The Académie by Susanne Dunlap

Dec 01, 2011 Flannery rated it really liked it

Shelves: read-in-2012, i-want-to-go-to-there, young-adult-teen, arc-galley-or-first-reads

The Académie reimagines a history where James Monroe’s daughter Eliza went to the same school at the same time as Napoleon Bonaparte’s sister, Caroline, and his stepdaughter (Josephine’s daughter) Hortense de Beauharnais. The school was run by Jeanne Louise Henriette Campan, who was mistress to the bedchamber of Marie Antoinette. In actuality, there wasn’t a time that all three girls were in attendance together so the author fabricated Eliza’s presence at the school in 1799 to create a plausible The Académie reimagines a history where James Monroe’s daughter Eliza went to the same school at the same time as Napoleon Bonaparte’s sister, Caroline, and his stepdaughter (Josephine’s daughter) Hortense de Beauharnais. The school was run by Jeanne Louise Henriette Campan, who was mistress to the bedchamber of Marie Antoinette. In actuality, there wasn’t a time that all three girls were in attendance together so the author fabricated Eliza’s presence at the school in 1799 to create a plausible timeline and then ran with it. I read and enjoyed Dunlap’s recent work, In the Shadow of the Lamp, which told a tale of a young woman who joins Florence Nightingale’s nursing corps during the Crimean War, so I was excited to jump into another time period with her and fall into the story. Her writing is engaging and she created a scenario where I actually enjoyed multiple narrators. The book is told from the point of view of Eliza Monroe, Hortense, and a third young woman, Madeleine, who though she comes from a very different background and situation becomes entwined with the other two (and Caroline Bonaparte) later in the story.

Each character was unlikeable in her own way, yet the author made me look forward to hearing from them when it was their turn to narrate. I thought Eliza was naïve and a bit of a try-hard (“The new manner of government gives titles and positions to those who actually deserve them. It will be easy to stand out in that sort of crowd.”), Hortense was a pushover, and Caroline was a huge… well, I’m sure you can figure out what word I want to write here. Multiple narrators rarely work well for me but I quite enjoyed the catty conversations and subtle jabs between the young women, particularly when I knew I would get to hear from the other participants at some later point. Also, I think it is realistic that each girl thought she was the only one who truly had a grasp of what was going on in their social circles and constantly wondered what the others were thinking.

While I did enjoy the multiple main characters, I wish an entire book was concentrated on Madeleine’s character. She felt removed from the three girls at the boarding school yet I found her story to be the most compelling. A young girl, relegated to servitude by and for her mother and who lives her entire life in the theater. A girl whose mother finds her to be competition, on the stage and in matters of male company. I almost pictured Madeleine as a Sara Crewe-type character (A Little Princess), making the best of a situation which she knew she could rise above. I will not give away the ending of her particular story but I found it to be such an awful end to the only primary character whose story was entirely fabricated. The author writes in an afterword about taking liberties with the time period and particular character’s traits. I mentioned in a discussion with another Goodreads reviewer (Michelle, who wrote a wonderful review here) that the fact that the author did this did not bother me until the last portion of the novel. History provides us with pinpoints for all the lives of these characters—Dunlap couldn’t (with any credibility) leave the characters in some obscure life paths that were completely untruthful. They each more or less end up where they actually did in history. So why make Eliza Monroe out to be some abolitionist when there is no historical record to back it up?

The plotline of the book has a lot to do with young romance, trying to find a partner of equal familial standing and wealth, and the general antics of high-school aged girls. For about the first half of the book, I wasn’t sure who was going to end up with whom in the story as feelings were flying all over the place. A piece of me wants to say that the romantic elements of the story were unrealistic but I know marriage was much more an issue of practicality during that time period. I suppose I just enjoy reading about relationships based on love rather than convenience and social standing. When I think about it overall, I am so happy I read this while I was in a good mood. Otherwise, it would’ve driven me up a wall that people were traveling so quickly by carriage and that everyone seemingly gets away with every hijink they get up to. How convenient!

We learn so much of our history in a vacuum. While I was reading The Académie, I kept wondering how many historical world events I could match up with the corresponding American president/s. I memorized the presidents in order from an Animaniacs song when I was a kid, but honestly I was surprised to learn that James Monroe’s daughter went to the same school as Napoleon Bonaparte’s sister and stepdaughter, even if they were a few years apart. I guess that’s one argument for reading historical fiction (and nonfiction even more so)—now I will never forget. Jeopardy, here I come!

I recommend this to anyone who doesn't mind multiple narrators or authors taking historical liberties. If you can get over those things, there's a lot of fun to be had with these characters in this portion of history. I'll definitely continue reading Dunlap's historical fiction.

To read some awesome stuff go visit me, Tatiana, and Catie over at The Readventurer. ...more

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Apr 28, 2018 Anne Osterlund rated it really liked it

Eliza Monroe came to Paris for adventure. Not so her mother could abandon her at boarding school. But with the Academie’s high-class borders—Hortense de Beauharnais and Caroline Bonaparte among them—this school is a veritable gateway to adventure.

And trouble.

I genuinely enjoy Susanne Dunlap’s historical fiction, and the Academie is no exception. While the story and relationships appear greatly fictionalized, I found the characters intriguing; and the book has made me wish to learn more about the ...more

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Mar 03, 2012 Michelle rated it liked it

Shelves: young-adult, historical-fiction, history, arc, racism

I suppose I should start off with the fact that this is fiction based VERY loosely on historical figures and events; the story is made up, but the names are real. Considering how frequently I air my (occasionally annoying) thoughts pertaining to accuracy in details as they apply to persons, places, and events that were real, it will probably come as a surprise that - though Dunlap played fast and loose with her fiction and fact - it didn't really bother me. (Are you shocked? I was.) Maybe it is I suppose I should start off with the fact that this is fiction based VERY loosely on historical figures and events; the story is made up, but the names are real. Considering how frequently I air my (occasionally annoying) thoughts pertaining to accuracy in details as they apply to persons, places, and events that were real, it will probably come as a surprise that - though Dunlap played fast and loose with her fiction and fact - it didn't really bother me. (Are you shocked? I was.) Maybe it is because her primary characters were people that I knew of but little about. She keeps the external historical details fairly accurate while making the events most intimate to the characters primarily fiction. That seemed to make it somehow okay. I was able to read the entire novel without feeling the need to flip to the back of the book or pull up google to fact-check, which is a testament to just how engrossing I found The Académie.

