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Queen of Hearts #1
The King's Wife
A forbidden connection. A royal scandal. A love worth the fall.
Lose yourself in the most epic royal lesbian love story of 2025. This is the series you don't want to miss.
Queen Elodie of Monaco has spent her life embodying grace, loyalty, and duty. But everything changes the night she rescues a mysterious Russian duchess from a car crash - and feels a spark she can't explain.
Duchess Natalia Petrova is beautiful, enigmatic, and trailed by scandal. She's everything Elodie should avoid. Yet the queen finds herself drawn into Natalia's orbit, where temptation simmers beneath every glance and protocol is just a distant echo.
As Elodie battles tension in her marriage, struggles to connect with her children, and bears the crushing weight of the crown, her growing bond with Natalia threatens to tip everything into chaos.
Is it friendship? Is it more?
And if she dares to find out - what will she lose?
Lose yourself in the most epic royal lesbian love story of 2025. This is the series you don't want to miss.
Queen Elodie of Monaco has spent her life embodying grace, loyalty, and duty. But everything changes the night she rescues a mysterious Russian duchess from a car crash - and feels a spark she can't explain.
Duchess Natalia Petrova is beautiful, enigmatic, and trailed by scandal. She's everything Elodie should avoid. Yet the queen finds herself drawn into Natalia's orbit, where temptation simmers beneath every glance and protocol is just a distant echo.
As Elodie battles tension in her marriage, struggles to connect with her children, and bears the crushing weight of the crown, her growing bond with Natalia threatens to tip everything into chaos.
Is it friendship? Is it more?
And if she dares to find out - what will she lose?
382 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 24, 2025
101 people are currently reading
102 people want to read
About the author
Margaux Fox
178 books109 followersMargaux Fox is a writer of Contemporary Lesbian Romance with plenty of emotion and depth that will make you feel everything the characters are feeling.
Love stories in challenging circumstances are Margaux's speciality. Whatever the obstacles, the strength of the love and raw chemistry between the characters will always shine through.
When not absorbed in writing, Margaux loves to play sports and spend time with her two dogs and three cats.
Margaux has written stories since childhood and has always loved to write.
Margaux lives in the UK and has had an eclectic career history allowing her to write stories that give you a real insight into different lives.
Love stories in challenging circumstances are Margaux's speciality. Whatever the obstacles, the strength of the love and raw chemistry between the characters will always shine through.
When not absorbed in writing, Margaux loves to play sports and spend time with her two dogs and three cats.
Margaux has written stories since childhood and has always loved to write.
Margaux lives in the UK and has had an eclectic career history allowing her to write stories that give you a real insight into different lives.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
March 28, 2025
2.5 Stars
The exposition in each chapter was lengthy with little movement or weight to give momentum to the story to be interesting.
What made me stop reading was the part when the main (the queen) just suddenly, very much out of character felt the need to give her personal number to a stranger. It goes against everything (although just one chapter so quite a short time) the author just built about this character’s persona. So, it was quite a cognitive dissonance experience for me.
This is all me though. My opinion and nothing against the author or the story.
The exposition in each chapter was lengthy with little movement or weight to give momentum to the story to be interesting.
What made me stop reading was the part when the main (the queen) just suddenly, very much out of character felt the need to give her personal number to a stranger. It goes against everything (although just one chapter so quite a short time) the author just built about this character’s persona. So, it was quite a cognitive dissonance experience for me.
This is all me though. My opinion and nothing against the author or the story.
June 1, 2025
Elodie is Queen of Monaco, with two young adult children and a husband who has had numerous affairs. Elodie feels it’s her duty to keep the ship of state sailing in calm waters. As her husband’s indiscretions come to light with the press, this is becoming more difficult. And now their children are being dragged into it, and her husband treats the situation with lighthearted disinterest. Elodie feels alone with no one to confide in, no one to trust.
