Milady is gorgeously written; our heroine’s voice is a confident and eloquent one, unflinching as it recounts horrible pain and unapologetic as it calls out the deadly double standards she faces ... Sullivan clearly put significant effort into the historical details, language, and tone. When dialogue and scenes from Dumas’ novel are slipped into the narrative, it all feels seamless ... Milady lives a life of high adventure and twisty plotting. This novel is like a carefully layered and intoxicating rum cake, where more and more secrets and machinations are revealed as the story sways between Milady’s present and past ... Milady is a historical adventure, a high romance, a twisty thriller, and a feminist reclamation. Like its heroine, it wears many masks and accomplishes many goals. For all of those craving sharp characters and grandiose action—and especially for those longing to see more powerful heroines—this is a palpable hit.
If you want an unrepentant, badass assassin heroine, then Milady by Laura L. Sullivan is the book for you. I loved it. I gave up precious sleep for it. I want to read it again ... As much as I enjoyed the courtly intrigues, breathless chases, and historical detail that made up this book (and those things were positively delicious), the real joy for me was watching a capable and intelligent heroine decide to burn it all...down, find her agency, and rise to a position of incredible power.
Sullivan provides enough context to ensure that even readers unfamiliar with Dumas’ classic won’t be too lost, and though these chapters are initially less interesting than the primary story, the two time lines eventually come together in completely satisfying fashion. The clever ending is certain to delight both Dumas fans and newcomers who enjoy historical fiction featuring smart, adventurous, determined women.
...a rousing tale of spies, love, sex, and death. It is a delight, right from the salacious opening in a whorehouse in 1628 France ... This is truly entertaining historical fiction, an imaginative retelling of a classic from a new viewpoint. Readers will identify with Milady’s struggle to find her place in the world, to find happiness and love. Fanciers of adventurous historical fiction will love her story.
Sullivan...cleverly reveals the untold story behind the Three Musketeers’ most notorious foe ... This companion story is most effective when it blazes its own narrative path, sketching out the period before a world-weary Milady encounters D’Artagnan and his beloved Musketeers at the scene of a duel. It is less effective, however, where Sullivan’s storytelling meets that of Dumas’s. Sullivan weaves a tale of suffering, survival, and intrigue that will entertain ardent Three Musketeers enthusiasts, but it’s likely to leave casual fans or newcomers grasping for context.
