***I received this book from the Goodreads First Reads program***

I was exceptionally excited to read this book. Having had little interest or knowledge of this subject until I saw the King's Speech, I was intrigued to find out more about Wallis Simpson. This book was interesting and was well written. However, I'm somewhat disappointed by it. The book covers, essentially, the first half of Wallis Simpson's life. At the end, she has only just met Prince Edward.

I went into this book hoping to learn more about their romance, about their life together, and possibly even about the rumors of being Nazi sympathizers. Unfortunately, though the book is titled The Shadow Queen, it does not cover Wallis Simpson's years as the Prince's (and then King's) girlfriend/mistress/consort/wife. I believe the author is currently writing the sequel that will deal with that and I will most definitely be reading it when it comes out.

The other aspect of the book that I am not as fond of is it's mixing of fact and fiction. As I don't possess enough knowledge of the subject, it is hard to determine where the author is telling us what actually happened, or where she is taking artistic liberties with history. The effect of this is that I feel as though I actually know less on the subject than when I started because I will now doubt everything I have read about her and will not feel confident to share with others things "learned" in the book.

However, having said all that, it was still a very good book. If you're not looking for a biography, but a coming of age, rags to riches story set during the early part of the twentieth century that captures the mood of the first world war, the civil war in China, and the roaring twenties, then this is the book for you.