When We Lost Our Heads

Historical fiction following the intense relationship between two very different girls, Marie Antoine and Sadie Arnett, as they grow up in 19th century Montreal.  This book read as something decadent, kitsch, baroque, witty, dark.  I wasn't expecting this from the summary but as soon as I started reading this book, it was clear that this read like a feminist and queer pastiche of a Victorian novel, reimagining France in the 18th century at the cusp of Revolution by transposing the action a century later in another country. The main characters were analogous to queen Marie Antoinette, the infamous Marquis de Sade, revolutionaries like George Danton and Maximilien de  Robespierre. The different side characters were also adapted from real life historical figures and I really liked recognising all these details referring to historical figures, events and customs as it made for an engaging read. 
I also loved how the author addressed themes of female desire, empowerment, independence, queerness, sexuality, gender identity, non conformity, literature as activism, revolution, privilege, working class conditions, etc etc 
A couple of things I wasn't a fan of though:  the book felt a bit too long, some part felt superfluous and I didn't care about some  paragraphs about some of the side characters (like Sadie's family or Marie's father). Because of the tone of the book, I felt shortening its length would have made it more digestible. Also some characters were flip flopping their emotions a bit too fast. For some parts I wished the themes were better integrated into the story, as the dialogue and the character's thoughts felt like mouthpieces to the themes. 
Overall I liked this book for the themes it presented especially the queer feminist twist on historical events.