To be honest, when I started this book, I didn't know who Empress Sisi was. The only thing that I knew about the Austrian Empire and the Habsburgs was that the assassination of Emperor Franz was one of the reasons World War I started. So needlessly saying, I went into this book pretty blind.  I was not disappointed. This book was written remarkably well. It's a narrative but you can tell the amount of work the author put into researching it. I really felt so bad for Sisi. To be forced to be married at 15 years old is terrible. Her mother in law basically hated her and wouldn't let her care for her own children. Her husband cheats and ends up getting Sisi incredibly sick.  I admired Sisi and her determination to live the best way she knew how. This clearly wasn't the life that she had signed up for but then again, in those days, who really lived the life that they wanted too? She clearly tried to make the best of a bad situation. At least she had won the hearts of her people that she ruled over. I think life would have been more difficult for her if the people of Hungary-Austria hadn't been behind her.  Sisi's life is sad though and not just because she got married to a horrid person. It's clear while reading the book that she had an eating disorder of some sort with some possible mental illness. She is obsessive about her weight and looks, even before she made it to the throne. I feel like eating disorders and other mental health problems were pretty rampant during this time.  It was just such a great read. I was hooked instantly.

Finished my re-read and I feel like the second time around it was way more sad and depressing. Sissi had to go through A LOT and I wouldn't have wanted to swap with her 😳