The Empress: A Novel

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The year is 1853, and Princess Elisabeth “Sisi” of Bavaria has been very clear: She will wait for the head-over-heels love the poets speak of, or she will have no love at all. Just because her older sister, Helene, is eagerly heeding their mother’s advice and preparing to marry Emperor Franz of Austria does not mean Sisi must also subject herself to such a dutiful existence. Sisi knows there is more to life than luncheons and corsets—if only someone would let her experience it all firsthand. The Empress is a dazzling reimagining of the courtship between one of history's most iconic and beloved couples: Sisi and Franz of Austria.

On this day, Tyrus would enjoy the Emperor’s privilege of commuting the prison sentences of several Excess who’d converted to the Helionic faith. I aimed for the exit, knowing Tyrus would meet me there. Then my steps stilled as I passed a cluster of revelers gathered before Tyrus’s cousin and her husband. S. J. Kincaid had an engaging writing style and I loved both the characters and the story itself. The world building was a little simplistic and there were a few plot contrivances but none of that overly hurt the story as I do enjoy this cool sci-fi world and the the plot itself was a ton of fun! Douglas: I really like the idea of meeting this very famous woman before she becomes empress and not following her into that era that you think you know. That’s another way that we build on the show and create a companion piece. It’s her before the hype. Who was she really, and what did her earlier days look like? This fascinating new theatre production has got ‘make this into a movie’ written all over it.” The TelegraphA lot of this book is based on their characters and mostly on the relationship between Sisi and her sister, Helene, as well as Franz, the emperor. A gem of a novel with a compelling feminist bent, THE EMPRESS blends political machinations and high-stakes family drama to craft a treat both for the head and the heart.” - Vaishnavi Patel, New York Times bestselling author of Kaikeyi

It is definitely worth taking a voyage to see this sensational production of The Empress and its spectacular cast– West End Best Friend Sumptuous… Griffis lends her leads admirable strengths and forgivable flaws and colors them in with plenty of lush period detail. She also brings dramatic flair to the political intrigue before satisfyingly tying up the plot’s burning questions. Nothing in this story disappoints.” - Publishers Weekly

Yes, she made a big mistake that let to the horrible finale, but she did so out of love and my heart broke for her when she realised it was all her fault. Do they ever tire of staring?” I’d wondered the first night after the coronation, when I’d noticed the unnatural degree of scrutiny. While this world building was FANTASTIC, the Empress took every likable character from the first book and turned them into awful annoying villains, making this infuriatingly frustrating & unsatisfying to read.

stars. I am so here for this third book. Also I'm terrified of it. I'm so afraid of how things will end because how else are they supposed to end?! Hopefully Kincaid does something that will make readers happy. I really don't want to rage over the final book. Pleaseeeee let me love it. I hate it when you love a series and you support it so much and then the final novel is a huge disappointment that makes you want to set things on fire! In the case of this book, it appears this book was written as a novelization of the show The Empress' (a German language show that is coming to English speaking tvs via Netflix). I grabbed this because while I have read books about Elisabeth, watched the Romy Schnider films, AND enjoyed the musical ... I had to grab this too to see how this book was adapted for audiences. The series features some incredible costumes that you also reference in detail throughout the book. How did that work? Were there descriptions in the script that you worked from okay so, not what I expected. especially after reading The Diabolic, which happened to introduce me to the sci-fi genre and I loved it! I genuinely appreciated it as a stand alone and would have never expected a second book, because things wrapped up perfectly! The galaxy received just that glimpse of me, enough to set the Excess on their planets across the empire wondering who I could be, wondering what story lay behind my appearance in public life. Tyrus believed the best way to strip a secret of its power was to glare a shining light on it from the angle of choice, to exhibit it fearlessly rather than seek to hide it. He followed up on that first glimpse by introducing me as his future Empress—and a Diabolic—at his first Convocation.The Excess prisoners shuffled inside in a silent line. They’d all converted to the Helionic faith in prison, and they were the fortunate dozen due to be pardoned this year as reward for their penitence.

Zur Abwechslung zu Thrillern, Krimis sowie Fantasy-Büchern wollte ich mich an die Geschichte von Sissy (Elizabeth) und Franz ran wagen. In „Die Kaiserin“ wird der Anfang dieser Geschichte aufgegriffen. Elizabeth steht im Mittelpunkt der Geschichte, welche jeden Verehrer und potentiellen Ehemann in die Flucht schlägt. Doch als dann ihre Schwester Helene sich mit dem Kaiser Franz verloben möchte, merkt Elizabeth, als sie auf Franz trifft, dass sie sich zu ihm hingezogen fühlt. Und umso näher sie Franz kennenlernt, desto mehr muss sie an den Kaiser denken. Wie soll sich Elizabeth entscheiden? Kann sie ihre Schwester Helene hintergehen? We stood alone in the innermost circle as the Vicar Astra set about placing sacred chalices throughout the chamber.Tyrus’s role in this ceremony was brief. He stepped forward, and the men and women knelt before him, displaying their pitifully bared heads, where they’d shaved away their hair to exhibit their faith. He spoke the short litany of pardon, and then the vicar took it from there. Just outside the Great Heliosphere, I hesitated. It wasn’t like me to be nervous, and I wasn’t, per se. . . . But I just knew I was about to commit an obscenity, marching into the Great Heliosphere and taking an honored place during the ceremony. There are a few things that didn’t really worked for me here. I felt like the past and present could’ve been more developed, especially since Franz has suffered for so long with PTSD and it’s normal. Afterwards, he had to witness so much cruelty and violence over the years. I’d love the opportunity to read another of this author’s books - one that she has written entirely herself. I feel I could write a more accurate review.