The Accidental Empress by @AllisonPataki blog tour #AccidentalEmpress #giveaway @kismetbt
On this snowy, icy Monday on the East Coast, we bring to our readers The Accidental Empress blog tour. For our stop the author is sharing a guest post and there's a great giveaway for all to enter. Enjoy!
New York Times bestselling author Allison Pataki follows up on her critically-acclaimed debut novel, The Traitor’s Wife, with the little-known and tumultuous love story of “Sisi,” the Austro-Hungarian Empress and captivating wife of Emperor Franz Joseph.
The year is 1853, and the Habsburgs are Europe’s most powerful ruling family. With his empire stretching from Austria to Russia, from Germany to Italy, Emperor Franz Joseph is young, rich, and ready to marry.
Fifteen-year-old Elisabeth, “Sisi,” Duchess of Bavaria, travels to the Habsburg court with her older sister, who is betrothed to the young emperor. But shortly after her arrival at court, Sisi finds herself in an unexpected dilemma: she has inadvertently fallen for and won the heart of her sister’s groom. Intrigued by Sisi’s guileless charm and energetic spirit, not to mention her unrivaled beauty, Franz Joseph reneges on his earlier proposal and declares his intention to marry Sisi instead.
Plucked from obscurity and thrust onto the throne of Europe’s most treacherous imperial court, Sisi has no idea what struggles and dangers—and temptations—await her. Sisi upsets political and familial loyalties in her quest to win, and keep, the love of her emperor, her people, and of the world.
With Pataki’s rich period detail and cast of complex, compelling characters, The Accidental Empress offers a captivating glimpse into the bedrooms and staterooms of one of history’s most intriguing royal families, shedding new light on the glittering Habsburg Empire and its most mesmerizing, most beloved “Fairy Queen.”
Buy: Allison's Website | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books A Million
This Isn’t Your
Typical Fairytale…
This isn’t your typical fairytale. For starters, Sisi never
meant to seduce the emperor. She never thought that she’d be empress…
It all begins simply enough: boy meets girl, boy falls madly
in love with girl. Girl returns the feelings—and it’s love at first sight. It
sounds fairly straightforward, right? The only problem is that the “boy” in
this scenario happens to be Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria—one of the most
powerful men in the world, and Europe’s most eligible bachelor. And the girl?
She happens to be Sisi of Bavaria, the younger
sister of the Emperor’s fiancé! Not so simple after all…
Fear not, however, because it turns out that the elder
sister is all too happy to step aside and let her kid-sister have the glory, and
the groom. The wedding happens, and the beautiful and charming Sisi bids
farewell to freedom as she is thrust onto the throne of the world’s most
glamorous and lavish court. The Emperor is smitten. The new Empress is beloved.
Peace reigns across the Habsburg empire. Happily ever after, right?
Not so fast. Like I said, this isn’t your typical fairytale. Sure, there are
glittering palaces and beautiful ball gowns and there is plenty of dancing to
the imperial violins. But this fairytale takes a look at the question: what
happens when all of your dreams come true? What happens after happily ever after?
What happens when the bride is a beautiful—but also
intelligent, and strong-willed, and sensitive and charismatic—young woman who
wants to assert her own right to her own life? What happens with the emperor’s
mother, the indomitable Archduchess Sophie, doesn’t approve of her son’s choice
in bride, and doesn’t appreciate that he overturned mommy’s well-laid plans to
make the elder sister his wife? And what happens when the emperor is caught in
the middle of this family feud, while also trying to rule an empire where the
threat of civil war seems ever-present?
Throw in a heavy heap of court intrigue and a pile of palace
scheming, and you have a very complicated situation. You’ll find love and lust,
fidelity and betrayal, appearance versus reality, and a love triangle that
makes for a surprising ending.
Ultimately, this is the story of Sisi, a fascinating and
enchanting young woman who wakes up one day and realizes that her life has
changed entirely. Now she must fight to come into her own, and she must do so
in a royal court where danger and temptation seem to lurk in every stateroom
and bedroom.
Also from Allison Pataki:
The Traitor’s Wife
Buy: Amazon | B&N | Indiebound
About Allison Pataki:
Allison is the co-founder of the nonprofit organization, ReConnect Hungary. Allison is a regular contributor to The Huffington Post and FoxNews.com, as well as a member of The Historical Novel Society. Allison lives in Chicago with her husband. To learn more and connect with Allison visit www.AllisonPataki.com or on Twitter.
Thanks to Allison Pataki and Simon & Schuster, one lucky winner will receive a $120 gift card to the ebook retailer of their choice (Amazon/B&N/iTunes)! Please enter via the Rafflecopter form. Giveaway is open internationally.
It sounds like a story full of intrigue. It sounds like quite the scandal with one sister being exchanged for the other.
ReplyDeleteLove the concept. And that cover is really a stand out.
ReplyDeleteLove the concept. And that cover is really a stand out.
ReplyDeleteThis novel sounds captivating and intriguing. What a wonderful feature and giveaway. I enjoyed learning about the author. saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com
ReplyDeleteI want to read the book because some one I know her boyfriend said that he want the other sister after they got engaged. Thought things were so different in the 1800's verse 1990
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a really good book. I love the era and feeling like I get an inside look at what went on. I also like that I didn't have to do all the hard work to research it, I get to just sit back and enjoy it. Thank you for doing all the work for us! :-)
ReplyDeleteA story that I know I will enjoy.
ReplyDeletesounds interesting
ReplyDeleteI love historical novels! :D
ReplyDeleteMary G loki
Sounds like a good book one that I would enjoy!
ReplyDelete