The Keepsake: An Empress Chronicles Book

The Empress Chronicles #2

by Suzy Vitello

ONE DIARY

TWO HEROINES

THREE LOCKETS

In this second Empress Chronicles Series book, Liz and Sisi continue their intertwined journey through time. On the heels of discovering a magical locket in the empress diary, Liz comes to understand its very special power: the wearer must speak the truth. Not only that, but it turns out that there are three lockets, each with their own magic and power.

Meanwhile, Sisi realizes that she’s communicating with a girl who lives 150 years in the future. A girl who knows what awaits her if she marries the emperor: lack of personal freedom and a legacy that will refer to her as the "reluctant empress."

With the world's future hanging in the balance, the two heroines  must work together to thwart Lola, whose ambition to rule the Habsburg Empire will rewrite history, and lead to a terrifying new version of reality.

 

Praise for The Empress Chronicles

"Vitello presents an intriguing, believable portrait of two young women caught up in events and circumstances beyond their control…”  -  ​PUBLISHERS WEEKLY​

Genres: Young Adult, Romance, Fantasy

274 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 1, 2015

About the author

Suzy Vitello is a proud founding member of a critique group recently dubbed The Hottest Writing Group in Portland, and her short stories have won fellowships and prizes (including the Atlantic Monthly Student Writing Award, and an Oregon Literary Arts Fellowship).

Suzy's novels, FAULTLAND, THE MOMENT BEFORE, THE EMPRESS CHRONICLES and THE KEEPSAKE are available wherever books and ebooks are sold.

An e-chapbook of some of her stories, UNKISS ME, can be found here

Find out more about Suzy

Reviews

[Ema · Rating 3 out of 5]

I must preface by saying that I was really excited about this book, but read the first chapter and realised I'd have to go back and read the first. By the time it came at my library, I had forgotten why I was excited about the premise of this book, which could have contributed to why I didn't find the two terribly engaging.

It was challenging for me to get involved with this book because the chapters were extremely short and alternated between the perspective of the two girls. It was hard to distinguish between the voices, and thus when I got wrapped up in one girl's story, I just became confused when all of a sudden I was reading about the other. The plot also moved pretty quickly.

I liked Liz, but I didn't care about Sisi at all, and found myself bored by her chapters and wanting to skim through them to get back to Liz. Sisi seemed like kind of a pushover to me and wasn't terribly active about her own future other than getting Liz's help.

This book included a butterfly effect that simultaneously went too far and not far enough. I didn't quite find it plausible, because it rewrote basically the entirety of recent history, changed border lines and linguistics, etcetera, but it didn't affect Liz's parents meeting and having her about the same times. Since it did decide to rewrite history, I thought there could have been a lot more minor details to show how things had changed to make it believable. That the world just went back to the way it had been prior to events despite the new sequence was also hard to buy.

There were other details I didn't buy also, such as two teenagers just abruptly getting on a plane to the Czech Republic, and later Liz's parents just handing over a ton of money. There were also strange details at points that I found detracted from the story.

I'd perhaps recommend this for particularly young readers able to suspend disbelief more easily, but I just wasn't able to get into this book.

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

[Deborah Aijo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was lucky to receive an ARC of The Keepsake, and couldn’t wait to find out what Liz and Sisi were doing since I last visited their story in The Empress Chronicles. Before I begin, though, I have to mention how beautiful this book is. From the gorgeous cover, to the pretty interior design, to the little cameos that begin each chapter, it was a treat every time I settled in to read.

The story is about Liz, a 21st century girl suffering from OCD and the breakup of her parent’s marriage, and Sisi, the 19th century rich and reluctant soon to be fifteen year old bride of the emperor of Austria. In the germ-filled life she is forced to live on her father’s goat farm when her mother suddenly takes a job in Europe, Liz becomes connected to Sisi through a magical locket. Liz knows all about the reluctant empress who lived so long ago, and decides to help Sisi escape the heartache that awaits her. That’s when everything goes so terribly wrong.

From lavish palaces ripe with the swish of silk, to the messy birth of a goat kid in the dirt, Vitello’s settings are rich and engaging. Liz and Sisi – so different, but so alike in their dreams of friendship, happiness, and the burdens of growing up – will drag you right into their world and make you love them.

[Andi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a fun book. Magic, intrigue, a time-looping journal. Great stuff.

I loved the dual timelines and Vitello kept me clear on what was happening when every step of the way. And I really enjoyed the way history was not just a setting but the very fabric of the tale.

