Before Versailles by Karleen Koen Review for Sourcebooks

About the Book
Louis XIV is one of the best-known monarchs ever to grace the French throne. But what was he like as a young man--the man before Versailles? 
After the death of his prime minister, Cardinal Mazarin, twenty-two-year-old Louis steps into governing France. He's still a young man, but one who, as king, willfully takes everything he can get--including his brother's wife. As the love affair between Louis and Princess Henriette burns, it sets the kingdom on the road toward unmistakable scandal and conflict with the Vatican. Every woman wants him. He must face what he is willing to sacrifice for love. 
But there are other problems lurking outside the chateau of Fontainebleau: a boy in an iron mask has been seen in the woods, and the king's finance minister, Nicolas Fouquet, has proven to be more powerful than Louis ever thought--a man who could make a great ally or become a dangerous foe . . . 
Meticulously researched and vividly brought to life by the gorgeous prose of Karleen Koen, "Before Versailles" dares to explore the forces that shaped an iconic king and determined the fate of an empire. 

About this author

My childhood was filled with glorious books, Little Women, Lad A Dog, Black Beauty, Little House on the Prairie, Caddie Woodlawn. They were as real to me as the life around me, a lower middle class one in a small oil refinery town in Texas. My grandfather, an invalid, was a huge fan of the writers Frank Slaughter, Frank Yerby, and Zane Grey. By the time I learned to read, I was sneaking his square, cheap (a dime, I think) paperbacks off and reading them. Pirates. Passion. History. It has never occurred to me to write anything but historicals, a kind of time travel into other minds, other lands, other eras, other cultures, other worlds. That's what I wish for my readers, that my books take them far away into another place and time and that they enjoy themselves there and maybe even learn an interesting fact or two.

Read an Excerpt Here: 

My Thoughts
Before Versaille is a novel of King Louis XIV, who reigned for over 72 years in France. This book however takes place for four months early in his reign. This is a story filled with court intrigue, forbidden love affairs, mystery and a cast of characters, some real and some imagined. Ms. Koen's writing is the kind that pulls the reader right into the story and the reader can almost see the beauty of the women, the gowns and the palace's that are described. I have been a fan of Karleen Koen for many years since I read the first book Through a Glass Darkly and she did not disappoint me with this book. A historical fiction novel that will appeal to readers who love the genre. I thoroughly enjoyed it. 
I received a copy of the book for review and was not monetarily compensated for my review.