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Considering that by the author's own note, she had little to go on, this was a well fleshed out book on Marguerite de la Rocque de Roberval and her survival.

I almost dnf'd this but Marguerite's dynamic with Damienne was probably the most interesting because even though Damienne is her maid, there's more of a mother/daughter dynamic and this is the one that got me.
I really liked the second half of the book.
#popsugarreadingchallenge

You can certainly see when school started back.

The true story of Marguerite is a 5/5. This novel is somewhat entertaining but the pace, the love story, and parts of the main character‘s internal dialogue didn‘t quite work for me. Other parts were great, so an uneven quality gives this a 3.5/5 rating from me.

This is a story of faith and triumph. Of peril and betrayal. Of love and loss. Marguerite will stay on my mind for a long time to come.

It is also a story of one of the most hateful, spiteful, vile, vengeful villain, of whom I have ever learned. He's up there with the Spanish Inquisitors.

I wished I had known @vlwelser was reading at the same time.

This is very good. And it's inspired by a real person. My bestie picked it for irl book club. Definitely recommend.

#BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️oh to be a woman in the 1500‘s😞.
Harrowing true story of Margarite de la Rocque who was stranded on a deserted island for years alongside her nursemaid and lover! From noble woman to warrior! Hands down one of the best reads this year!

This one wasn't for me.
While I've lately really got into Historical Fiction, I'm still navigating the sub-genres and learning which I favour.

Unfortunately this one hit all the wrong buttons. The heroine was more annoying than redeeming. The story felt jagged and incomplete. And the writing left me baffled.

Like I said this is a personal thing, so please don't take my opinion to heart.

June reads💚💛🧡

I‘m in a Literary Club that has been meeting since 1894 (!) where one of the members presented a book about Marguerite de La Rocque, a story of a noblewoman trapped on an island in the winter with her maid and lover. Imagine my surprise when reading this book, of the very same story. I enjoyed Isola but it is basically the exact tale from the written by Elizabeth Boyer in 1975. I liked this but are they too similar to be considered an issue??

I liked it!

I was really looking forward to this one—a woman stranded on an island, inspired by real events. But it‘s terrible! The writing is bad and melodramatic and at 25% of the way in, there‘s no island in sight. So, I‘m all done.

This is a book I never would have chosen for myself (16th century France, oof) but it was so good and I‘m pumped my book club chose it! I devoured it in a weekend. I thought the island section dragged a teeny bit, but really enjoyed it as a whole! (11)
⭐️: 4.25/5

#bookhaul When the world is a dumpster fire, buy books. All the Wicked Girls came all the way from the UK. Midway was written by a guy I‘ve known for 40 years. His daughter is also my son‘s best friend. He‘s a well known musician in these parts, and this is his first novel.

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

A harrowing tale of survival, all the more affecting since it‘s a fictional account of real events. It‘s striking that Marguerite wasn‘t exactly safe as a woman in her time even when she wasn‘t stranded on a remote island. I thought the time on the island was the most gripping. 🎧 #reesesbookclub

This story of a girl left stranded on a deserted island with her lover and servant started out so slowly I wondered if anything would ever actually happen but once they reach the island I was gripped by the intensity of what Marguerite faces and her ability to survive. The writing was lovely and this fit in nicely with the apparent trend of my reaching for tales of living on remote islands.

Couldn‘t take any more suffering. Beautiful writing, though.

It took me a while to really get into this (wasn‘t sure I was ready to vibe with 1500s Catholicism) but once the MC, Marguerite, found herself and company facing the great unknownr on a deserted island I was all in. Jumping in blind to this book, I did not realize until the author‘s notethe MC was a real person from 1500s French - Canadian history. I liked it!

This one is breathtaking. It's prose is beautiful and enchanting in ways. Sad and abusive in other ways. The love story is one that will sweep you away. The struggles will captivate you. Hold you hostage. Make you cringe. And in so many ways give you hope.

Full review: https://lsmoore49.blogspot.com/2025/02/isola-by-allegra-goodman.html

Could not sleep last night and all the books I‘m currently in the middle of deal with heavy topics, so I decided to start this…Already so intrigued! #arc

Oh this looks good. I‘m going to have to read it. She wasn‘t a fille du roi. However she‘s shipped to New France. https://allegragoodman.com/books/isola/

Between Best of 2024 lists, and Most Anticipated of 2025 lists, 'tis the season for TBR explosions! Here's Time's Most Anticipated list: https://time.com/7202423/most-anticipated-books-2025/

What are you most looking forward to? For me it's a toss up between the tagged (can't resist an isolated island setting) and Dream Hotel (I loved The Moor's Account)