuvers through the excitement, dangers, and politics of being a woman in the Russian court. This second book is a little bit darker than the first in my opinion, touching on topics of loss, abuse and even rape, while continuing the themes of jealousy, assassination plots, and deception from the first book.
Ficklin's beautiful writing style has a way of holding you captive to Catherine's thoughts and feelings, while maintaining a quick pace that can easily dissolve into binge reading! You will experience right along side Catherine shock, loss, grief, joy, and outrage. You know that sinking feeling you get when you realize everything just fell apart? Prepare yourself!
This novel shows our Catherine growing into her place at court in ways I could never have imagined of the young Sophie of Queen of Someday, but somehow feels like a perfectly natural character development.
This is a must read for all fans of Queen of Someday and anyone who has not picked up this series should do so immediately!
Queen of Tomorrow was scheduled to be released July 14th 2015, but as a surprise from author Sherry Ficklin it was released TODAY!(July 4, 2015) so put down the corn on the cob and go pick up your copy right now!
My review on my blog
kimbacaffeinate
Written on Jul 2, 2015
Watching Catherine create allies, spread her wings and find love all while suffering held me spellbound. I found myself cheering for this clever young woman. While it is true that Ficklin took, liberties particularly with the time line, her interpretation of Catherine the Great only made me eager to learn more about this period in history.
Oranienbaum Palace and Winter Place were both beautifully described and one would think with all the celebrations, gowns and gaiety that these would be fairy tale places to live. Nothing could be further from the truth because behind corridors, there is drama, political maneuvering, backstabbing and power plays. No one is safe; especially with the unrest in Prussia, England and Australia.
Catherine endures more than most could handle throughout Queen of Tomorrow and each scar is like armor making her strong, smarter and wiser. She must control Peter, appease the Queen, gain allies and take care of the people. It is like a wild game of Chess and I was impressed as she carefully considered each move. She conducts herself like a lady and I admire that about her. Do not be fooled into thinking you can walk all over her, because the girl has some wicked spunk. Someone she manages to still genuinely care about people, especially the lower class in her kingdom. Seeing her work the court council to her advantage was a thrill and watching take on the Empress gave me goosebumps.
Queen of Tomorrow was action-packed, intense and darker than the first. Be warned there are violent acts including abuse and rape. Ficklin does managed to show happy moments, weaving in love and kindness despite the circumstances. The ending sets us up perfectly for Queen of Always, which releases in September and I cannot wait to get my hands on it.
Copy provided by publisher. This review was originally posted on Caffeinated Book Reviewer
Berls
Written on Jun 28, 2015
I am so thankful that someone (boy do I wish I could remember who you were so I could thank you!) reviewed Queen of Tomorrow recently, because if they hadn't I would have compeltely missed it's release! I read Queen of Someday in August of last year and I've been anxiously awaiting this book - only to almost miss it! Somehow I still got to it two weeks before it's release and guess what? It's so freaking great! I devoured it in one day!
This series is based loosely on Catherine the Great - I say loosely because there's a lot of creative invention going on here - but as long as you're approaching it as a fun historical read instead of a way to gain access to Catherine's life there's no reason for that to disappoint. Sherry Ficklin is quite up front about it being a reinterpretation - I'd almost call it an alternative history. Since I haven't read alternative history (yet, I think) I could be wrong or this could be it...
ANYWAY I continue to love the characters in Queen of Tomorrow. Sophie/Catherine (we're seeing her called Sophie less and less) has been pretty much completely stripped of her naivety. In a way it's sad, she was so sweet and youthful in Queen of Someday but it's also kinda awesome because she's turning into a force to be reckoned with! I just love watching her manipulate, scheme, and practically rule - all while still holding on to something genuinely good. It will be interesting to see if she can hold onto that as the series progresses, she's definitely going to some dark places in Queen of Tomorrow.
I love the female power in general in this series - men have an important role of course, but they are surrounded by women who have the real power. The Queen, Sophie, even Sophie's despicable mother, and the mistress- they're all women using the roles they have available to them to manipulate, scheme, and dominate. It makes me kinda giddy :P
The guys are also quite great - what felt like it might become a love triangle really isn't one at all. Sophie/Catherine is in love with only one of the men and married to another. I remember (thanks to my revivew LOL) being slightly put off by how devoted Sergei becomes to Sophie so quickly, but in Queen of Tommorrow we get to know him a bit better and understand his acutally more gradual admiration and love for her. Peter continues to be atrocious and just as Sophie/Catherine is reaching new heights of strength, his brutalitiy and sheer evilness is also growing.
Speaking of - I should mention that while this is still a YA book there are a couple scenes of sexual brutality and rape. They aren't graphic, but they are explicit enough to make this one for the older, more mature teens. In fact, the sexual action in this book in general makes me think it's for an older crowd - definitely one for adults to enjoy too.
I'm eagerly awaiting the final book, Queen of Always due in September 2015! This series has been incredible from the word go and I can't wait to see how Ficklin wraps things up and who Sophie becomes in this final book!
I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
This book may be unsuitable for people under 17 years of age due to its use of sexual content, drug and alcohol use, and/or violence.
Cocktails and Books
Written on Jun 27, 2015
Most of you know that I previously read and reviewed Queen of Someday by Sherry D. Ficklin last year. And how much I absolutely loved it. When I hopped on Goodreads to see if book two had been released I was thrilled that Sherry herself left the email address to her publishing company so fans of Book One in the Stolen Empire series could ask for an AEC of book two. And email I did! I deliberately waited about a week, a long and agonizing week, until I knew I would have the time it would take to devour Queen of Tomorrow.
Picking up exactly where book one leaves off we have Sophie, the newly named Catherine the Great, still very much loathing her new husband yet completely eager to wear the crown. She is pleasing to look at and has a personality that makes everyone around her eager to bask in her glow. Yet she is absolutely humble and rules her little piece of land justly and with honor. Shortly after the book begins we find Catherine and her husband summoned to the queen's side. Naturally, her husband’s mistress tags along irking both Catherine and the queen herself. Upon arriving Catherine is rushed to the queen's physician due to her having been ill. Although she believes it is simply due to stress and overexertion it is discovered that Sophie is pregnant. Leaving his mistress completely in the lurch, Prince Peter now acts as a doting husband to his "little mother", however Sophie cannot wait to share her wonderful news with the true love of her life.
After an unfortunate accident sends Princess Sophie defending a stone staircase face first and suffering a miscarriage, the queen demands she and Peter try again. Tragically Peter instead develops an illness that threatens everything Sophie has worked so hard for and she is sent back to the Winter Palace to try to produce an heir "by any means necessary".
To accurately review this book I have to first describe the incredible writing style Ms. Ficklin possesses. With each word she draws you in to her oh so believable characters and their development. Sophie is no longer the sweet and innocent girl from book one. Court politics now demand that she become as ruthless as the Empress and even more cunning. It is so easy to see Sophie as she walks through the halls or mingles with guests at parties thrown specifically to enhance her status as future Queen. Without graphic detail Ficklin creates a romance that is tasteful and achingly beautiful proving that you do not need a million sexual adjectives to accurately portray what love is.
I'm eagerly awaiting book three "Queen of Always" when Sherry will bring the story if Catherine the Great to a close and most likely bring me to tears.
*NOTE: I received the book as an ARC from Clean Teen Publishing in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. This book was reviewed by a member of the review staff at Cocktails and Books. The name of the reviewer can be found under the post categories.