Natalia was a Russian Duchess, but had her title removed and is in exile in Monaco because of a high profile affair in Russia a few years before, that became public knowledge. The scandal now seems to follow her everywhere, never letting her reinvent herself. When she is present at an event in the Monaco social calendar, she can sense the whispers about her, the looks, or thinly veiled comments.
Early in this story I really didn’t like the direction it was taking. The possibility of Elodie being hidden, Natalia only being her illicit arrangement, no truth in their relationship. The whole story is about the optics of the relationship, how it will look to the outsider. There is so much here that is talk, agreement, diplomacy, without much actually happening; appearances are more important than content.
The queen keeps talking in her internal monologue about Natalia having slipped into her life. But that wasn’t really true. Most of it was in their imaginations, their desire. When Elodie says that, they had crossed paths only a few times, touched twice, never had a private conversation in person, until very late in the book.
This is a story of the rich elite, how much they waste their time on frivolities, without any poorer people to cast a comparison. I usually enjoy royalty tropes, especially where there is a contrast, when we have a lower class main character also, for balance. This story concentrates too much on the wealth and privilege, and with the ivory tower attitude I think it alienates some readers.
The feeling of this book is something from a previous time, an historical novel, but with the addition of modern technology. The English language harks back too much to older novels, with lots of description, lots of internal monologues, but very little actually happening. Sort of a pseudo Victorian Gothic novel.
There are some slow burn stories where all the teasing, the flirting and the looks encourage the slowness, leaving us with the desire for the characters to get together. Here however, I found the slowness monotonous. There was no payback for the interminable waiting. If you say “have patience, it’s worth it,” I say the payback may be worth it, but it’s far too late in the book. At least drip feed us enough to keep our interest.
I couldn’t read all the story. I skipped several large chunks of description - wonderfully evocative descriptions, but with no real object but to show the riches of the queen, and perhaps to showcase the author’s obvious talent. But to put it in the most basic of ways, there was very little meat to this story, just meandering description and idle chatter.
Overall, a long, dull book, romance and relationship wise, with a very abrupt and frustrating ending, but full of sparkling descriptions.
***Later update*** I read other people’s reviews (which I only do after writing my own), and this is a story with many detractors, but also many supporters. My review is my opinion. You may love this story. I don’t.
Natalia was a Russian Duchess, but had her title removed and is in exile in Monaco because of a high profile affair in Russia a few years before, that became public knowledge. The scandal now seems to follow her everywhere, never letting her reinvent herself. When she is present at an event in the Monaco social calendar, she can sense the whispers about her, the looks, or thinly veiled comments.
Early in this story I really didn’t like the direction it was taking. The possibility of Elodie being hidden, Natalia only being her illicit arrangement, no truth in their relationship. The whole story is about the optics of the relationship, how it will look to the outsider. There is so much here that is talk, agreement, diplomacy, without much actually happening; appearances are more important than content.
The queen keeps talking in her internal monologue about Natalia having slipped into her life. But that wasn’t really true. Most of it was in their imaginations, their desire. When Elodie says that, they had crossed paths only a few times, touched twice, never had a private conversation in person, until very late in the book.
This is a story of the rich elite, how much they waste their time on frivolities, without any poorer people to cast a comparison. I usually enjoy royalty tropes, especially where there is a contrast, when we have a lower class main character also, for balance. This story concentrates too much on the wealth and privilege, and with the ivory tower attitude I think it alienates some readers.
The feeling of this book is something from a previous time, an historical novel, but with the addition of modern technology. The English language harks back too much to older novels, with lots of description, lots of internal monologues, but very little actually happening. Sort of a pseudo Victorian Gothic novel.
There are some slow burn stories where all the teasing, the flirting and the looks encourage the slowness, leaving us with the desire for the characters to get together. Here however, I found the slowness monotonous. There was no payback for the interminable waiting. If you say “have patience, it’s worth it,” I say the payback may be worth it, but it’s far too late in the book. At least drip feed us enough to keep our interest.