Dunlap's characters captured me and wouldn't let me go. The four young women central to the plot were all very honest, believable portrayals of young ladies of their time and in their positions. They were exceptionally well developed - vibrant and vital - and capable of creating strong emotions. Sadly, my primary emotions were dislike, disdain, and less frequently sympathy. I think it another testament to Dunlap's talent that the latter was even possible. Every time I would start to like a character, or think perhaps I had been too hard on them, they would do something so self-serving or cruel that I was right back at square one.

The Académie is written in a very intimate first person style that feels almost like diary entries, and alternates perspective between three of the four main characters. While reading their alternating views of events, I was constantly reminded of something a teacher once said, 'rarely does someone think they are the villain in their own story.' We switch between seeing the excuses for and the effects of each girl's actions, and it is enlightening in a horrifying sort of way. To see how cruelly something can be felt by someone, followed by what the other actually intended to happen was fascinating. Which is why, even though I really didn't like these girls, I thoroughly enjoyed reading about them. This pulling closer to and pushing away from each of the characters with the change of narration also gave the girls' characters added depth that I didn't at first suspect. I don't think they would feel so terrible if they were not so real. Each time I was with a character, I sympathized with them, and could understand their actions if not condone them. (And to be truthful, Madeleine and Hortense weren't actually that bad until later in the book. I am also thankful that Dunlap never gave Caroline control of the narration - that is one head I do not want to be in.)

Overall I actually really liked The Académie, and thought it was very well done. I will definitely read other books by Dunlap, and think she is a skilled author. However, I do have one problem with The Académie - and it is a rather large one. Dunlap (per her Author's Note) purposely attempted to explore 18th century racism and the issue of slavery. She attempted to display it in all its ugliness, and then show how circumstances could change people's opinions, allowing 'shaded feelings' on the issues. She particularly tried to show this in the character of Eliza. While I greatly appreciate the attempt, I think she was unfortunately so successful in the first part of her aim that she utterly failed in the second. I did not get 'shaded feelings' from Eliza. Her behavior to the French servants early in the book was so cruel (and her thoughts about both the servants in France and the slaves at home so dismissive) that her turnabout toward African-American slaves at the end felt contrived and inauthentic to her character. Eliza's behavior with Madeleine felt believable insofar as she had already invested in Madeleine's humanity, and could not take it back. It has been repeatedly documented throughout history that exceptionally racist people can be adept at compartmentalizing those feelings - suspending them when confronted with a single individual they come to know while still maintaining them against a race as a whole. Nothing ever makes me think this is not the case with Eliza and Madeleine. (Nor does the actual life story of Eliza Monroe - as seen in a few hours of googling - ever betray hints of these conflicted feelings.)

Perhaps it is only a product of my own privilege (that of having education and experiences which allow me to not be racist) but I find the book's implications to be both insulting and patronizing. I strongly resent the idea that it takes being thrown into close proximity to or intimacy with an individual of another race (or sexual orientation, or sex, or gender, or (dis)ability, or religion, etc.) to recognize their humanity. (Or, conversely, that racism, sexism, etc. arise from a lack of experience with people who are different.) I call BS. Over and over again we see people who were 'products' of the very same times, situations and circumstances as racist individuals who, unlike their less open-minded peers, were instead quite aware of the inherent humanity of people different from themselves. (In counterpoint to Eliza - white, southern, and/or wealthy people who were abolitionists and members of the Underground Railroad.) There are people out there who can recognize the basic common humanity of us all - no matter in which society, time, or income class they lived. I think it sells humanity as a whole short to say that we must all be taught or forced to recognize this. Yes, a person who is merely self-absorbed may be made to see that they have been unintentionally or unknowingly cruel or racist, and will then change. (Oskar Schindler as he was portrayed in Schindler's List comes to mind.) However, people who are truly racist (sexist, homophobic, etc.) are rarely going to shed those beliefs that simply. I willingly admit I could be wrong, and would welcome thoughts on the topic. ...more

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Feb 13, 2012 Stephanie Bedell rated it liked it

This review was first available at
Bottom Line Book Reviews

Summary
The year is 1799 and Eliza Monroe has just been unceremoniously deposited by her mother at a prestigious boarding school in France. Instead of the Parisian holiday she expected, Eliza must now undertake the difficult task of befriending members of the young French upper class, including Caroline Bonaparte, sister to the great Napoleon, and Hortense de Beauharnais, the daughter of Josephine Bonaparte, Napoleon’s wife. Eliza was ho This review was first available at
Bottom Line Book Reviews

Summary
The year is 1799 and Eliza Monroe has just been unceremoniously deposited by her mother at a prestigious boarding school in France. Instead of the Parisian holiday she expected, Eliza must now undertake the difficult task of befriending members of the young French upper class, including Caroline Bonaparte, sister to the great Napoleon, and Hortense de Beauharnais, the daughter of Josephine Bonaparte, Napoleon’s wife. Eliza was hoping for adventure and romance in Paris, will she find it while trying to deal with the intrigues and manipulations of Caroline and Hortense?

Hortense is growing fatigued by Caroline’s attempts to ruin her family and reputation. She wants to fall in love, to be caught up in a great romance, and the son of her music teacher just might do the trick. Can Hortense find love on her own terms or will she be forever bowing to her controlling mother’s will?

Madeleine wants to be rescued from her life as the serving girl to her mother, an abusive, narcissistic actress. Madeleine’s lover, Eugene de Beauharnais, has promised to take her away and marry her. Will he fulfill his vow or leave her to fend for herself with a mother who grows more unhinged by the day?

Review
I had mixed feelings about this title. As a whole, this was a decent read set in a very interesting period in French history. The years following the French Revolution were uncertain and fraught with potential conflict, particularly for members of the upper class. One of the main reasons I enjoyed this title is because the author captured the precarious atmosphere of this period so well. This aspect of the book was fascinating.

The Academie switches narration between Eliza, Hortense and Madeleine which builds suspense in some instances but in others only serves to unnecessarily replay particular scenes. I really enjoyed the character of Hortense. I actually wish the entire story would have been about her life before the events of this book. She must have had a fascinating upbringing which would have made for a better story than the one here. The character of Eliza seemed a little inconsistent. She did grow throughout the events of the book, but her development seemed forced. The character of Madeleine was simply a wasted opportunity. As an aspiring singer and actress, she could have been extremely interesting. In the end, she did little more than move the action forward which again, made for another inconsistent character.

