Review: Mistress of the Sun by Sandra Gulland

Book Info:

Mistress of the Sun by Sandra Gulland

Paperback: 400 pages
Publisher: Touchstone (April 7, 2009)
ISBN-13: 9780743298926

Genre: Historical Fiction

Rating: 4.5/5

Set against the magnificent decadence of the seventeenth-century French court, Mistress of the Sun begins when an eccentric young Louise falls in love with a wild white stallion and uses ancient magic to tame him. This one desperate action of her youth shadows her throughout her life, changing it in ways she could never imagine.

Unmarriageable, and too poor to join a convent, Louise enters the court of the Sun King, where the king is captivated by her. As their love unfolds, Louise bears Louis four children, is made a duchess, and reigns unrivaled as his official mistress until dangerous intrigue threatens her position at court and in Louis's heart.

A riveting love story with a captivating mystery at its heart, Mistress of the Sun illuminates both the power of true and perfect love and the rash actions we take to capture and tame it.

Most of the historical fiction I've read has centered around common people, instead of royalty. This was a wonderful change of pace for me and I loved every minute of it.

Petite, as she's called, is a great character. She fun and interesting, without the all arrogance that some members of the court seem to have. I also loved her adventures with the different horses in her life. Also, since we met Petite at such a young age I really felt I got to know her as she grew up and changed.

Petite's relationship with the King was very interesting. I can't imagine trying to sustain a relationship amid all the scrutiny and regulations. I thought the King was aloof and little unlikeable, but he had so many other duties that it made it hard to get to know him.

The descriptions of the Court were amazing. I can't imagine the opulence and excess; it seemed everyone had a maid. The inclusion of the medical treatments of the times (bleeding and purging) were fascinating too. While it's a wonderful to "visit" such a time in books, I think I much prefer modern life.

If you enjoy historical fiction, do yourself a favor and pick this one up! You won't be disappointed. I have to admit, I've had the Josephine trilogy languishing on my shelves for quite a while. But now, after Mistress of the Sun and all of Ms Gulland's wonderful guest posts on this tour, I'm hooked. 4.5 stars

******

The Giveaway:

I have an extra copy of Mistress of the Sun to give away to one lucky reader. This giveaway is open to the residents of the US and Canada. Sorry, but my postage budget only allows for international giveaways occasionally.

Now onto the rules:

--Leave a comment here for one entry

--Blog about the giveaway and link back here for a second entry

--Follow me or add me to your Google Reader for a third entry. Current subscribers are eligible for this too.

**Please leave a separate comment for each entry as I will be using the numbered comments to pick my winner. If you leave more than one entry in a comment, it won't be counted.

Please make sure you have a email address listed in your comment or on your profile. If I can't reach you, your entry won't count.

This contest will run until midnight May 12 and the winner will be chosen by random and posted on May 13.