The only reason I didn't give this book five stars is that it went too fast for me. I wanted to spend more time with both of the protagonists, to know their worlds even more, to live with them a bit longer. Fortunately, the first book in the series provides more as will, I hope, a sequel. There is a sequel coming, right?

[books are love · Rating 4 out of 5]

First without the first book this one will not make much sense for it picks up where the Empress Chronicles left off.

We have two characters from different times intertwined in each others lives. what the future elisabeth does not only affects today but also the fate of everyone and countries. Sisi the Empress of Austria is the one in the diary, the one Elisabeth is talking to. The one she sneaks Cory and her to Europe to try to help. Even though she is trying to do something good for Sisi bad things begin to happen and the changes are not good for all.

Elisabeth of today is the same age as Sisi and is afflicted with the same issues as Sisi in older years. She is OCD, has germophobia and eating disorders. She is also trying to deal with her parents divorce and now her dad throws a new wrench in all this in this book.

At Dr. Greta’s elisabeth is fascinated by the life of Sisi and it is here she sees the diary. Only it is a entry in her food journal that starts this fun and crazy adventure. The entry Count Sebastian must die. This gets Elisabeth to look into things and get Cory involved. Cory is Willow’s brother. He is troubled by something that happened in Europe and something that needs closure. He does get it and also sees who Elisabeth is and falls for her. Yeah!!!!

So now we have Cory and Elisabeth on his sister’s and her fathers goat farm. they have a diary and a necklace. They are talking to the soon to be Empress of Austria and seeing her as troubled. The necklace is a voice necklace and has people not only say the truth but see the truth in the past and present. In Sisi’s world this is what has driven her cousin mad. Let’s back up.

So to add to this fun madcap moment we learn that there is a witch and her sister. there are three necklaces that hold power and that the witch wants the power to rule all. Sisi is now in possession of those but is not in love with the Emperor or so she thinks. She is in love with the rogue Count. And is willing to deal with the witch to gain her freedom. Through talking with Elisabeth of the present she starts to feel lost and confused. But also through her she learns alot as well and sees what changes are to come and I think this will make her a better Empress. All the while her sister Nene is depressed because she wanted to be Empress and wasn’t picked but she plots with the witch and boy is that a crazy time.

Now we have Elisabeth of now compelled to bring Cory to europe to help his ex because she needs help and also she needs him to help with the Empress situation. As she talks to the Empress she changes fates of nations and boy is it a change. Even Cory’s life is altered for not good to occur.

Each character adds flavor to this adventurous and exciting tale. A tale that you can’t put down because you want to know if the Empress becomes Empress, what secrets lie in her family, will she stop Nene and the witch, will Elisabeth of now find peace, will cory find peace and happiness, will Elisabeth get better, what about Willow and Elisabeth’s dad what happens to them. Just so many questions as the tale unfolds and keeps you in its clutches. The writing is adventurous and really keeps you in the moment. Each page reveals something new and keeps you on your toes.

A truly exciting adventurous entertaining tale of two teens embarking on a moment to help a Empress but may alter fate as well. There is romance too..A wonderful nicely paced tale and I hope there is more of elisabeth and Cory in the future to come.

[A. J · Rating 1 out of 5]

Poorly written, boring book. I DFN'd fairly quick into the story because nothing caught my attention.

[Rachel Barnard · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The way I see it, you can choose love or you can choose control. Not both" (The Keepsake by Suzy Vitello).

The Empress Chronicles continues with the twining stories of the Empress Elisabeth of Austria from 150 years in the past and Liz from present day Oregon. They are connected through the keepsakes: a diary and three lockets. Empress Elisabeth, affectionately known as Sisi, has accepted her fate to wed the emperor and give up on her previous crushed romance. Liz knows that history is not kind to Sisi and writes in the diary, telling Sisi not to marry the emperor. Sisi, at first doesn't understand, but gradually comes to believe both in the diary's ability to cross time and the advice that Liz of Port Land gives her. Meanwhile, in present day, Liz has her own issues to contend with but can't let go of the diary or in her unfailing faith in the fact that she could help Sisi and change history forever.

Half the book, I felt like Sisi slowed down any action that was happening in the book. In her time, the past, not much happened to a young lady and most of the plot was brought out through gossip and intrigue. Liz, in her modern times, was much more interesting than Siis, at least for the first half and rising action of the story. When Liz decides to intervene in a big way, that's when both Sisi's life and Liz's life jump into action and the story really gets cooking.

