Empress of the Night by Eva Stachniak

Empress of the Night is a often heart-wrenching look at what life might have been like for Catherine the Great. As a young girl she is sent off to marry a boy who has no interest in her at all even risking his family's position by not even trying to create an heir. The torment of a young girl who was never really loved by anyone not even her overbearing mother. BUT from the ashes of naivete she rises to become a powerful Empress and learns to use those around her just as she was used. This is a high quality work of historical fiction that will having you worrying oven what will happen next to Catherine. Will she succeed? Will she be overthrown? Will her son's true parentage be discovered? I enjoyed this book it was well told with an engaging heroine in Catherine and plenty of unseemly courtiers to despise. 4 out of 5 stars.