I have to say, I wish this book had been better. I enjoyed it for the first half simply because the time period was represented so well and the characters held my interest. In the second half the story became tedious and the characters began to feel very underdeveloped and capricious. If you enjoy historical fiction, you may like this one, but the ending will probably disappoint most readers. For better spins on this genre, try The Luxe by Anna Godberson and for the French Revolution with a supernatural twist try The Red Necklace by Sally Gardner.

The Publisher provided me with an advanced copy, through netgalley, for this review. The Academie will be released on April 10, 2012 ...more

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Mar 25, 2012 Cassi aka Snow White Haggard rated it liked it

Shelves: galleys, read-in-2012, yay-history

The Académie is a historical novel set in Paris right after the French Revolution. It's a re-imagined history, intentionally fudging dates and ages, to put Hortense de Beauharnais (daughter of Josephine), Carolyn Bonaparte (sister of Napoleon) and Eliza Monroe (daughter of James Monroe) at L'Académie Nationale a SaintGermain at the same time. It's a fun little book set against the backdrop of a struggling France.

Eliza is naive and young, but it's more endearing than obnoxious. Carolyn is cunning ...more

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Oct 25, 2011 Rose rated it it was ok

Shelves: young-adult, historical, coming-of-age, netgalley, arc-or-galley, pretty-cover, tbr-challenge

To say that "The Académie" disappointed me would be a gross understatement. It's not that I dislike historical fiction in the vein of YA - I love them, actually, especially when they have wonderful characters and emotional resonance that stay with me long after I finish the book. It's not even that I dislike speculative retellings or alternate interpretations of various historical figures. Probably my favorite retelling in the vein of French history would be the Japanese manga "Rose of Versaille To say that "The Académie" disappointed me would be a gross understatement. It's not that I dislike historical fiction in the vein of YA - I love them, actually, especially when they have wonderful characters and emotional resonance that stay with me long after I finish the book. It's not even that I dislike speculative retellings or alternate interpretations of various historical figures. Probably my favorite retelling in the vein of French history would be the Japanese manga "Rose of Versailles," which was amazing in its research and depth/detail of the characterizations leading up to the French Revolution.

But "The Académie" tries to be too many things at once, and without proper expansion or development of the characters or the overarching plot, it falls flat in its delivery in so many respects. The author does say she takes liberties with the historical timeline and events, but it's clear that the development itself is speculative because there really isn't much heart to this story. More like a toggling of "she loves him" and "he loves her but he can't be with her because of money and/or manipulation done by interference." It would have more impact if there was a sense of who these characters are and their background, but its so underdeveloped that it's hard to care.

The story toggles between the perspectives of a group of girls attending The Académie in France: Eliza Monroe (daughter of the aspiring U.S. president), Hortense de Beauharnais and Caroline Bonaparte (the former Josephine Bonaparte's daughter, and the other sister to Napoleon). There is another perspective, Madeline, who crosses paths with the girls at one point as well, living in the theater with her abrasive, but prominent mother.

To first address some of the flaws of The Académie, there's a shifting of perspectives between three primary (but ulimately four) active characters. I actually didn't have a problem going between the perspective characters, but I did find their subsequent development lacking. Each character has their fair share of flaws. Eliza's young and naive to French society, and has premature crushes on quite a few of the gentlemen she comes across. Hortense is in love, but conflicted because her love wouldn't be accepted by her family or the people around her because of her mother's identity, despite being Bonaparte's lover. Caroline is insufferable in that she hates Hortense, loves a soldier from afar, and practically manipulates every person she comes across (the most prominent being Eliza in this novel). The only character I think I started out liking a little more than the rest was Madeline, but it seemed her story stood out quite a bit more and at a distance from the other characters, with her pursuits in the theater and living with her jealous mother. She longs to be taken away as she comes of age, by her lover who happens to be Hortense's brother.

There are a fair share of clashes between the characters, but while in the beginning it's a fair dose of interesting push/pull conflicts, by the end, it feels a bit milked to the point where it was hard to keep my investment in the novel. And the big tragedy? It made me angry instead of shocking me, because it felt like the most stupid, stupid manipulation of emotional resonance. Think of a scenario where Romeo kills Juliet - by accident sure, but it was just...how the heck could that happen if the two of them really loved each other. Seriously?

I'm not going to tell you which character, and I'm not even going to say which couple it involved, but I was a fair measure of disappointed by it. It did not hit home as much as it could've if the development of the characters were more pronounced. And the novel's abrupt ending after that event did not help to bring closure to the events or character arcs all that much.

Suffice to say, this was a one time read for me. I didn't like it and I think there are better retellings to be had out there in the backdrop of this particular time period, but I did like the beginning and appreciated some of the historical backdrop, even when those lines weren't as rooted as I would've liked them to have been.

Overall score: 1.5/5

Note: I recieved this as an ARC from NetGalley, from the publisher Bloomsbury. ...more

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Sep 28, 2011 Sarah (Catching Books) rated it really liked it

What a really fun read!! I haven't really read any historical novels in a while so it was really fun reading something from a different time period! One of the first things that caught my eye about this novel was the setting/location. It was really interesting to see what France was like right after the revolution, especially from a teenager's perspective. Susanne Dunlap does a really great job of describing the setting and making the reader really able to imagine France during this time.

One of ...more

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Mar 03, 2012 April rated it it was ok

Shelves: ereader, ya, netgalley, for-review, historical-fiction

Sigh. Sometimes when you read a book’s summary, you think WOW it sounds like this book and I are MEANT TO BE. And then you read the book and have a deep soul connection. Other times, you read the book and unfortunately end up disappointed. Friends, I did not experience a deep soul connection with The Académie by Susanne Dunlap.

Read the rest of my review here ...more

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May 24, 2019 🌈⭐️RoseOfRainbows⭐️🌈💕 rated it it was ok

Shelves: dnf-pile, boarding-school-books

Trying to give this book a chance as I’m an avid reader and lover of boarding school novels but it’s hard to get into and isn’t the most friendly time period. Don’t think I’ll finish it. Too drawn out. Wrong time period to get enthusiastic about.

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Oct 05, 2013 Katherine rated it liked it

Shelves: romance, instalove-express, young-adult, historical-fiction, love-triangle

"Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité- République française"

Setting:Paris and Saint=Germain-en-Laye; 1799

Coverly Love?:No; why on Earth did they decide not to show her face. If I hadn't' known any better or not read the synopsis, I would have thought it was a teenage erotica read. I do like the pink background though.