I couldn’t read all the story. I skipped several large chunks of description - wonderfully evocative descriptions, but with no real object but to show the riches of the queen, and perhaps to showcase the author’s obvious talent. But to put it in the most basic of ways, there was very little meat to this story, just meandering description and idle chatter.
Overall, a long, dull book, romance and relationship wise, with a very abrupt and frustrating ending, but full of sparkling descriptions.
***Later update*** I read other people’s reviews (which I only do after writing my own), and this is a story with many detractors, but also many supporters. My review is my opinion. You may love this story. I don’t.
May 22, 2025
I am scared
Thus is very angst inducing. Like the lack of self awareness is overwhelming, I feel like I might be crashed under the circumstances surrounding this family and their illicit activities. Lord, help me.
Thus is very angst inducing. Like the lack of self awareness is overwhelming, I feel like I might be crashed under the circumstances surrounding this family and their illicit activities. Lord, help me.
August 29, 2025
If you like relationships between gorgeous, wealthy and entitled femmes then this may be right up your street. Me, not so much!
This was an OK read but my problem was that the entire relationship developed between Queen Elodie and exiled Duchess Natalia seemed to consist of longing looks across crowded public spaces. The pair have very little actual conversation to establish their connection. It’s a relationship built entirely on lust it seems. So, there’s plenty of Garbo-like aloneness and longing with very little communication generally. How Natalia managed to get into the Palace near the end was skipped over entirely! And when they do eventually get it together Elodie proves to be a Pillow Princess/Queen! Definitely somewhat unsatisfying!
This was an OK read but my problem was that the entire relationship developed between Queen Elodie and exiled Duchess Natalia seemed to consist of longing looks across crowded public spaces. The pair have very little actual conversation to establish their connection. It’s a relationship built entirely on lust it seems. So, there’s plenty of Garbo-like aloneness and longing with very little communication generally. How Natalia managed to get into the Palace near the end was skipped over entirely! And when they do eventually get it together Elodie proves to be a Pillow Princess/Queen! Definitely somewhat unsatisfying!
April 2, 2025
OMG this is such a great story! Talk about anxiety filled!
Margaux Fox has again set my nervous system into overdrive. The characters of the Queen and the Dutches are intense, the magic between them so beautifully scripted, gads I could not put it down! And now I have to wait for book two! The setting is lovely, the characters are well developed and the story of how their connection intensifies is Devine. Yep, I loved this book.
Margaux Fox has again set my nervous system into overdrive. The characters of the Queen and the Dutches are intense, the magic between them so beautifully scripted, gads I could not put it down! And now I have to wait for book two! The setting is lovely, the characters are well developed and the story of how their connection intensifies is Devine. Yep, I loved this book.
May 6, 2025
I really enjoyed this book! The romance scenes were sensual and beautifully written, with just the right amount of detail to make them feel intense and emotional.
At times, the characters' inner thoughts could get a bit repetitive, but the steamy moments and that *perfect* final chapter more than made up for it. I’m already looking forward to the sequel—I need more of this story!
At times, the characters' inner thoughts could get a bit repetitive, but the steamy moments and that *perfect* final chapter more than made up for it. I’m already looking forward to the sequel—I need more of this story!
May 1, 2025
A beautiful falling in love tale with many complications. Im ready for Part 2 already
July 14, 2025
Queen of Hearts
I feel I love with this story sos much so that I bought the whole series.
Thank you Margaux for a wonderful love story.
Am looking forward to reading the rest.
I feel I love with this story sos much so that I bought the whole series.
Thank you Margaux for a wonderful love story.
Am looking forward to reading the rest.
Read
November 2, 2025Better editing(but in all the books). Super distracting.
January 15, 2026
Beautiful
What a beautiful story. It really draws the reader into the heart of the queen and her inner struggles. This story is filled with heart and a building passion.
What a beautiful story. It really draws the reader into the heart of the queen and her inner struggles. This story is filled with heart and a building passion.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews