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3.61 AVERAGE
3.61 AVERAGE
Bah. Nothing at all as good as the first in this series or other Patricia C Wrede books. Both heroines are married at this point, and the authors dance around as many ways of implying lovey-dovey stuff as possible. It is irritating and distracts from the mystery-plot, which isn't that bad. Read the first in this series, skip this one.
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Fluffy, enjoyable, but ultimately not as good as the first one - I found Kate's storyline in particular to be rather flat, as though they didn't quite know what to do with her. Still, I'm looking forward to reading the third one, now that I've realized that it exists!
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Not quite as good as the first book, but still worthwhile to read. Most people don't know about the last book in the series, [book: The Mislaid Magician or Ten Years After: Being the Private Correspondence Between Two Prominent Families Regarding a Scandal Touching the Highest Levels of Government and the Security of the Realm].
It's just not a good idea to try to recapture lightning in a bottle.
This comes as no surprise if you have read any of the myriad reviews below, but the sequel just cannot hold a candle to the original. The first book was clever, light, fun, and fast-paced. It had nothing to say, but it said it entertainingly, and the story of how the book came to be was almost as fun as the novel itself. Plus, it combined two of my favorite genres in a fantasy Regency romance.
In the sequel, however, one can see that the material is becoming frayed. Our two heroines are on their honeymoon together, and this already eliminates some of the charm that made the first story work. Though still styling itself an epistolary novel, the letters are now diaries, so the conversational aspect is lost. The plot is slow to start and hard to follow. Neither author seemed willing to delve into background or politics of the world they had created, and so the magical intrigue had unclear rules and consequences. Both authors seemed reluctant to write important scenes that involved the other character, making our heroines and their respective love interests flat and dull when they were featured in the writings of the other. The fact that the two cousins were writing their own memoirs rather than to each other meant that occasionally we saw the exact scene over again from the other person's perspective, which never failed to tire me.
The novel isn't terrible; it is still a fun example of the genre. [a:Caroline Stevermer|36175|Caroline Stevermer|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1253496839p2/36175.jpg] in particular seems to be doing most of the heavy lifting and her scenes are enlivened by genuinely touching character moments and a sense of charm. However, the humor often falls flat and the historical inaccuracies occasionally made me wince. I'm sure the authors themselves enjoyed the project, so I hesitate to say the novel has no value at all. However, if you have already read the first one, just stop there. There really isn't anything for you further down this road.
This comes as no surprise if you have read any of the myriad reviews below, but the sequel just cannot hold a candle to the original. The first book was clever, light, fun, and fast-paced. It had nothing to say, but it said it entertainingly, and the story of how the book came to be was almost as fun as the novel itself. Plus, it combined two of my favorite genres in a fantasy Regency romance.
In the sequel, however, one can see that the material is becoming frayed. Our two heroines are on their honeymoon together, and this already eliminates some of the charm that made the first story work. Though still styling itself an epistolary novel, the letters are now diaries, so the conversational aspect is lost. The plot is slow to start and hard to follow. Neither author seemed willing to delve into background or politics of the world they had created, and so the magical intrigue had unclear rules and consequences. Both authors seemed reluctant to write important scenes that involved the other character, making our heroines and their respective love interests flat and dull when they were featured in the writings of the other. The fact that the two cousins were writing their own memoirs rather than to each other meant that occasionally we saw the exact scene over again from the other person's perspective, which never failed to tire me.
The novel isn't terrible; it is still a fun example of the genre. [a:Caroline Stevermer|36175|Caroline Stevermer|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1253496839p2/36175.jpg] in particular seems to be doing most of the heavy lifting and her scenes are enlivened by genuinely touching character moments and a sense of charm. However, the humor often falls flat and the historical inaccuracies occasionally made me wince. I'm sure the authors themselves enjoyed the project, so I hesitate to say the novel has no value at all. However, if you have already read the first one, just stop there. There really isn't anything for you further down this road.
http://wordnerdy.blogspot.com/2010/02/2010-book-55.html
http://wordnerdy.blogspot.com/2015/06/2015-book-151.html
Look, it's the end of the fiscal year and libraries just aren't adding e-books right now, which means I'm revisiting ones I already own. The second book in the Cecelia and Kate series starts off a little bit slowly, as all the pieces are set into motion, but things pick up in the second half as both pairs of newlyweds have to work together to foil an international magical plot. I really like the characters and the world-building in this series, and it's been fun to reread. Looking forward to the third one. B+.
http://wordnerdy.blogspot.com/2015/06/2015-book-151.html
Look, it's the end of the fiscal year and libraries just aren't adding e-books right now, which means I'm revisiting ones I already own. The second book in the Cecelia and Kate series starts off a little bit slowly, as all the pieces are set into motion, but things pick up in the second half as both pairs of newlyweds have to work together to foil an international magical plot. I really like the characters and the world-building in this series, and it's been fun to reread. Looking forward to the third one. B+.
Starts out slow, gets better in the second half. It's never as good as the first book in the series (Sorcery and Cecilia), though -- or perhaps I just prefer falling-in-love stories to honeymoon stories.
Not so great follow-up to the enjoyable first book. Part of it was the change in format, and another part was the weaker story. But the part that really got to me was the characters all seemed so blah, except for Kate who I found really annoying in this book (but I didn't in the first book). Her character seemed diluted and she spent her journal entries fretting about her clumsiness, waxing on about her husband (I found all the passages about Kate and Thomas just too gooey and blah for me), or complaining about everything. I'll still read the third book, but my expectations are lowered.