Scan barcode
booknerd2024's review
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
the_jesus_fandom's review
4.0
The beginning of this book was very annoying. Not only was it very humiliating to see how the aristos were now penniless and basically had to live on the goodwill of other people (poor Juliette and her necklace), but I also really hated to see how the British uppercrust was so incredibly indifferent and jolly while there was a mass slaughter going on literally on the other side of the sea. Not saying you can't have fun ever because there's bad things in the world, but you also shouldn't go to a carnaval booth to experience the thrill of a guillotining first hand. Yeah, someone sets up a carnaval booth where puppets get guillotined and everyone flocks to it.
Okay, anyway, now to the good stuff.
This book introduces the grossest character yet: Collot d'Herbois. You'll just be reading a fun adventure story and bam! some information about how this character does the most horrendous stuff to people.
The story is really good, with a very difficult and cunning trap. I did see the end part coming, but really only during the actual scene, so the suspense wasn't ruined.
Marguerite is in this. We see how trash Percy really is at being a husband. He really is careless, that's not just the show. He is also trash at communicating and laughs away his wife's fears. Marguerite spends this story being selfish (wishing Percy would stay home cause she doesn't want him to die when there's literal children being murdered by drowning), then she gets over it and
There was also some classism where, because Chauvelin is a marquis, he's more refined than Collot, who is of the lower class. Cool, cool.
(Listen, I rated this 4 stars because I still enjoyed it and the plot was really intriguing. Schemes were schemed, plans were planned, plots were plotted, traps were trapped. That kind of stuff.)
Okay, anyway, now to the good stuff.
This book introduces the grossest character yet: Collot d'Herbois. You'll just be reading a fun adventure story and bam! some information about how this character does the most horrendous stuff to people.
The story is really good, with a very difficult and cunning trap. I did see the end part coming, but really only during the actual scene, so the suspense wasn't ruined.
Marguerite is in this. We see how trash Percy really is at being a husband. He really is careless, that's not just the show. He is also trash at communicating and laughs away his wife's fears. Marguerite spends this story being selfish (wishing Percy would stay home cause she doesn't want him to die when there's literal children being murdered by drowning), then she gets over it and
Spoiler
stupidly falls into a trap, thereby making the plot even thicker, which I liked. But it was still stupid. I feel like anytime women take some action in these books, they just make everything worse.There was also some classism where, because Chauvelin is a marquis, he's more refined than Collot, who is of the lower class. Cool, cool.
(Listen, I rated this 4 stars because I still enjoyed it and the plot was really intriguing. Schemes were schemed, plans were planned, plots were plotted, traps were trapped. That kind of stuff.)
littletaiko's review
3.0
The fourth in the pimpernel series and the rivalry between the Scarlet Pimpernel and Chauvelin is still going strong. This time Chauvelin is a man on mission to trap the Pimpernel in France and end his heroics once and for all. The scenes between Percy and Chauvelin are the best parts of the book with Percy's careless bantering at times confusing Chauvelin. The author relies heavily on telling the reader everything that is happening as opposed to just sort of letting things unfold. There's a bit of repetition too that got old, but all in all it was still a fun, fast-paced read.
As a huge fan of the musical, it gave me great joy to see that they got some of the lyrics straight from the books. In this case it was the following:
"We seek him here! We seek him there! Those Frenchies seek him everywhere! Is he in heaven? Is he in hell? That demmed elusive Pimpernel?"
As a huge fan of the musical, it gave me great joy to see that they got some of the lyrics straight from the books. In this case it was the following:
"We seek him here! We seek him there! Those Frenchies seek him everywhere! Is he in heaven? Is he in hell? That demmed elusive Pimpernel?"
perilous1's review
4.0
3.5 Stars
Told largely from the alternating perspectives of Marguerite Blakeney and chief spy-catcher Chauvelin, this series sequel has surprisingly little by way of Scarlet Pimpernel appearances. Indeed, it seems to focus largely on Marguerite's dangerous misadventure as the outwitted pawn of Chauvelin's fiendish designs. That's not to say that she is daft... but she seems consistently crippled in her reasoning by her defensive distress over her husband's safety. (Though, he is the one who chooses to walk directly into Chauvelin's trap. And so her struggle is between her own culpability and how much she trusts her husband's cleverness.)
While this book is more a shadow of the first in the series, it still holds Orczy's fine-tuned way with words and gripping conveyance of emotion. I was hoping for a bit more, but it was good to revisit these characters and see some of the developments between them.
Told largely from the alternating perspectives of Marguerite Blakeney and chief spy-catcher Chauvelin, this series sequel has surprisingly little by way of Scarlet Pimpernel appearances. Indeed, it seems to focus largely on Marguerite's dangerous misadventure as the outwitted pawn of Chauvelin's fiendish designs. That's not to say that she is daft... but she seems consistently crippled in her reasoning by her defensive distress over her husband's safety. (Though, he is the one who chooses to walk directly into Chauvelin's trap. And so her struggle is between her own culpability and how much she trusts her husband's cleverness.)
While this book is more a shadow of the first in the series, it still holds Orczy's fine-tuned way with words and gripping conveyance of emotion. I was hoping for a bit more, but it was good to revisit these characters and see some of the developments between them.
amalies's review
4.0
This book was wordy and hard to get into. However, it was fun to see the scarlet pimpernel star in another book. I felt like the author did a good job coming up with a new scheme with lots of little turns, but she downgraded the character of Marguerite Blakely in this book. In the first book the author played on her womanly instincts, but this one the abhor made her appear more dumb overall and it was just sad. Instead of the wordiness explaining historical facts, I wish their was more interaction between the husband and wife at some point. Otherwise, it was a good sequel.
sigrros's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
loki728's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
attoliairene's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
I was purely here for the romance (which is why I skipped books 2&3) AND THIS BOOK DELIVERED 😍😍 UGHHHHH WHY ARE BOOKS WRITTEN IN OLD ENGLISH SO ROMANTIC 🤭
Not as good as the first book in terms of the plot (it seemed a bit unhinged and messy at the end 😂) but it still kept me on the edge of my seat 😆😆😆
Also let me just pause to appreciate the beauty of having Sir Percy on the cover 🤧 (especially knowing what scene this is after finishing the book 🤭)
Not as good as the first book in terms of the plot (it seemed a bit unhinged and messy at the end 😂) but it still kept me on the edge of my seat 😆😆😆
Also let me just pause to appreciate the beauty of having Sir Percy on the cover 🤧 (especially knowing what scene this is after finishing the book 🤭)