A well-researched reimagining of the life of the first Queen of Hayti set in Regency and Victorian times with a mix of historical and fictional characters. Courage, glamour, loss and romance define this woman. Full of historical detail and vivid characterisation that evokes Hayti, England and Europe in Regency and Victorian times, the story moves between the past in Hayti and the present in Europe. The pacing is gentle, reflecting the complexity of the socio-political landscape. The romance is integrated into the historical fiction, which resonates. It's imaginative, inclusive and informative reading.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

As someone who appreciates the writing of Vanessa Riley, when I saw Queen of Exiles on Netgalley, I knew I had to get my hands on it!
To me,Riley is an expert at writing historical fiction. Her recreation of the one and only Queen of Haiti, Mari-Louise, was superb. As I started reading this after I finished my Queen Charlotte hype, I found myself swooning at the romance and chemistry between her and her husband, King Henry Christophe- the man loved her so much he built her a castle despite his life being at risk!😍 There's also a copper bath tub moment which had me having flash backs to *that* scene in Queen Charlotte.

However, I would say the romance isn't the key focus in Queen of Exiles as it explores more love after loss, which I appreciated, especially with it looking into the events of the Haitian revolution and its aftermath. There are jumps in the timeline of the book, working with both past and present tense, which I feel were done well. Another thing I believe was done well was the incorporation of historical documents alongside Riley's writing.This made for a realistic interpretation of Mari-Louise's struggles with her hard-headed husband along with her exile and parenting, showing us Riley's ability to create a complex character who we route for.
I would definitely recommend Queen of Exiles to everyone interested in historical fiction, especially caribbean historical fiction, and those who are fans of Riley's previous works.

Thank you again to @netgalley and @millsandboonuk for my ARC.💕

Based loosely on real people. With a rich cast of characters, I enjoyed both the stories about them in the book and in the author's notes at the end. A lot of research went into this book, and it definitely shows. Fans of Bridgerton will love this.

This gave me so many Bridgerton vibes! A story I knew nothing about brought up life with such craft and expert skill - a wonderful read!

This is more of a historical narrative than a novel yet it relates a remarkable story. At a time when Linnaeus' erroneous categorisation of humans that ranked black people as lazy, sly, sluggish and neglectful held sway, the story of Haiti's first and only queen asserts the opposite. This is a shocking story that needs to be widely disseminated. The outrageous injustice that Haiti faced in paying reparations to France as they managed to successfully rebel against an enslaving French rule is not commonly known today but should be. More than anything, the main character, despite extreme hardship and loss retains her dignity and principles and while she was a rich lady, did copious amounts of charitable work. This novel explores the story in an imaginative way. It plays around with the timeline, revealing intimate details from the story as it builds towards its climax. An excellent read

What a stunning book. I've always had a love of royalty so the fact this was based on Hayti's former, late ever queen, was always going to draw me into it. It was an eye opener as I didn't know Hayti had even had a royal family but from the first page I was hooked on the story of Queen Louise. She's one brave, strong and courageous woman I've ever read.

Vanessa has done an amazing job of bringing this story to live, even fictional version of it, but this one of a woman who leaves everything including her husband to make sure she and their daughters are safe. If you love Bridgerton then you'll adore this because I was.