It is difficult for me to write a neutral review on this book because I truly enjoyed much of the story but the ending, although not out of left field or purposely written to jar the reader, was not what I consider in line with where most of the key elements of the story seem to lead the reader. In fact some of the story, which I had to re-read several times after finishing the book, including the back cover summary and a statement on the front cover, technically creates a different underlying premise for the story than actually is the case. Several other story elements do the same. When I finished the book, I actually felt kind of mislead and somewhat annoyed that significant parts of the story were not really tied to a coherent ending or an ending that provided a satisfying conclusion and the feeling that the investment made by faithfully following the story was worth it.

After reading the first couple pages of this book I felt a strong connection to the story setting, the characters and the writer's style but mid way through I lost that link and just felt that I was headed toward disappointment - mainly because the story line seemed to explode into a complex and abstract realm which made me feel that there was no way that this size book and style of writing could contain it, fully explore it and lead to a reasonable and satisfying end. Sadly my 'mid way' feelings turned out to be true.

I really wanted to like this book and admittedly there were parts that I enjoyed, but overall this book is not what I hoped it would be. It was less about the love affair between a queen and her forbidden lover or even about a likeable forbidden lover but more about (and often depressingly so) the decline of the French aristocracy, the French Revolution and the royal lineages of western Europe. As an aside the final conclusion of the novel is written on the back which I thought was very odd. Overall just neutral on this book.

I have read many post apocalyptic stories laced with barren landscapes, political decay and human crisis and happily, although unexpectedly, I can note that this is not one of those stories. In fact there is very little reference to these items at all - but enough to frame the story and set an intriguing backdrop. This is a character driven story about the everyday challenges of starting over, albeit starting over in the face of spectacularly peculiar events. It is a story about finding purpose and re-defining perspective and dealing with others as they face the same challenges, often times with startling, sad and unusual results. Not your ordinary post apocalyptic story and so much better because of it!

Whether it was purely Fortier's story telling power or my love of all things Shakespeare, Italy and ghostly - 3 Chapters in and I was hooked! As the story unfolded and switched between present day and ancient Siena I couldn't turn the pages quick enough to find out what twist the story would take next - none of which were even remotely predictable. Definitely a must read for anyone with a love of history, literature and suspense!