Review: Cake Eater

Title: Cake Eater
Author: Allyson Dahlin
Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction
Publisher: HarperTeen
Source: Once Upon a Book Club Box
Format: Hardcover
Release Date: August 9, 2022
Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

She has a million followers on social media.

She uses her fashion-forward eye to pick the perfect angle and filter on every photo.

She’s iconic.

She’s a trend-setter.

She’s Marie Antoinette, the year is 3070, and she’s arrived in the Franc Kingdom to marry the prince, secure an alliance, and rake in likes from her fans.

Versailles is not the perfect palace Marie’s seen on The Apps. Her life is a maze of pointless rules, and the court watches her every move for mistakes. Her shy husband Louis is more interested in horses and computer-hacking than producing heirs. Versailles seems like a dream full of neon-lit statues, handsome android soldiers, and parties till dawn. Under the surface, it’s a creepy den of secrets: surveillance in Marie’s bedroom, censored news feeds, disappearing courtiers.

When Marie and Louis become king and queen long before they’re ready to rule, any efforts to aid their suffering subjects are stamped out by the mega-corporations of the First Estate. Between riots in Paris and image-wrecking social media firestorms, Marie can’t afford to lose her head. Using her social media savvy and Louis’ hacking knowledge, they try to fix their reputations and change their kingdom for the better, but the royals may find it’s already too late. They’re ruling over the end of an era.

Review:

In the year 3070, social media influencer Marie Antoinette is sent to the Franc Kingdom to marry the dauphin Louis. Versailles is not what she expected from what she saw on the Apps. She isn’t able to do the same kinds of social media promotion like she could at home. Her new husband is more interested in working on technology than being with his new wife. Marie is under constant surveillance, but she doesn’t know who’s watching. On top of all that, there are riots in the streets for reasons that are kept from Marie and the rest of the Royal family. Marie and Louis have to work together using their technology knowledge to save their kingdom. 

This was a fun reimagining of Marie Antoinette in the future. The comparisons of technology and the things that the first Marie Antoinette did in her life were clever. One of the main themes in this story was how history can repeat itself. I think that’s so apparent today, when things that are happening in the world today are reminiscent of historical events. 

The only issue I had with this book was the year it was set. It was set in the distant future of 3070, over 1000 years from today. This world was quite similar to ours with the same technology and similar social media sites. Thinking back to 1000 years in the past, our world is completely different from then, so I don’t think the world in 1000 years in the future will be that similar. We probably can’t even imagine the types of technology that will be around then, just like the people 1000 years ago couldn’t imagine our technology now. 

Cake Eater is a fun sci-fi reimagining of Marie Antoinette

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Have you read Cake Eater? What did you think of it?