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stefhyena's review
3.0
This is the fourth in the Janna mysteries and best to read after the first three (by which time you will already know if you like this sort of thing or not). For me the good is a determined and independent heroine who is no Mary-Sue makes mistakes but honest ones as part of an intelligent tragectory of personal growth. The main question she confronts in this book is who and when to trust. Trust noone? Trust your heart? How do you discern and what is the price of choosing wrong?
There is a mystery with adequate twists for a YA book. I find all the romance a bit irritating. Really? Another sexy young man Janna? I wouldn't judge her in real life but it is not what I want to be reading about: many readers would find that fun though and I do appreciate how independent she is in her femininity and sexuality. I also thought the treatment of class/politics in the midst of an otherwise detailed historical setting was very superficial and somewhat glamorised. But I guess the historical setting in this sort of a book is more a colorful background than anything else. I largely forgave the book its superficiality because of its powerful female characters (although was it maybe verging into liberal-feminism by now...I don't know). The ambivalent love-hate relationship with organised religion I think is one of the more brilliant aspects of the book. The characters do sparkle, and there is a bit of variety among them as well as some moral nuance.
Really this is worth reading a lot more than many things written for a similar age. It's escapist and fun without being brain-dead. three and a half.
There is a mystery with adequate twists for a YA book. I find all the romance a bit irritating. Really? Another sexy young man Janna? I wouldn't judge her in real life but it is not what I want to be reading about: many readers would find that fun though and I do appreciate how independent she is in her femininity and sexuality. I also thought the treatment of class/politics in the midst of an otherwise detailed historical setting was very superficial and somewhat glamorised. But I guess the historical setting in this sort of a book is more a colorful background than anything else. I largely forgave the book its superficiality because of its powerful female characters (although was it maybe verging into liberal-feminism by now...I don't know). The ambivalent love-hate relationship with organised religion I think is one of the more brilliant aspects of the book. The characters do sparkle, and there is a bit of variety among them as well as some moral nuance.
Really this is worth reading a lot more than many things written for a similar age. It's escapist and fun without being brain-dead. three and a half.
gillyreads's review
3.0
I read this to get it off my tbr shelf after like ten years. I couldn't properly remember what had happened in the previous three books, but I did get into it fairly quickly, and am still interested in finding out how the story ends. Unfortunately I find the main character and her romances very irritating so I am not sure yet if I will continue the series.
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