I used to devour Historical fiction in droves. However, in the past few years I have ventured into different genres. This book intrigued me after living in Canada for six years. There is something about the country that echoes a history that far surpasses the Country's actual age. This is largely due to the way Canadians have kept historical buildings pristine and the fact that many of the older villages, hamlets, towns stretched out across the vast Canadian landscapes (provinces) hold tightly (and proudly) to their history and their roots and are deeply tied to their home countries (France, UK, Germany, Russian, ect). And walking the cobbled streets in Quebec among the oldest buildings brings back a haunting sense of the past.

This book is the epitome of rich historical fiction!

“There’s something only Huguenots understand. A strength that comes from being threatened - always living on the edge of fear. It makes us uniquely capable of holding our own secrets and keeping a very long memory.”

Immediately the reader is drawn into the story of a fierce young woman who is captured and tortured for her religion. She is then forced to sail across the ocean to Canada, marry a soldier and join the Catholic church. All while fighting secretly for the persecuted Huguenots.

Moving, emotional, engaging.

This book has all the elements of a story that is so riveting that you will be thinking on it long after you close the book and move on to another.

I recieved this book for an honest review.

DAUGHTER OF THE SHADOWS sweeps you away, with a fierce heroine who combines strength and gentleness, .A thrilling political intrigue, and a romantic subplot. Highly recommended.

I loved this Canadian history story! Isabelle is very independent and strong! I am looking forward to the next installment.
Many thanks to Black Rose Writing and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I often seek out historical fiction that thrives outside the "popular" box of WWII stories. This book definitely checked that box. I usually enjoy those unique stories that find themselves in little-known pockets of history. And I am always on the hunt for authors who seem to have done their due diligence when researching and crafting.

"Our connection to the earth and wind and trees runs deep - if you're willing to listen."

Some of this book hits the mark. The history seems well-researched, but at times also feels contrived. I think my issue with the book is the stilted conversation. It's not too distracting, however, and overall the story is entertaining.

Isabelle walks a fine line between appearing to be the perfect wife to her Catholic husband, and working underground for the Protestant cause. Set in 1667 Quebec, Isabelle was born and raised in France, where she was persecuted for her religious beliefs. Forced to convert, she was sent to Quebec to choose a husband. Chaffing under her restrictive life, Isabelle will do almost anything for the cause.

I did not realize this was a sequel when I picked up the book. Although the book was able to stand alone, I did feel like I was missing a lot of character development and back-story. I enjoyed reading about a period of history that i know little about, and will definitely pick up the first book. Overall, highly recommended.

Thank you @KerryWrites @BlackRoseWriting and @netgalley for my gifted copy of this beautiful book! My thoughts are my own.

I love reading historical fiction but I don’t think I have ever read anything concerning King Louis XIV’s Daughters of the King program. During the ten year period of 1663-1673, approximately 800 young women were sponsored by the king as they immigrated to New France to promote marriage and boost the population.

Isabelle is a young wife who meets her husband when she travels to New France as part of the king’s program. Isabelle has an important agenda: she pretends to share her husband’s Catholic faith while she works to save fellow Protestants from unimaginable torture and death. She is constantly in danger of being discovered, so she allows herself to be trained in deadly fight techniques by a Huron woman.

When she learns of a dear friend’s capture, she travels with her husband to France, where her friend, and other fellow believers, are being held prisoner in the Bastille.
It is while she is in Paris that the real danger, and court intrigue takes place. Isabelle encounters deadly enemies who know her secret and the king’s mistress who dabbles in poisons and black magic. Finally, Isabelle defies the Sun King himself as she seeks to help those in need.

I enjoyed this action-packed historical adventure. The story moves quickly, with tragic characters each involved in their own intrigue. This story is book 2 in a series. I have not read book 1, but the author does a great job filling in important details from the characters’ pasts, so I feel this can be read as a stand-alone.

Read this if you enjoy historical adventures with:
*court intrigue and deceit
*romance
*life and death situations

"When you can't have what you truly want, your heart finds a way to beat. It shrinks and expands in strange ways until it resembles something like comfort."

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Last year I really loved Kerry's Daughter of the King so I was really excited to receive an ARC of the next chapter in Isabelle's story. Isabelle is a young Huguenot woman who was forced to convert to Catholicism and fled France as a bride for the colonist soldiers in Quebec. She is married to a man she hates and is more and more destressed as his plans for fortune include more violence against Protestants and slaves. She is loathe to return to France but the only way to stop his plans is to outsmart him and face the king herself.

I enjoyed this story as much as the first one. It's well researched, well written and compelling. Isabelle is the type of heroine you want to root for, she is just a regular person who can't live with injustice and does all she can to save others from the horrors she has seen. I liked the brush with royalty and the darkness of the women in the royal court. I will say that there is definitely a decent amount of violence in this story, so be prepared for that if you decide to read. My only criticism is that I could have done without the epilogue, but I'm sure plenty will love having everything wrapped up in a nice bow.

Thanks to the author and Black Rose Writing for the gifted copy. All opinions above are my own.

Daughter of the Shadows is the 2nd book in the Defying the Crown series. I have not read the first book Daughter of the King, but I was able to read and enjoy this second installment as a stand-alone.

Daughter of the Shadows starts out in New France, Quebec, and brings together several strong women characters, the main character Isabelle, a Huguenot turned Catholic (but only to save her fellow Protestants), Naira, a strong female Huron warrior who helps Isabelle find her true and strong self, and Charlotte, another Huguenot who arrives in New France as a converted Catholic, but still a protestant in her heart and vies to take revenge on those who hurt her and her family back in France, the same as Isabelle. These women interact with several deeply troubled men who struggle with the strong-willed Isabelle and Charlotte.

Though this historical fiction is based on true events in 1667, it is written like a fast-paced adventure story. The world-building is somewhat lacking, so I didn’t feel completely emersed in the locales (for which I gave the book 4 stars). That said, the richly developed characters and the emotion-filled plot carried me through to the end in a page-turning end. I particularly liked that the story carried me to Paris, France for half of the book, into the palace of King Louis IV, and also through the streets of the city's darker side.

I recommend this easy-to-read, exciting peek into the past of a part of history I knew little about.

Daughter of the Shadows was intriguing from page one! Though a bit to get into, the story of the Hugenots in France and their arrival/survival in New France. However, there is more to this story - the return to France - to save and retaliate, and in the end, there is a promise for more! It's hard to find overall positive storylines like this today!

Incredible and impossible to put down! I loved the first book and I’m glad to get to read the second! I hope this isn’t the end of Isabelle’s story and there’s more to come in her fight against Louis XIV

I mostly enjoyed this novel, and finished it in one sitting. The bits about Naira and Isabelle were good. Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for giving me a copy of the book.