This novel follows Marie Mancini, the niece of a powerful cardinal in the court of French King Louis XIV. As Marie and Louis fall in love, she becomes the target of her uncle's wrath because her relationship with the king threatens to unravel his carefully laid political plans. Marie also has to contend with the king's mother and competition from her own sister who was once the king's mistress. Marie must find a way to bring down her uncle for her own safety and for her future with Louis. She combines her occult talents with those of her slave Morena and uses witchcraft, astrology, and more to bring down her rivals and secure her place as Queen of France. Based on real people and real events, this novel is also interspersed with historical commentary about Marie Mancini and her relationship with Louis XIV. I loved the combination of history, romance, intrigue, and high politics in this book. It is also a must-read for lovers of French history.

Anna C. / Marathon County Public Library
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3.5 Stars

I anticipated this book’s arrival like nuts; any historical fiction about a lesser known female figure is always appreciated. Exploring the opulent world of Louis XIV’s court also makes me smile. When I saw it offered on NetGalley, I jumped at the chance to read and review.

The author pleases in the atmospheric and story areas. The shifting alliances and intrigue of court politics appears front and center throughout the entire book. The characters only have a very few people they can completely trust; even family can stab you in the back. Those features kept me turning the digital pages like a whirlwind.

The author’s attention to historical detail and the timeline, I also appreciated. She explores an area of French history often neglected, giving us a window into a court in flux as the old regent powers that be are waning and the young Sun King is rising. I lived and breathed the times along with the characters. I appreciate that the author didn’t try to change historical events to give us a preferred ending; she stuck with the actual historical events, which this history buff explored.

The characters, I’m a bit mixed on. I had a hard time empathizing with Louis and Marie. I found the king a teenager brat who liked to throw his status around in vain attempts to get his own way; a dandified Louis throwing a temper tantrum, beating feet and fists on the floor, came to my imagination. Maybe it was his age as a younger individual, before he got all his power, but I just didn’t like him at all.

Marie, I liked a bit more. There were times where she also acted like a love struck teenager, having teenage hysterics and melodrama to try and get her own way. There’s nothing else that will turn me off a character faster than that. Yet, she at least showed some change in maturity as the story went along. I liked the flashes of intelligence and strength of will I occasionally got from her.

A lovely look at 17th century France, this book shines in its attention to detail and enthralling story. The characters I wasn’t so hot-to-trot for, but Marie at least showed some promise. I’d probably not pick this book up again for a re-read; once was enough. Yet, it’s still a pleasant read for historical fiction lovers.

Note: Book received for free from publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. ( )

An engaging novel about Marie Mancini, the first love of Louis XIV, France's Sun King. The niece of Cardinal Mazarin, Louis XIV's primary minister and rumored father, Marie is quickly caught up in her uncle's schemes and must fight to retain her position in Louis's heart. A fun look at the Sun King's youth, before Versailles, and at the famous Mancini sisters, who really should feature in more historical fiction! ( )

I'd been dying to get my hands on this book solely because I adored Jefferson's debut novel, Girl on the Golden Coin. And while I loved that book, I think I might love this one more. It has another charming, convincing heroine whose voice sealed my adoration from the first page, evocative historical details, and a dramatic plot that made me race to the last page.

Set during the reign of the young Louis XIV, the titular enchantress is Marie Mancini, an Italian noblewoman and niece of the powerful Cardinal Mazarin. She and her beautiful sisters are better known as the Mazarinettes for their obedience to their ambitious uncle, who is the close personal adviser to King Louis.

Mazarin has no qualms about throwing his nieces into the king's arms to keep the monarch's attention, and Marie's older sister Olympia is Louis' current mistress. But Marie and Louis have an immediate, intense connection, and Mazarin doesn't hesitate to encourage Marie's relationship with Louis when Olympia becomes pregnant. But Mazarin doesn't count on the true passion between Marie and Louis, nor Marie's intense desire to free the young monarch from her uncle's clutches.

As with Jefferson's debut, it's the heroine that so seduces me, and in this case, Marie -- clever, smitten, and conflicted -- won me immediately. She's from an intensely ambitious family and has no delusions about the expectations of herself and her sisters, yet in Jefferson's hands, Marie manages to hold onto youthful wistfulness, optimism, and naivete. I was so caught up in Marie's dream that found myself hoping Jefferson managed to change history to give Marie her happy ending.

There's a complicated swirl of plot surrounding Marie and Louis -- war with Spain, the Mancini's family connection to witchcraft and astrology, marriage contracts and other noble concerns -- and Jefferson manages to make these elements effortlessly connect without bogging down the story and narrative flow. And even with the strong romantic thread in the novel, Marie's story is really that of freedom -- from her uncle's tyranny, from imprisonment in a convent or a forced marriage -- and coming-of-age when one's value was assigned, not seen.

This is a Top Ten of 2015 read for me, and cinches my status as a Marci Jefferson fangirl. Francophiles and fans of royal hist fic, get this immediately! For anyone wanting a splashy summer read, enjoy this one on the beach (perhaps with a few macarons!). ( )