Plot:Madame Campan's Academie Nationale is the France's most exclusive girls boarding school. If your anybody who's somebody, you go to that school. Such is the case for three lucky gi ...more

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Jun 12, 2012 Mara rated it liked it

Shelves: romance, historical-fiction, 3-stars

Cover Blurb: While I love the color scheme - soft, blushing pink and emerald-green dress - and the title’s font, I don’t like the girl. Her position and emphasis on the lips screams GIRL READ! The cover doesn’t like - this is a girl read, but it also isn’t as bad of one as the cover may indicate. If it was on a paperback, I would almost assume that it’s one of those cheap romances that little old ladies are always reading (except the girl does have her clothes on).

What I Liked: The setup - a pos Cover Blurb: While I love the color scheme - soft, blushing pink and emerald-green dress - and the title’s font, I don’t like the girl. Her position and emphasis on the lips screams GIRL READ! The cover doesn’t like - this is a girl read, but it also isn’t as bad of one as the cover may indicate. If it was on a paperback, I would almost assume that it’s one of those cheap romances that little old ladies are always reading (except the girl does have her clothes on).

What I Liked: The setup - a posh boarding-school in Paris - was interesting. I love historical fiction boarding-school stories. The mix of different characters added a lot to the story. I did not, at first, much care for Eliza. She seemed pretty dense; why in the world would you trust someone like Caroline? She is so obviously a conniving little jerk. Her like for Hortense, but refusal to stand up for her, bothered me a lot. However, by the end of the story, Eliza seemed to have learned a lesson, and for that I liked her. Armand, her other love interest, begins as a minor character, but then plays some fairly big roles as the story progresses, and he struck me as being the only sensible male in the group, along with Eugene.

What I Disliked: While it’s true I grew to like Eliza once I realized she’d learned a lesson, I spent the majority of the book not really caring for her. Caroline is a mean, selfish, bratty little thing, and Madeleine goes a bit insane and doesn’t treat Eliza or Hortense the way she ought, considering they save her life. I liked Hortense at first, but her crush on her stepfather, Napoleon, is more than a little disturbing, and in the end, she falls under the category of scheming female, right along with all the other females in the book.

Believability: The Author admits that while her three main female characters - Hortense, Caroline, and Eliza - are real, went to the same boarding-school, and Hortense was Eliza’s good friend, she made up the situation. Eliza never went to the boarding-school in the year that the story takes place. Madeleine didn’t exist. And there’s no evidence Hortense loved her music teacher’s son. Even so, the Author has done research into the era, and the fact that she was able to make her story convincing - when the majority of it was fictional - shows that she knew what she was writing about.

Writing Style: Present-tense; urg. I didn’t like it for this story. Each chapter alternates between three narrators: Hortense, Eliza, and Madeleine. I did like this; I’ve always been a fan of that technique. And the Author manages to give each girl a distinctive narrative voice, so it doesn’t get confusing.

Content: Nothing! Madeleine’s mother maintains a string of lovers, but we never get any details beyond that. I’m glad that this book doesn’t follow along the lines of Anastasia’s Secret, and it could have easily done that.

Conclusion: Exciting. And unexpected. I really was not expecting the bittersweet note that it ends on. The Author may have fabricated the majority of the circumstances, but her characters still meet the same fates they did in real life. After I got over my initial surprise at the lack of “happily ever after,” I found that I liked the ending. It somehow suited.

Recommended Audience: This is definitely a girl read. Historical fiction romance fans will like it, especially romance fans who get tired of reading romance books that are full of content. ...more

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Jan 28, 2012 Jennifer rated it really liked it

Shelves: arc

I love reading historical fiction, and this book didn't disappoint me. I started reading it and I couldn't stop. It's not full of action and drama, but it was interesting to me. I learned more from this book than I did in my grade 11 history class (my teacher did pretty much nothing). It's a good look into how an all girls school might have been in that era.

The story is told from three points of view. There is Eliza, the American; Hortense, Josephine's daughter; and Madeline, the daughter of an I love reading historical fiction, and this book didn't disappoint me. I started reading it and I couldn't stop. It's not full of action and drama, but it was interesting to me. I learned more from this book than I did in my grade 11 history class (my teacher did pretty much nothing). It's a good look into how an all girls school might have been in that era.

The story is told from three points of view. There is Eliza, the American; Hortense, Josephine's daughter; and Madeline, the daughter of an actress. I'm normally not a huge fan of using multiple character's PoV, but Susanne Dunlap makes it work.

Eliza, the youngest of the three, starts out as more of a child, but she is from America and wasn't around for all the events that caused the others to grow up faster. As the story progresses, she slowly learns more about the real world, and is no longer as sheltered. She falls in love, learns that not everyone can always be trusted, and learns more about friendship. By the end, she has grown up quite a bit, even if it hasn't been a whole lot of time that's passed. Eliza is probably my favorite of the characters because she changes the most.

Hortense on the other hand, is one of the most famous girls in Paris, her stepfather is Napoleon Bonaparte after all. At first I truly felt sorry for her, she has some real horror in her past. But, as the story goes on, I kept switching back and forth between liking her and not liking her. Sometimes something would happen to make me feel bad for her, but then other times what she was doing was just selfish. I kind of feel bad with how things end up for her in the end, but she knew it was how things would turn out for her in the end.

Madeline is a character that I felt bad for the whole time. Her mother was awful to her, just completely awful. So when she falls in love, all she can do is think about when she'll finally get away from her mother. Things look up for her for awhile, and you learn that she really has some talent with her singing, but then you get to the end and you're back to pitying her.

I can't forget Caroline! She doesn't narrate at all, but she does play a major role. I probably disliked her the most. As selfish as Hortense seemed at times, Caroline was always selfish, and it got her everything she wanted in the end. But she uses Eliza and Hortense along the way, which makes me dislike her.

So the story was a little slow in a couple of place, but it read fast overall. I would start reading and an hour later would realize I had read 100 pages and was shocked because it didn't feel like I had read that long or much. So the book does flow along pretty good. I would recommend this book to those of you who really enjoy historical fiction and don't mind a story that has a little less action. There were a few points where I would get confused as to who was narrating, but I quickly found out in a line or two, I'm going to blame that on my mommy brain. Overall, this was a nice, enjoyable read for me.

Thanks to NetGalley for the review copy!

For more reviews visit Owl Read It. ...more

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Mar 01, 2012 Amber at Fall Into Books rated it it was ok

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book didn't impress me as much as I was hoping it would. The descriptions of the setting were fantastic, and I couldn't help but feel that I was in Enlightenment Era France. The plot was decent, and the pacing was quick moving for the first half, but the last half dragged a bit. The characters, on the other hand, were not so great.

