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jemimah11's review
4.0
It's been a long wait...almost a year and a half, but I finally got to go back in time to my favorite fictional European country--tiny, landlocked Alpennia and her quaint courtly customs, intrigue and politics; I got to catch up again with the goings-on of my favorite lady aristocrats and got to know their ever-widening circle of 18th century 'feminists'--this time including commoners and even a foreigner.
Compared to other historical romances, the Alpennia series is distinctive for its very detailed and almost scholarly depiction of the process of creating 'mysteries' (the equivalent of magic spells in typical fantasy parlance), to the point where it feels so authentic to the reader. Of course, this meticulous attention to minutiae can also bore impatient readers. So be forewarned. The first book dealt with the mystical power of public prayer. The second, harnessing the power of precious stones through alchemy. And the third is the protective power of music. Sounds like a lot of mumbo jumbo? Not if you've read the books. ;) For me, fantasy is so much more believable or relatable when it's at least partially grounded or has its roots in real world traditions (or superstitions, lol)... So I'm pretty sold on the entire conceit of the series--the idea that magic spells can be wrought from familiar works like prayers, gems and even music. That's the essence of the Alpennia series.
This is the third book in the series, but it is an absolute mortal sin to start with this book and miss the first two. Not to mention it will be mostly incomprehensible. :) Much of the appeal of this series is the very detailed and careful world-building in everything from settings, to characters, to customs and traditions. And much of it was set up in Books 1 and 2. So Book 3 hits the ground running, with 5 POV characters (3 old, 2 new) alternating every chapter. Juggling all of this while keeping the plot moving along, and still have the book be comprehensible...that's probably what took the author such a long time to write, and get it right. And then there are the myriad subplots which seem to have exploded exponentially in this book, as everyone who was anyone in the previous books now has a mini-arc of their own, well, at least the women anyway.
So, how did it turn out? Top notch-characterization, as usual. Meticulous plotting and rich details easily drew this reader back into the immersive Alpennian universe. The third book is a bit of departure from the first two in terms of the social class of characters featured. While the first two books were more about court politics and personalities and upper-class society life, this one is more democratic, showing glimpses of how the other side lived. Specifically how women artists and independent thinkers fared under a patriarchal society and how they struggled to retain their own individuality and identity, achieve their modest dreams and how, whenever something, however unrelated, goes wrong, people (mostly men) are quick to point fingers and cry 'sorcery!'.
As mentioned above, aside from the five principal characters with their own POV, there are a number of returning and new characters who have their own story arcs in the book, some major and some minor ones. Aside from all that, there is some mysterious weather pattern going around that may or may not be 'natural'. And with the book spanning a year of Alpennian time, how does cramming all of that breadth and depth into just 240 pages work? Probably not as well as if the book had been say, a hundred pages longer. There were some important events or issues that I thought deserved their own chapter or at least, a detailed scene or two but what we got were just snippets mentioned in passing. Antuniet's momentous and audacious decision and eventual trip to achieve it, for one, ought to have been worth 50 to 100 pages, at least, maybe even more! ;)
Fans who loved the gripping, intrigue-fueled plots of the first two books will be a bit disappointed with this one. Gripping isn't an adjective I'd use to describe the plot. More like meandering. Because of all the subplots featured, much less page-time is spent on the main mystery described in the blurb. While there were hints of the underlying menace throughout the book, the lack of a concrete manifestation and a clear-cut antagonist meant that the whole 'mystery' was too tepid to cause any sense of urgency or danger in the reader. Now, if the investigation into it had been led by one of the POV characters instead of the mysterious shadowy one, maybe it would have been more exciting early on. I hope there is more to this mystery than what has been revealed so far.
Bottom line: This is a very good continuation of the Alpennia series, though it pales in comparison to the first two in terms of a gripping read, mostly due to the lack of a discrete enemy or imminent danger. It's not as audacious as the first or as angsty as the second. Even the romance wasn't as....romantic. I thought it was rather realistic though, with so much going on in their lives and so much uncertainly in their situation. The rich plotlines, lush characterizations and attention to detail are excellent, as usual. This isn't a book that will hook a first-time reader of the series. But it's still a soul-satisfying read for people who are already under it's spell.
4.45 stars
Compared to other historical romances, the Alpennia series is distinctive for its very detailed and almost scholarly depiction of the process of creating 'mysteries' (the equivalent of magic spells in typical fantasy parlance), to the point where it feels so authentic to the reader. Of course, this meticulous attention to minutiae can also bore impatient readers. So be forewarned. The first book dealt with the mystical power of public prayer. The second, harnessing the power of precious stones through alchemy. And the third is the protective power of music. Sounds like a lot of mumbo jumbo? Not if you've read the books. ;) For me, fantasy is so much more believable or relatable when it's at least partially grounded or has its roots in real world traditions (or superstitions, lol)... So I'm pretty sold on the entire conceit of the series--the idea that magic spells can be wrought from familiar works like prayers, gems and even music. That's the essence of the Alpennia series.
