The Devil's Queen

Catherine de Medici is from one of the leading Italian families. She was brought up with the purpouse of governing her territory, and she was determined to do her best. When her father dies, she is a young woman, not old enough to rule on her own. She is sent to live with family, and then the trouble starts. She is taken prisoner by those who oppose her family. She lives the next several years in terror, not knowing whether or not she will survive long enough to rule her beloved Florence, and unsure of where things will go or if anyone will help her.
When her captivity ends, and she is free, she has come to the realization that she will do whatever it takes to survive, no matter what.

When she is married to the French prince Henri, she thinks her troubles are over and she can relax and enjoy life. Catherine is beloved by most of her new family, but her husband barely ever looks at her, or spends any time with her. When she finds that he is in love with Diane, she is crushed, but she holds on her love for him and her willingness to do whatever she has to to keep him. Cosimo Ruggieri, her astrologer consents to help her, but it will come at a price, and that price is someone elses life. Catherine goes ahead with it because she wants children, and a life, not knowing what evil will come from it. When her husband dies and her children accend the throne, the blood starts, and seems to never end. Catherine then realizes that only be destroying what she loves will the blood stop, and the country she has come to love as her own begin to recover from all the bloodshed.


This was a great read. I had a hard time putting it down! There were a few pages that I kind of scrolled over, but for the most part, I loved every part of it. I have never read much on Catherine de Medici, but this book has made me want to run out and see what else I can find about her! Her life was never easy, she had one hardship after another, but she chose to turn to astrology to find the answers to what she was looking for. She thought that she could change what she saw coming, but always bloodshed led to more bloodshed. She was definitly an enigma in her time.