The character of Eliza, who was one of the three narrators, was extremely an I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book didn't impress me as much as I was hoping it would. The descriptions of the setting were fantastic, and I couldn't help but feel that I was in Enlightenment Era France. The plot was decent, and the pacing was quick moving for the first half, but the last half dragged a bit. The characters, on the other hand, were not so great.

The character of Eliza, who was one of the three narrators, was extremely annoying. I felt like I was reading a narration from the Kibbles N Bits puppy. I don't know if any of you remember that commercial, but there's this little puppy who jumps around following this older dog, basically hero-worshiping the older dog. He's all overly excited and yelling about Kibbles N Bits. Anyway, Eliza reminded me of that. There were so many exclamation points that I wanted to remove that key from Dunlap's keyboard. Seriously, I didn't know they had crack in 1799, but apparently Eliza had smoked some. Bad stuff.

Hortense and Madeleine weren't as annoying, and I personally wish that Hortense had narrated the entire thing. It would have been a much more enjoyable story had it all been told from her perspective. Madeleine didn't stand out to me or fall short. She simply was there. Hortense shined, though. She was an extremely interesting character, and I would have liked more of her and less of Eliza. Much, much less of Eliza.

The switch in narration didn't do much for the story. It just made me feel scattered and gave me a break from Eliza's overly-excited rambling. It didn't drive the plot in any way, and as far as I could see, it didn't even aid in the plot that much. Madeleine served to move the action forward a bit, but other than that, the three narrators weren't needed. I'm pretty sure the action could have been moved forward without having Madeleine as a narrator. I'm not sure why Dunlap decided to have three narrators. It really didn't work for this story, though.

The ending was a big disappointment for me. The last half of the book really dragged along. The first half of the book flew by because it was focused on describing the time period. The second half, when all of the exciting stuff was supposed to take place, just fell flat. I didn't feel any suspense, and the characters didn't grow that much in the end. I prefer a lot of character development in the novels I read.

Overall, I'd recommend checking this book out from the library before buying it. Historical fiction buffs will probably eat this one up. I'm a big character person, though, so I'm not 100% sold on this book.

Check out other reviews, giveaways, and contests at http://falln2books.blogspot.com ...more

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Apr 19, 2012 Jennifer Ellision rated it liked it

Shelves: young-adult, historical-fiction, netgalley, reviewed, read-in-2012

Posted to Almost Grown-up:

In the aftermath of the French Revolution, The Academie draws children of influential people across the world, including Eliza Monroe, the daughter of the future president, Hortense de Beauharnais, stepdaughter of Napoleon Bonaparte, and Caroline Bonaparte, sister of the very same– the original short man with short man syndrome.

On the fringes of society, Madeline, a Creole actress at the Comedie Francaise, lives abused by her mother and head-over-heels in love with Hort Posted to Almost Grown-up:

In the aftermath of the French Revolution, The Academie draws children of influential people across the world, including Eliza Monroe, the daughter of the future president, Hortense de Beauharnais, stepdaughter of Napoleon Bonaparte, and Caroline Bonaparte, sister of the very same– the original short man with short man syndrome.

On the fringes of society, Madeline, a Creole actress at the Comedie Francaise, lives abused by her mother and head-over-heels in love with Hortense’s brother, Eugene.

I was prepared to be a little obsessed with this book because, well, of three reasons mostly:
1) BOARDING SCHOOL
2) Historical fiction (and thus INTRIGUE POTENTIAL)
3) FRANCE. Oh, frenchy french France.
But, alors, I cannot say “J’adore.”

The Academie is written from 3 points of view: Eliza, Hortense, and Madeline. Despite occasionally revelations of their different maturity levels and obviously different situations, all three girls sound relatively the same, which didn’t really fit for me since they’re from completely different walks of life. As I was getting introduced to them, I didn’t always keep track of which point of view I was reading, since I wasn’t familiar enough with their situations.

As things went on and I understood them separately, each girl had the potential to win me over completely. Eliza kind of made me want to pat her on the head, Hortense had my respect, and Madeline my sympathy.

Different areas of the plot held my attention more than others. I read most avidly during Napoleon’s overthrow of the standing government (that totally doesn’t count as a spoiler, guys, it’s HISTORY). But a great deal of the novel felt rushed. Each girl had a love interest (or two) and with 3 points of view it was overwhelming.

I loved the inclusion of historic details. I really did, but sometimes it felt like some details, while interesting, simply took away from the plot that Susanne Dunlap was trying to weave in The Academie.

And the ending– well, it totally threw me off. I was so sure I knew what was going to happen, but I was wrong. Sometimes that’s cool, but in this case I don’t think it would have been a bad thing if I was right. The ending left me unfortunately unsatisfied.

Overall rating: 3/5. The Academie was more of a guilty pleasure historical fiction novel than anything else, but kind of all over the place. ...more

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Mar 14, 2012 Michelle rated it liked it

Shelves: young-adult, fiction, historical, netgalley, read-2012

Posted on Book Chelle.

Susan Dunlap’s The Académie is a historical tale that takes place after the French Revolution. While Dunlap has taken creative license to the events that take place, The Académie has many similarities to reality. Set in 1779 France, Dunlap writes about lives of four young women – Eliza Monroe, the daughter of soon-to-be President Monroe, Hortense de Beauharnais, daughter of Josephine de Beauharnais, Caroline Bonaparte, sister to Napoleon Bonaparte, and Madeline, a daughter ...more

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May 08, 2014 Ellie rated it it was ok

*1.5
Don't bother. There are so many other books you could be reading.

When I read the synopsis I was interested and looking forward to reading it. I like historical fiction. Or that is, I like good historical fiction... I'm sorry to say that this book was not one of them.

I'm going to try to keep this short. My main issues were

1. The first person - every chapter switches between Madeleine, Eliza and Hortense. The latter two are often interchangeable and it made keeping track of the characters dif ...more

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Oct 06, 2011 Kate rated it liked it

Shelves: teen-fiction, historical-fiction, arc, review-books, netgalley

I really wanted to love this one because I am such a history geek about anything to do with the Bonapartes, but I just couldn't bring myself to give it more than three stars. The Academie started out strong and I loved all the characters but I couldn't get into the romance part much because I knew how history would play out for the three girls. I agree along with some of the other reviewers that there were some plot holes that lead to a confusing ending. I had high hopes for The Academie but fou ...more

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Feb 18, 2012 Anna rated it really liked it

This was a very interesting historical fiction read about four girls in France during the time of Napoleon Bonaparte. Each chapter is written by one of the girls telling the story from their perspective through the course of the year. It has a little bit of action and romance as well. If you like historical fiction you will enjoy this book.

