ill gives this 3 and a half stars because I thought it was pretty compelling and I loved Marie's personality, but honestly ⚠️ SPOILER⚠️ she should have died. it takes the main character plot armor to a whole new level of unrealistic. I think it would have been much better if it had finished in the second to last chapter because I really felt her fear and it was well-written. it also says a lot about the world and I thought the bits about the androids were interesting. ( )

What a unique take on Marie Antoinette!

Set in a futuristic, dystopian society, Marie is travelling to the Franc kingdom to marry its reclusive heir, Louis. From an Eiffel Tower covered in LED ads to Marie's love of likes on the apps, at first this society seems glitzy and cyberpunk. But lurking in the shadows is a power-hungry organization that doesn't mind twisting the truth to control everyone - from royalty to the commoners in Paree to the survivors in the Wastelands. And unbeknownst to Marie, someone's working on a guillotine laser.

This Marie is spoiled, true, but has a good heart. This Marie longs for someone to love her, and just when it finally happens, it's all ripped away. This Marie will make you root for her to win the hearts of everyone in the Franc kingdom, one gel-glo hairstyle at a time.

As dark forces encroach, Marie joins forces with her husband, Louis, to fight to make a difference for the people of France. Of course, we all know the story. That's not how it goes for Marie Antoinette. By the end, this tragicomedy has leaned in hard on the tragedy. This book really brings its characters to life, making it all the more heartbreaking when their world falls apart.

I would have loved a few more details about how this world was fashioned and who was controlling it. We know civilization collapsed because of The Event, but how was this what they fashioned? Still a fun escape to a world both like and unlike our own. ( )

Is this what the rest of my life will be like? Shouting down my fears with fake happiness and champagne while I do what everyone wants? For my whole life, the only place I have felt even a little free to express myself is through what I wear and how I look on the Apps.

This was such an interesting concept! Futuristic Marie Antoinette who is an influencer in a digital world where real life struggles are filtered out. The book itself is a sharp, clever commentary on the way privileged people live in a world that filters out the pain of others.
White people do not live their lives concerned with the struggles of people of colour. The financially stable cannot grasp poverty. Those in safe, Versailles-like countries cannot imagine experiencing a riot.
In a way, everyone is like Marie and Louis.

Then why didn’t I absolutely love this?
One, the book was pretty slow. There is not a lot going on except Marie living at Versailles and spotting the cracks in her perfectly curated world. What kept me reading was the question of whether they would survive the book or end up on the guillotine. Marie and Louis are just average, clueless teens who struggle with the expectations they have to live up to, and I cared enough about their lives to want to finish the book. I wasn’t completely sold on the romance, but I absolutely believed Marie and Louis came to love each other. They are both lonely and isolated young adults forced into marriage, and I liked how they gradually became friends.
Secondly, I had no idea what this world was like. There are robots and a wasteland and holographs, but like Marie, I learned very little about the outside world. I get that the book wants to leave readers in the dark, so they learn about the world outside of Versailles as the same time Marie does, but it left me rather confused.

Versailles trades in happiness, sells an illusion. Beauty, freedom, excitement, fame. We make it seem fast and easy, something to be swallowed down while wincing and smiling, like a hasty toast with bad champagne. The price is a lie, a world half-dead. ( )