Preview

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

The Embroidered Book

By: Kate Heartfield
Narrated by: Helen Keeley
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $30.48

Buy for $30.48

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

‘Power is not something you are given. Power is something you take. When you are a woman, it is a little more difficult, that’s all’

1768. Charlotte, daughter of the Habsburg Empress, arrives in Naples to marry a man she has never met. Her sister Antoine is sent to France, and in the mirrored corridors of Versailles they rename her Marie Antoinette.

The sisters are alone, but they are not powerless. When they were only children, they discovered a book of spells – spells that work, with dark and unpredictable consequences.

In a time of vicious court politics, of discovery and dizzying change, they use the book to take control of their lives.

But every spell requires a sacrifice. And as love between the sisters turns to rivalry, they will send Europe spiralling into revolution.

Brimming with romance, betrayal, and enchantment, The Embroidered Book reimagines a dazzling period of history as you have never seen it before.

©2022 Kate Heartfield (P)2022 HarperCollins Publishers Limited
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Critic reviews

"The Embroidered Book is superb from its opening scene to its heartbreaking end.... Politics, magic, love and sacrifice compete on equal terms in a sweeping, absolutely splendid epic novel about two sisters and familial love. If you like historical feminist fantasy, you will love The Embroidered Book." (Lisbeth Campbell, author of The Vanished Queen)

"Sacrifice, family, dreams, and deep, dark magic, The Embroidered Book is a triumph." (Julie E. Czerneda, author of The Gossamer Mage)

What listeners say about The Embroidered Book

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    8
  • 4 Stars
    3
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    9
  • 4 Stars
    2
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    6
  • 4 Stars
    4
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Good story, but history is stretched a bit too far

I enjoyed the story and the narrator was well-suited to it. But at times the appearance of historical personages seemed improbable given the author's apparent attempt to overlay the existence of magic onto actual historical events. Still, it made for an engaging fantasy told from the viewpoints of two strong women characters.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Surprisingly Unpredictable

Despite knowing “the end” of the story I was pleasantly surprised by all the twists and turns. I don’t know enough about history to be bothered by any inaccuracies but that’s part of the historical fantasy genre anyway.
I loved the magic system in this! The cost of power and what the characters are willing to sacrifice had my mind racing with possibilities and predictions.
The two sister were dynamic and interesting. Their goals started out so similar but with different priorities and fears split in different directions.
I liked the book a lot. Solid interesting story and characters.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!