This is the third book in the series, but it is an absolute mortal sin to start with this book and miss the first two. Not to mention it will be mostly incomprehensible. :) Much of the appeal of this series is the very detailed and careful world-building in everything from settings, to characters, to customs and traditions. And much of it was set up in Books 1 and 2. So Book 3 hits the ground running, with 5 POV characters (3 old, 2 new) alternating every chapter. Juggling all of this while keeping the plot moving along, and still have the book be comprehensible...that's probably what took the author such a long time to write, and get it right. And then there are the myriad subplots which seem to have exploded exponentially in this book, as everyone who was anyone in the previous books now has a mini-arc of their own, well, at least the women anyway.
So, how did it turn out? Top notch-characterization, as usual. Meticulous plotting and rich details easily drew this reader back into the immersive Alpennian universe. The third book is a bit of departure from the first two in terms of the social class of characters featured. While the first two books were more about court politics and personalities and upper-class society life, this one is more democratic, showing glimpses of how the other side lived. Specifically how women artists and independent thinkers fared under a patriarchal society and how they struggled to retain their own individuality and identity, achieve their modest dreams and how, whenever something, however unrelated, goes wrong, people (mostly men) are quick to point fingers and cry 'sorcery!'.
As mentioned above, aside from the five principal characters with their own POV, there are a number of returning and new characters who have their own story arcs in the book, some major and some minor ones. Aside from all that, there is some mysterious weather pattern going around that may or may not be 'natural'. And with the book spanning a year of Alpennian time, how does cramming all of that breadth and depth into just 240 pages work? Probably not as well as if the book had been say, a hundred pages longer. There were some important events or issues that I thought deserved their own chapter or at least, a detailed scene or two but what we got were just snippets mentioned in passing. Antuniet's momentous and audacious decision and eventual trip to achieve it, for one, ought to have been worth 50 to 100 pages, at least, maybe even more! ;)
Fans who loved the gripping, intrigue-fueled plots of the first two books will be a bit disappointed with this one. Gripping isn't an adjective I'd use to describe the plot. More like meandering. Because of all the subplots featured, much less page-time is spent on the main mystery described in the blurb. While there were hints of the underlying menace throughout the book, the lack of a concrete manifestation and a clear-cut antagonist meant that the whole 'mystery' was too tepid to cause any sense of urgency or danger in the reader. Now, if the investigation into it had been led by one of the POV characters instead of the mysterious shadowy one, maybe it would have been more exciting early on. I hope there is more to this mystery than what has been revealed so far.
Bottom line: This is a very good continuation of the Alpennia series, though it pales in comparison to the first two in terms of a gripping read, mostly due to the lack of a discrete enemy or imminent danger. It's not as audacious as the first or as angsty as the second. Even the romance wasn't as....romantic. I thought it was rather realistic though, with so much going on in their lives and so much uncertainly in their situation. The rich plotlines, lush characterizations and attention to detail are excellent, as usual. This isn't a book that will hook a first-time reader of the series. But it's still a soul-satisfying read for people who are already under it's spell.
4.45 stars
nisiedraws's review
3.0
This was my least favorite book in this series. It didn't seem to have a clear plot or resolution.
caitibeth's review
4.0
Widow Luzie Valorin is a music teacher, and secretly a composer (though she's never performed her works publicly, and the famous composer she showed them to damned them with faint praise). She takes in boarders to make ends meet. And one day, one of those boarders is Serafina Talarico, a visitor from Rome. What shape will their association take, and how will it affect Alpennia?
This one wasn't quiiiiiite as good as the first two in the series. The music+magic plot was good, though irritatingly vague at times, but I didn't buy the central romance and it was frustrating. Also the direction Antunient's story took in this book was very strained; it needed more time and attention to be believable for me.
I think overall the impression I took away was that too many story threads had been accumulated over the three books to be woven together evenly, so the result was a bit clumsy and rushed, and many of the threads suffered a bit for it.
I did still enjoy the novel, though, despite the disappointment of the central romance! All my old favorite characters are back, and the worldbuilding and magic system remains fun. :) Hopefully the next book returns to previous heights.
3.5 stars, rounded up.
This one wasn't quiiiiiite as good as the first two in the series. The music+magic plot was good, though irritatingly vague at times, but I didn't buy the central romance and it was frustrating. Also the direction Antunient's story took in this book was very strained; it needed more time and attention to be believable for me.
I think overall the impression I took away was that too many story threads had been accumulated over the three books to be woven together evenly, so the result was a bit clumsy and rushed, and many of the threads suffered a bit for it.
I did still enjoy the novel, though, despite the disappointment of the central romance! All my old favorite characters are back, and the worldbuilding and magic system remains fun. :) Hopefully the next book returns to previous heights.