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Nov 09, 2011 Annabelle rated it really liked it

Shelves: gorgeous-cover, romance, favorites, i-love-a-guy-in-this-book, i-own, arcs, reviewless, historical-fiction, e-books

A whole lot of fun :)

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Jan 21, 2012 Amy rated it it was ok

Shelves: ya, historical-fiction-ya, netgalley-edelweiss-arcs

This review originally appeared here

THE ACADÉMIE has a solid premise, friends, and it takes place during one of the more interesting–and one of my personal favorite–historical periods: Napoleonic France. I LOVE reading about the society and the politics and how basically the Bonapartes sound kind of like a stereotypical mafia family, except with less murder and more political scheming. There’s so much SCANDAL about them, guys, and that makes them JUICY to read about. And for the most part, readi This review originally appeared here

THE ACADÉMIE has a solid premise, friends, and it takes place during one of the more interesting–and one of my personal favorite–historical periods: Napoleonic France. I LOVE reading about the society and the politics and how basically the Bonapartes sound kind of like a stereotypical mafia family, except with less murder and more political scheming. There’s so much SCANDAL about them, guys, and that makes them JUICY to read about. And for the most part, reading about Napoleon’s sister, Caroline, step-daughter, Hortense, and their school friend Eliza Monroe, was interesting in a history nerd way. But THE ACADÉMIE didn’t quite meet my expectations. *Sad face*

I’ll start with the things I liked. The historical setting is awesome. I just love this time period! And really, reading about Napoleon and his immediate family as well as his wife and step-children and the way they interact with each other is fascinating and backstabby and brimming with barely-veiled distaste. I wish we had gotten a bit more of this, to be honest, but there was lots of good family politics in THE ACADÉMIE.

The pacing improved after the half-way point, when things really started happening. There’s lots of plans and action and THINGS going on. All of the plot threads start to weave together. It might have seemed still a little scattered and hasty, but it was more exciting than the first half, which I thought lagged a bit.

There were also some very likable characters, too: Eugene, Hortense’s brother, was very endearing and sweet. I wish we could have seen more of him. He seemed a little more well-rounded than some other characters, who came off kind of flat to me. And I enjoyed reading about the Bonapartes, especially Napoleon’s mother, who seemed like a major beyotch. I think it would have been fun to see her a little bit more as well. Madeleine, the young actress living with her MONSTROUS mother, was an empathetic character who wound up having quite a bit of mettle.

Alas, all of these things that I liked couldn’t really make up for some other things that I didn’t like as much. For instance, our girl Eliza. Eliza is IRRITATING. Also superficial, snobby, childish, and kind of ridiculous. Granted, she’s only 14, and props for having her ACT her age, but she still made me roll my eyes A LOT. It was hard to connect with her when she’s being a brat to the servants and basically hoping that something scandalous will happen so that she can go write a letter about it to her mother.

Hortense is a good character, but kind of flat, and some of the things she gets herself into were either weird (her mildly uncomfortable relationship with her step-father) or seemed out of character for her (her attachment to Michel, and her role in her brother Eugene’s relationship). But I certainly empathized with Hortense. Caroline, on the other hand, seemed to be a little bit more well-rounded, what with her love for her brother’s general, Murat. But mostly she was the bad guy. There was a little confusion at the end there, when she seemed to turn around a little bit, but then I think we were supposed to assume that she had only been faking her turn to the good side? I’m not sure. In any case, she didn’t have a very likable personality, which I usually have no problem with. Lots of times villains are the most intriguing characters, but something about Caroline just made her seem manipulative and mean. Boo.

Things happen, too, as the book winds down but they never seem fleshed out somehow. Or smoothly connected. There’s so much time devoted in the beginning to meeting the characters, who I didn’t find particularly likable or interesting in both the sense of personality and/or characterization, that by the time we make it half way through and the story starts picking up steam, there isn’t really enough time left to give each event its proper due.

Perhaps most disappointingly, the romances were really…blah. Mostly because we saw almost literally NOTHING of them. I KNOW, RIGHT? So sad. There was mention of a kiss with tongue that occurred in the past (we didn’t see it) and a chaste kiss that wasn’t even meant to be romantic between two people OTHER than one of the established couples. THAT’S IT. For all that I thought the book would have more of the romances in it because it’s really those romances that drive the culminating action, they were pretty flat. I felt nothing for them. This was a bummer to me both because I felt like they wound up being important enough to warrant more attention than they got and because I felt the lack of sexytimes MAJORLY.

Overall, there were certainly entertaining aspects of THE ACADÉMIE, and I LOVED reading about Napoleonic Paris. The ending picked up the pace and flew by, which was great. And the events of the last half of the book were dramatic. But I had such high expectations for this book and, unfortunately, it didn’t quite meet them. There were seeds of great things–complicated romances, difficult family relationships–but nothing seemed to fully flesh out. I hope you guys will read THE ACADÉMIE, though, and tell me what you think!

Quick thoughts
This one was a little disappointing. :-( Review to come. ...more

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Sep 12, 2018 Agnes S rated it it was ok

Shelves: historical-ya

Reading from the perspective of women with very close ties to Napoleon as he was rising to power kept me interested, but I was frustrated by the fact that none of these girls were particularly friendly or respectful of one another, and by the fact that their primary motivation was boys.

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Mar 22, 2012 Katie rated it really liked it

(Note: Due to GoodReads rating system, I rounded up to 4 stars, but my true rating is 3.5 stars.)

Eliza Monroe, a native of Virginia, has been sent to Paris for a year to attend Saint Germaine, a prestigious boarding school for well-to-do young ladies. There, she is expected to study and learn the fashion and character attributes of the French. She is a bit put-out by her parents' decision until she learns that she is to be associated with Hortense de Beauharnais, daughter of Josephine Bonaparte, ...more

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Jul 10, 2017 Spencer Leighton rated it it was ok

Chick book in historical setting. Interesting.

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Oct 20, 2017 Justine rated it liked it

A quick and easy read.