It took a while to get back into the second book of the Empress Chronicles, as the story of the Keepsake continues right where the Empress Chronicles leaves off. Since I had read book one quite a while ago, I had trouble catching up with what was going on in book two, but all the characters I enjoyed were there and all their interesting personality quirks were still in full force. Liz was still very much held down by her OCD, but in a different way. Now she was aware of when it was affecting her and she was trying to overcome her own quirks so that she could 'engage' with the world. Sisi is still as dramatic as she was in book one.

I loved all the details regarding the past and all the interesting details regarding Willow and her chosen lifestyle. Willow's Kombucha-goat cheese farm-lifestyle was fascinating to get a good look at, especially from Liz's point of view. Sisi's lifestyle, that of someone in the upper class, in old Austria, was also very fascinating.

Disclaimer: I was given a free copy of this story in exchange for my honest review.

[Vidette Mcdowall · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you have not read the first book in The Empress Chronicle Series, I would recommend that you do before diving into The Keepsake.

While the first book beautifully crafts the characters, this second in the series focuses mainly on plot and action.

Keepsake, however, is still lovingly written with beautiful passages, and shows Vitello’s intertwined relationship with words. It moves forward the story of two girls who are connected, through time, by a trio of lockets.

In this adventure, Liz, in her attempt to help Sisi, living in the past, encourages Sisi to alter her life which puts into motion a series of events that begins to change history. As the world around Liz starts to shift, she finds it has suffered but, her personal life is much better than the actual one she is trying to live. Except, things are never what they seem and the connections she has formed might not exist in this new reality.

“Engagement, Dr. Greta would call it. Passion. Movement. Connecting. If this was the goal for me, maybe it would be just fine to let my story end here, buried in a snake pit, with a boy whom, despite every ounce of my will, I can’t bear to live without.”

To me, the way Vitello writes is lyrical and lovely. There are so many moments that bind you deeply to the characters and their outcome. After reading The Keepsake, I’m curious and excited to see where this series goes from here.

Recommended read for sure!

[Ishita · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review:

A complicated story line has left me in complete confusion. The main reason behind this state could be implicated to the fact that I started the second part of a series and skipped out on majority of the story. However, I believe that this book could have utilized the tool of flashbacks between the two heroine may have been justified in unraveling the story, but it left the readers confused through more than half of the novel to related a narrative to one heroine.

I think the favorite part of this book for me would be the anti-climatic build-up depicted at the end of the book. However, that is where the dramatisation of this book ended for me. A great thing about a book in series is the potential of a relationship that a reader builds with its character. Having started the series in the middle of its journey, I was not able to relate myself to any of the characters, which kinds of turned me off from reading this book.

My opinion:

Not every book will connect with you like Harry Potter did. Better start this book from the start of its series. Maybe then it will be a little more enjoyable.

My rating: 3 out of 5

[CL · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a story steeped with a little bit of history and a good mystery. I did not read Book #1 but that did not make this book any less enjoyable. This was a purely fantasy driven story that was easily followed thru history and back and forth thru the past and the present. Liz is trying to deal with her father's new life when he announces his girlfriend is pregnant and now more than ever she wants to escape the goat farm she is trapped on with them. As she corresponds back and forth thru time with Sisi Liz hatches a plan that takes her off the farm and that just may change the course of the future and once done can it be returned to they way it was without any permanent damage done to history. Great read. I would like to thank the publisher and Net Galley for the chance to read this ARC.

[Libby Hays · Rating 5 out of 5]

Suzy Vitello smartly intertwines historical fiction, fantasy, and modern drama in the second book of the Empress Chronicles, the Keepsake. The real life history of the Empress of Austria, circa 1800, Sisi, is beautifully juxtaposed with the modern, often edgy Pacific North-westerner, Liz. Both young women face similar problems of feeling out of their skin in the role society casts them, navigating family problems, and yearning for true love and authentic life. Liz and Sisi (both Elizabeths) see and communicate with each other through a diary, and their interpretations of each other are often funny and ironic. Time and place set them apart but neither realizes they actually are actually matching souls.
Suzy writes as beautifully as she imagines stories. Now I want to visit Austria and learn more about the Empress.

[Caryn Jack · Rating 2 out of 5]

Once again, I struggled to get through the beginning. Once it started going though, it got a bit better. It really went to a place I wasnt expecting. I'm giving it 2 stars because of the beginning and because the end felt very anti-climactic. It didnt even seem like the "troubled boy" was interested in her until the very end where he suddenly kissed her. And the Empress finding out her love is her half brother? That was gross and disappointing. Not my type of book.