3.5 stars, rounded up.
catboss's review
2.0
This was so disappointing. The book feels like a series of unrelated snippets. The snippets cover so many characters and plots with so little depth that the reader isn’t invested in anything & there’s no sense of purpose, much less tension.
skycrane's review
5.0
I didn't like this one quite as much as the second book in the series, but I still loved it. My only real issue with it was the same as my issue with the first book: I wish there was more of it! I really liked how the author uses different perspectives to comment on the prejudices of the various characters. Serafina and Luzie still aren't commoners, but they are much closer than the wealthy main characters of the previous novels, being of a class where they're actually expected to work for a living. The racism Serafina experiences is also quite interesting, the author really explores the way the concept of race has changed over the centuries.
Also, this book is when I finally got curious enough to start figuring out where on earth this fictional principality is supposed to be located. Fortunately, there's substantially more travel in this book than in the previous ones, with directions towards real cities, so it's easier to guess. Since the first book mentioned a character looking southeast towards Switzerland, I assumed Alpennia was somewhere on the northern side of the Alps, in Swabia or the Rhineland, but after looking more closely, I think it's clear it's actually inspired by the Rhone region, not the Rhine. The cultural and commercial ties to Lyon and Geneva imply that. Also, a German name for the Rhone is "Rotten", which is close enough to Rotein that I assume that's what the author was referencing. So Alpennia is probably somewhere in the Savoy/Arpitan region. Of course, I could've saved myself a lot of trouble if I'd just gone to the author's website, where she explains that Alpennia is one of those fictional places that squeezes in between real places without displacing any of them, and that it's located between Switzerland, France, and Italy.
Also, this book is when I finally got curious enough to start figuring out where on earth this fictional principality is supposed to be located. Fortunately, there's substantially more travel in this book than in the previous ones, with directions towards real cities, so it's easier to guess. Since the first book mentioned a character looking southeast towards Switzerland, I assumed Alpennia was somewhere on the northern side of the Alps, in Swabia or the Rhineland, but after looking more closely, I think it's clear it's actually inspired by the Rhone region, not the Rhine. The cultural and commercial ties to Lyon and Geneva imply that. Also, a German name for the Rhone is "Rotten", which is close enough to Rotein that I assume that's what the author was referencing. So Alpennia is probably somewhere in the Savoy/Arpitan region. Of course, I could've saved myself a lot of trouble if I'd just gone to the author's website, where she explains that Alpennia is one of those fictional places that squeezes in between real places without displacing any of them, and that it's located between Switzerland, France, and Italy.
druv's review
4.0
To begin with, it had some curious parallels to [b:Silver on the Road|20748097|Silver on the Road (The Devil's West, #1)|Laura Anne Gilman|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1426361800s/20748097.jpg|40079410], despite being very different books.
As in the earlier books, I like all of these characters, and the core of their struggles rings true - even apart from the overarching story, they all have their personal conflicts and motivations that keep making them strong characters you want to read more about. And this book certainly provided that in spades. Just like [b:The Mystic Marriage|22859852|The Mystic Marriage (Alpennia, #2)|Heather Rose Jones|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1463304263s/22859852.jpg|42427733], this one took a side character introduced in the last book and gave her more-or-less centre stage, and just like in that book, I think there was a good balance between including her and the other new character in the existing group while respecting the social barriers that exist in Alpennia.
The one negative thing I have to say is that it felt like the book tried to do to much. Sure, I want to hear about and get the perspectives of Margerit, Barbara, Jeanne, Antuniet, as well as the new characters, but they all had very significant events going on in their lives above and beyond the core narrative, and so it feels like I was missing out in some of the more severe time skips, which was a real pity.
I continue to thoroughly enjoy this series, and this will probably get me to re-read [b:Daughter of Mystery|18167557|Daughter of Mystery (Alpennia, #1)|Heather Rose Jones|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1387770689s/18167557.jpg|25533901] quite soon.
As in the earlier books, I like all of these characters, and the core of their struggles rings true - even apart from the overarching story, they all have their personal conflicts and motivations that keep making them strong characters you want to read more about. And this book certainly provided that in spades. Just like [b:The Mystic Marriage|22859852|The Mystic Marriage (Alpennia, #2)|Heather Rose Jones|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1463304263s/22859852.jpg|42427733], this one took a side character introduced in the last book and gave her more-or-less centre stage, and just like in that book, I think there was a good balance between including her and the other new character in the existing group while respecting the social barriers that exist in Alpennia.
The one negative thing I have to say is that it felt like the book tried to do to much. Sure, I want to hear about and get the perspectives of Margerit, Barbara, Jeanne, Antuniet, as well as the new characters, but they all had very significant events going on in their lives above and beyond the core narrative, and so it feels like I was missing out in some of the more severe time skips, which was a real pity.
I continue to thoroughly enjoy this series, and this will probably get me to re-read [b:Daughter of Mystery|18167557|Daughter of Mystery (Alpennia, #1)|Heather Rose Jones|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1387770689s/18167557.jpg|25533901] quite soon.
storytimed's review
5.0
This is Alpennia really coming into its own as a fantasy series, with a more complex magic system and fascinating worldbuilding, though Serafina really does need a better gf.
spiderwitch's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25