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May 20, 2015 Asheley T. rated it liked it · review of another edition

In The Academie, Susanne Dunlap has taken real people (and a few imagined characters) and married real events and imagined events - this story is loosely based on actual history. What we have is an American girl that arrives at a French boarding school to find that two of her fellow students are closely connected to Napoleon Bonaparte - one is his sister, one is his stepdaughter - during a time of big political tension in France. As the girls become friends and as the American girl learns the re ...more

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Nov 22, 2011 Sierra Abrams rated it liked it

Shelves: love-the-cover, historical, fiction, reviewed, 13-and-up, arc, 2012-read, young-adult, huh, such-ze-disappointment

The Academie by Susanne Dunlap
Pages: 368
Release Date: February 28th, 2012
Date Read: 2012, March 4th-11th
Received: ARC via NetGalley
Rating: 3/5 stars
Recommended to: +12

SUMMARY -
Eliza Monroe - daughter of America, innocent and young, desiring romance and handsome generals, wanting to be accepted.
Hortense de Beauharnais - daughter of Josephine Bonaparte, beautiful young woman, one who loves deeply, one who has a secret she cannot deny, but must try to escape from.
Madeleine - actress in the Comedie ...more

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Jun 10, 2012 Crystal ✬ Lost in Storyland added it

Shelves: review-copy

The Academie starts with a good historical premise. Three girls, all related to powerful historical figures, thrown together at a school for young women? It makes you wonder what will happen, especially as the events of the novel take place soon after the French Revolution and right around the time that Napoleon Bonaparte plotted to overthrow the Directoire. Big changes are brewing in France at the same time that the girls play a game of politics with one another, each girl acting with her best The Academie starts with a good historical premise. Three girls, all related to powerful historical figures, thrown together at a school for young women? It makes you wonder what will happen, especially as the events of the novel take place soon after the French Revolution and right around the time that Napoleon Bonaparte plotted to overthrow the Directoire. Big changes are brewing in France at the same time that the girls play a game of politics with one another, each girl acting with her best interests in mind and guessing at the other girls' motives. It was interesting seeing events take place through the eyes of three very different girls: Eliza and Hortense in addition to Madeleine, the daughter of an actress who will get entangled in the politics of the aristocrats. This has promising potential; however, the novel's set up makes it hard to get into the plot.

The first-person narrative as told through three different perspective makes it hard to follow events clearly and even more so to relate to the characters. Each girl has her own thoughts and observations, and they see the same people in different lights. They also believe that they know what's best for other characters and will act for other people's "best interests" when their actions really end up hurting them. Just when I thought I had formed my opinion on a character, the narrative would switch to another girl and I would see the aforementioned character in another light. Because the narrative switches perspectives so often, I didn't get to know the girls as well as I would have liked, and sometimes the narrative would replay an event from another person's perspective, which felt redundant despite the new angle the present narrator offered.

I was very much interested in the politics of the aristocratic world. Initially, Hortense and Caroline exihibit much distaste for one another, something that is no big secret; yet, they must act in a certain manner with each other in public. The novel could have easily explored much more of the intricacies of the nobility. However, rather than focusing on the intrigue and politics of the girls' worlds, the story spends much of its time exploring the girls' romantic interests. The promise of romance is the girls' primary motivation factor. Eliza is interested in Hortense's brother, who loves the actress Madeleine. At the same time, Hortense develops feelings for the musician Michel, and Caroline wishes to marry the general Murat. Love drives the girls to do lose reason and do silly things like dress up as soldiers to go to where they know something big will happen, but not what exactly.

The plot is slow to unfold. A quarter into the novel, I considered dropping it because it didn't seem like anything was going to happen, though I finally finished the book because I read the last couple pages and wanted to see what happened in between. Not much ended ended up happening. As I mentioned earlier, much of the book is about the girls falling in love, with each girl finding a different resolution. There is joy, there is resignation, and there is tragedy. There is a fair amount of fiction in this novel, but there is also realness in the characters' humanity. While this is far from the best historical fiction that I've read, it is rather light-hearted for the topic that it addresses and may interest readers looking for a light summer read with romance and scandal but nothing a parent wouldn't let a middle-grade student read.

Review at Imaginary Reads ...more

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Oct 05, 2011 Amy Fournier rated it liked it

Shelves: arc

I don't really read many historical fiction novels, so I didn't quite know what to expect from this. The synopsis sounded interesting, so I was really excited to read it. It is a slow but steady story that picks up a little as it goes, but to me it was too slow overall. It is told in three different PoV's and I really like how they tie together in the end. I never felt confused at all. It was a well done multi-PoV.

We first meet Eliza, who is the American girl who is pretty much dumped off at thi I don't really read many historical fiction novels, so I didn't quite know what to expect from this. The synopsis sounded interesting, so I was really excited to read it. It is a slow but steady story that picks up a little as it goes, but to me it was too slow overall. It is told in three different PoV's and I really like how they tie together in the end. I never felt confused at all. It was a well done multi-PoV.

We first meet Eliza, who is the American girl who is pretty much dumped off at this boarding school. I thought she was a little too self-centered, and easily manipulated. She was likable enough, but in general, I found her a bit dull and kind of annoying. Then there's Hortense, who is daughter of Josephine. She is a very complex character, and there is a lot of depth to her. She isn't at all what she seems. I really enjoyed getting to know her, and her secrets. Madeline is the daughter of an actress. I felt bad for her, then didn't like her at all, but by the end I was heart-broken for her. We also have Caroline, who doesn't have her own PoV, but we get a lot of her. She is quite vindictive and I didn't like her at all.

It was interesting to read about how an all girls academy was back in 1799. I really was expecting a little bit more detail and descriptions, but it fell a little flat with that. The story was really centered completely around the characters themselves, with very little information about the other important things going on in France, and the US. We get just a little taste of it. There was a lot of deception going on in this story, but I didn't really feel anything while reading it. I wanted to feel like I was being betrayed, or loved, or tortured. I wanted to feel what the characters were feeling, but I just didn't. The only character I really felt a slight connection to was Madeline. She was just treated so horribly by her mother, but was so hopeful because she was in love.

