Queen of Tomorrow (Stolen Empire, #2)

by Sherry D. Ficklin

[Berls]

This review appeared first at Fantasy is More Fun.

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.