The Empress is coming…here’s what early readers had to say

We’re just over a month away from the official release of my debut novel The Empress (and the Netflix show it is based on!), and the reviews are rolling in. 

I’m honored that so many people are finding something to love in the pages.

Here’s what some of those early readers had to say:

From Publishers Weekly:

“Griffis debuts with a sumptuous historical, recently adapted for Netflix…Griffis lends her leads admirable strengths and forgivable flaws and colors them in with plenty of lush period detail. She also brings dramatic flair to the political intrigue before satisfyingly tying up the plot’s burning questions. Nothing in this story disappoints.”

From Goodreads reviewers:

“Talk about steam! ? This was a beautiful story about love and passion and I absolutely devoured it! The chemistry between the main characters, Franz and Sisi just jumps off the page and you can’t help rooting for their love. I also appreciated the fact that the story focuses on another relationship that I consider just as important, and that is the one between Sisi and her sister Helene. Having two sisters myself I really connected to their story and how the relationship between siblings can evolve and grow.”

“I feel like a lot of historical fiction books can be slow but this one was fast paced and very entertaining. I’m not too familiar with this part of history so it was a nice change from the usual WWII novels you see so often in this genre.”

“i truly loved this book so much and it’s one of my favorite historical fiction novels that i’ve read.”

“the writing style was stunning. it truly described what falling in love is like, as well as what it’s like to feel jealous, sad, or left out…5 stars”

“An absolute must read for historical fiction fans! When I saw this book I was immediately excited. The podcast Noble Blood had done an episode on Princess Sisi and I was excited to learn more about her, knowing of course that much of this is fictionalized. I don’t have any criticism for this book. It was well written and the execution of it plot is very strong. Additionally, the characters are written in a very compelling manner.”

From NetGalley reviewers:

“captivating and beautiful”

“This was a 1 day read for me which is how I know a book is worth it.”

“Fast paced and a very good harmony between narrative and dialogue. I look forward to more from this author.”

“This had what I was hoping for when I read the description, Gigi Griffis has a great writing style and it works so well for the time period. The historical characters were fascinating and I had to learn about them after reading this.”

“This book got me so incredibly excited for the fact that this is going to be a Netflix special.”

If you haven’t already, you can view the Netflix teaser trailer below or pre-order the book here or the audiobook here:

Psst…my publisher is giving away 25 advance copies of the book! You can enter to win one on Goodreads.