So I don't even really know what else to say about this story. Eliza is pretty much just thrown into the middle of things. and literally dragged around and stuck in the middle of Hortense and Caroline's plans. She has a bit of her own thing going on, but for the most part she is just kind of there. All of the other girls have their love interests, and families, and Eliza is tagging along. Hortense, Caroline, want to marry for love. Their families want them to marry for convenience. Madeline just wants to escape her awful mother and marry the man she loves. The thing she doesn't know is that his mother won't hear of it. She is just an actresses daughter, no one of importance. They will all lie and deceive to try to get what they want. There is a lot of "Oh, this is what I want, but I don't want to hurt so and so.", but it never really felt like they were really concerned about others. It was just empty words. Everyone had their own agenda to get exactly what they wanted. I feel like this review seems really negative, and I don't mean for it to come across that way at all. I did enjoy the book. There were plenty of things I did like. I thought that some of the touches of romance were sweet, but there were just a lot of things that put me off. I guess I really wanted to know more, and I wanted a little faster pace. It was well written, and I was content reading it. ...more

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Nov 05, 2011 Marla rated it liked it

Shelves: ya, historical-fiction, books-read-in-2012

This review appears on my blog, Starting the Next Chapter.

Having long been fascinated by Paris as a literary setting, I pounced upon the chance to read The Académie, as I enjoy both the particular point in history during which the story takes place and the little intrigues likely to take place in such a novel. This novel held many high points, as well as low points that made it fall a little short of expectations. However, as I will explain, it made for an interesting read that was able to fully This review appears on my blog, Starting the Next Chapter.

Having long been fascinated by Paris as a literary setting, I pounced upon the chance to read The Académie, as I enjoy both the particular point in history during which the story takes place and the little intrigues likely to take place in such a novel. This novel held many high points, as well as low points that made it fall a little short of expectations. However, as I will explain, it made for an interesting read that was able to fully arrest my attention in the end.

The Académie is told from the perspective of 3 girls, though perhaps not the 3 girls you might think. We are initially introduced to Eliza, a snobby, naive girl who is placed in the boarding school in which both the stepdaughter and younger sister of Napoleon Bonaparte attend. Initially, I found Eliza to be purely obnoxious. Her attitude toward many things were grating and she wasn't very likeable, at first. However, as she began to go through certain changes, she became much more enjoyable. I must say, however, that there was a downside to this, as well. It almost felt as though there was a fourth character thanks to the dramatic shift in attitude, which did throw me for a bit of a loop. The second narrator, Hortense, quickly became my favorite of the 3 narrators, as she had a certain level of sweetness, yet was not perfect. She became the most believable character of the 3 and, as such, was much more engaging. The third narrator, an actress by the name of Madeleine with an unexpected tie to Hortense, was also somewhat inconsistent, though it works very well thanks to her background and situation in life. Overall, the 3 narrators provided a varied, yet somewhat halting story full of intrigue and much misfortune.

The pacing that took place throughout The Académie was somewhat difficult to keep up with. At first, there is a certain amount of boredom involved with Eliza's initial narration. The scene is not set very well and the descriptions of daily life just wasn't very compelling. However, the story did pick up and become very engaging, though there was a certain amount of choppiness. If I had to pick one word to describe the pacing, that word would be "turbulent." It was definitely very jarring and I found myself hard-pressed to keep my attention from wandering, at times. The jewel in this story is the setting. The attention to detail paid by Ms. Dunlap as to the girls' surroundings was very well done and made imagining everything very easy to accomplish.

While The Académie may not have been my favorite historical YA novel ever, it was still a fun read that combined an appropriated account of post-revolutionary France and teenage whimsy. If you go into the book prepared for a semi-fictional account of the lives of Eliza, Hortense, and Caroline and with the understanding that the pacing may require particular attention at times, you will likely find it to be enjoyable. Fans of historically-based fiction may enjoy this book. Due to the uneven nature of the book's construction, I rate The Académie at 3 hoots.

Obligatory legal statement: This eGalley was provided to me free of charge by the publisher via Netgalley. No monetary compensation was received in exchange for this fair and unbiased review. ...more

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Feb 03, 2012 Merin rated it liked it

Shelves: read-in-2012

Thank you to Bloomsbury Children's Books (via NetGalley) for the e-galley of The Académie.

It's hard to really describe what this book is about. The story takes place in France in the Fall of 1799, right before Napoleon Bonaparte overthrew the French Directory, who was ruling France after the French Revolution. The author used the setting of an all girls school in Saint-Germain called The Academie to tell what was happening in France during this time period through the eyes of three young girls. Thank you to Bloomsbury Children's Books (via NetGalley) for the e-galley of The Académie.

It's hard to really describe what this book is about. The story takes place in France in the Fall of 1799, right before Napoleon Bonaparte overthrew the French Directory, who was ruling France after the French Revolution. The author used the setting of an all girls school in Saint-Germain called The Academie to tell what was happening in France during this time period through the eyes of three young girls. The story is told via three different point of views: Eliza Monroe, daughter of the future President of the United States, Hortense de Beauharnais, step-daughter of Napoleon Bonaparte, and Madeleine de Pourat, a fictitious daughter of a fictitious Creole actress at the Comedie Francaise. Eliza, Hortense, and Caroline Bonaparte (Napoleon's sister) all attend the school together, and set out on many adventures, several of which don't achieve the hoped-for outcome. Madeleine is involved simply because she is in love with Hortense's brother, but she doesn't meet either Eliza or Hortense until almost 70% through the book.

I am sort of mixed in my opinion of this book. I felt like the first half was really slow-moving, as the author tried to introduce the characters and let the reader know how they were all connected. I felt sorry for Hortense from the first; Caroline is openly vindictive and treats her terribly, simply because she doesn't like Hortense's mother. Eliza's narration is suitably young - she is only 14 - but I found her incredibly grating. She's selfish, arrogant and easily manipulated by Caroline, and I found her constant cataloging of what was happening as being good fodder for letters to her mother quite annoying. I felt horribly sad for Madeleine, who has the worst time of it by far than any of the other characters, and enjoyed reading her chapters the most.

And then, the second half of the book happens. It definitely picked up, and you could see the plot lines coming to a head. At times I was almost breathless with what was going on. But the feeling the book left me with was sort of one of disappointment. It wasn't that I thought that these couples (aside from Caroline) were going to be able to stay together or whatever - I know my history, thanks to Wikipedia (LOL) - but I wasn't expecting everything to end in the manner it did. I was quite shocked with the climax.

And while we're talking about couples, let me just say that all of this "love at first sight" stuff that was going on was a little ridiculous. (view spoiler) Also, I was really unhappy with Hortense at the end; I mentioned that I felt bad for her above, but by the end of the book found her to be just as selfish in her own way as all the others. Her actions left me with a bad taste in my mouth.

All in all, this was an okay book. It's an interesting snapshot in French history, and I enjoyed parts of it immensely and others much less so. But it definitely wasn't a favorite. ...more

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