On the way to Denver I had many, many hours with nothing to do but read. So I logged some serious book-time and was delighted to finish Golden’s A Prisoner of Versailles. Especially because I got to give her a hug the next morning! So though I’ve posted two things on it before, this will be my official review, which will also appear on the Christian Review of Books website in the next week or so.

A Prisoner of Versailles
By Golden Keyes Parsons
Review by Roseanna White

In her quest to keep her family safe in their Huguenot faith, Madeleine has a formidable foe: King Louis XIV. The Sun King is determined to bring her back to his side, and when he tears her from her family yet again, she must learn how–and when–to fight. In a world where even love could destroy her, how can her God save her?

Though her husband miraculously escaped the galleys in In the Shadow of the Sun King, Parson’s first book in the From Darkness to Light trilogy, the horrors have taken their toll. After clinging desperately to life as long as he could, he passes away in the opening of the book, leaving Madeleine with one final wish: take the family and flee to the New World. She doesn’t know how to achieve this task–or if she has the heart to leave Europe–but she knows she must try.

Proving his far-stretching power, King Louis finds her even in Switzerland and has her and her eldest son brought back to Versailles. Held there as a pampered prisoner, Madeleine’s faith faces its ultimate test. What price will she pay to protect her family? And what price must Pierre, the man who sacrificed so much to help them, pay for his role?

A Prisoner of Versailles is a fabulous continuation of the Darkness to Light saga, and I loved it even more than the first book. I’m a sucker for romance, so I really appreciated that this one had more of a love story. And I hear that the third book will have even more romance, so I’m really looking forward to that!

Prisoner was packed with adventure, intrigue, and a faith thread to touch your deepest heart. Most of us have never faced an authority that forbids us to worship as our heart tells us to, but Parsons brings to life the cry of the heart that the Huguenots must have felt. This a rich tapestry of a book, one that will paint a vivid picture of the past and bury itself into your heart. I definitely recommend A Prisoner of Versailles–it will capture you, and you’ll be happy to be caught.