• Booklist Reviews : Booklist Reviews 2018 April #2
  It's been years since the Terror, but Hortense de Beauharnais, stepdaughter of Napoleon Bonaparte, is still haunted by the memory of guillotines and riotous mobs. Rumors of ghosts swirling around her girls' school certainly don't help, but her close friends, dear maman, caring headmistress, burgeoning talent in music composition, and slow-burning crush on a handsome aide-de-camp in her stepfather's retinue are slowly helping her heal. Gulland, who's clearly done her research, includes plenty of documented moments and people from Hortense's life, which cultivates a rich sense of atmosphere. Unfortunately, that occasionally comes at the expense of her characters, who sometimes seem wooden. Gulland's description of the survivor's guilt and lingering post-traumatic stress of the Terror is a notable exception to that, however: Hortense and her friends and family tremble at knocks on the door after dark and routinely avoid groups of policemen. An author's note sifts fact from fiction, and a glossary will help with historical euphemisms that may confound readers. Teen fans of historical fiction fascinated by the period will find plenty to appreciate here. Grades 8-11. Copyright 2018 Booklist Reviews.

Sandra Gulland is an American-born Canadian novelist specializing in historical fiction. She is the author of the internationally bestselling trilogy of adult books based on the life of Josephine de Beauharnais Bonaparte, as well as two novels set at the court of Louis XIV, the Sun King. Her books have been published in sixteen countries, translated into thirteen languages, and sold more than a million copies worldwide.