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Dec 16, 2009

Res rated it:

The one where Cecy and Kate and their husbands go on a marriage tour of Europe and wind up entangled in a plot.

I'm afraid this lacks a good deal of the charm of Sorcery and Cecelia. It's longer, and more conventional in structure, and while we still get first-person accounts from both Kate and Cecy, they're not talking to each other, so we lose those hints at the cousins' relationship that made the first book so much fun.

My first problem here is that I still can't tell t More...

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Feb 09, 2009

Natalie rated it:

This book was cumbersome. Again, the authors engaged in the Letter Game, but this time the main characters, Kate and Cecily were side by side, involved in the same plot. It was interesting to see the different points of view with which they approached each event, but the way the story was set up, it was fraught with problems that plagued the plot and made the story drag.
Cousins Kate and Cecy are on their honeymoons – touring Europe with their husbands, who are best of friends. They More...

1 comment like (3 people liked it)

Mar 03, 2011

Sherri rated it:

Another bit of frothy fun, this time with a tour of Europe just after the Napoleonic wars to add a little interest. What can be said about a book like this? It's pure fun, and if it isn't something you like -- occasionally I do want to shake our two young heroines before I recall that they are, indeed, written to be not even 20 yet, so I just let the book rollick along -- then nothing I say will convince you. A good antidote for grey days, colds, and a perfect accompaniment to a comfy chair, More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 24, 2012

Maura rated it:

1. do not attempt to read this without first reading Sorcery and Cecelia -- it will simply not make much sense.

2. i love Sorcery and Cecelia -- while it's fluff, it's terribly well written fluff. and it's in epistolary format, which i'm a sucker for. i think it's safe to say it's one of the most re-read books on my shelf.

3. this doesn't evoke nearly as much love. which disappointed me greatly for about the first half of the book. eventually the plot engaged me enough to g More...

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May 18, 2009

Amy rated it:

Summary: I was disappointed in this book, but if you liked the first, you should go ahead and plow through this one. The third is better, but you might need background information from this one to understand it.

I was excited about reading this after reading Sorcery and Cecelia or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot Being the Correspondence of Two Young Ladies of Quality Regarding Various Magical Scandals in London and the Country; unfortunately, this one did not work as well.
Instead More...

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Jun 05, 2011

Karen rated it:

Newly (and very happily) married, cousins Kate and Cecy are ready to make their shared wedding journey on the Continent with their estimable husbands, Thomas and James. Both young ladies have romantic and exciting plans for their tour - shopping expeditions in Paris, viewing historical antiquities, visiting the opera - and it's not as if their expectations won't be met. Most assuredly, they will be. But the double-honeymoon will also include magic, intrigue, kidnapping and peril, Kate and Cecy j More...

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Sep 25, 2011

Hope rated it:

This is the second book in the series; once I finished first book I had to read the second book. I did go to the library next day to get it but unfortunately it was checked out. So I put it on hold and waited for the email to arrive notifying that the book was ready to pick up. I have to say that I enjoyed book two, The Grand Tour, very much. It was an entertaining read, humorous, fun, fast paced plot and never dull moment. All the characters from book one are in this book as well, the mail More...

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Dec 10, 2009

Lydia rated it:

I found this book disappointing after Sorcery and Cecelia. The most exciting part of the first book for me is the way it was written and how the two authors pick up on each other's threads, not knowing where the plot or the characters will go next. They wrote Sorcery and Cecelia as a "Letter Game" where the first one to write makes up a character and a setting writing to another character and then the characters correspond. The joy of that game was lost in The Grand Tour, the writing f More...

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Jun 11, 2009

Kelly rated it:

Not as evocative as the first. It doesn't pull you in when you start it, and it doesn't hook you afterwards. Unfortunately, the characters are rather boring in this- it might have something to do with the format- there's a switch from the epistolary layout of the first to a diary/testimony layout, and it really is not at all effective. It makes the story seem flat and dull. It doesn't help that the two title characters have become even more boring- Kate has turned into a wilting flower who only More...

2 comments like (7 people liked it)

Dec 16, 2009

Wealhtheow rated it:

The sequel to Sorcery and Cecilia is significantly less charming than its predecessor. I had a hard time remember which character was which, and who was married to who. I had an equally difficult time caring about the plot. From Kelly's review of the third book, it doesn't look like the series gets much better. Save yourself the effort and reread Dealing with Dragons or Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norell.

4 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jun 21, 2009

Purpledolphin789 rated it:

This was a completely random book I found at the library. Actually this is the second in a trilogy but it doesn't spoil much of the first book. This is good, because I read this first! :)
Basically it is told in the journal entries of two cousins, Kate and Cecy (Cecelia). It is set in the early 1800s, 1817 to be precise, in England. Also a kind of alternate world where wizardry/magic is real. Kate and Cecy are 18, and newlyweds. As a honeymoon, they plan a Grand Tour around Europe with thei More...

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Apr 06, 2009

Amy rated it:

This is a sequel to Sorcery and Cecelia or the Enchanted Chocolate Pot. I loved the first book because it was a compelling, fun, quick read. This book was a bit harder to follow. (Or maybe I was more distracted during this one.)

However, if you liked the first book, you will most likely enjoy this follow-up story. Instead of letters, Cecy is writing a deposition and Kate is simply writing in her journal. Because the format of Kate's entries are more personal, I seemed to enjoy More...

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Feb 16, 2009

Janelle rated it:

The Grand Tour is the sequel to Sorcery and Cecilia. I adored Sorcery and Cecilia. This book? Not so much. I’m not even sure why I finished it. It was very, very different than Sorcery and Cecelia. I suppose I just did not care about the characters anymore now that they were married.
What I think made Sorcery and Cecilia so delightful was the epistolary narrative. In this installment in the series, that device has been replaced by the Deposition testimony of Cecelia and the private diary of More...

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Feb 24, 2010

Treasa rated it:

In this sequel to Sorcery and Cecelia, we again follow the two cousins, Kate and Cecy, this time as they travel together (with their husbands) on their wedding trip. What was supposed to be a relaxing tour of Europe turns into a frantic race to stop an unknown enemy. As the four friends travel around Europe, they gradually pick up pieces of the puzzle, leading them to a surprising and magic-filled ending.

I didn't love this book as much as the first, but I still really enjoyed it. Lik More...

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Apr 07, 2009

Angela rated it:

Sadly, this is a very disappointing sequel. The new format (official deposition & diary, rather than exchanged letters) dulled the characterizations that sparkled so delightfully in the first book. While I found it easy to keep the mirrored characters straight in "Sorcery & Cecelia," the same people in this book were insipid and confusing. The plot dragged, stumbled, picked up again, and then fell apart all together; and the wrap-up at the end was a jumbled mess.

I'm sure More...

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Jan 27, 2012

Kingsgrave rated it:

I cannot say why it was that this book didn't charm me quite to the extent that its predecessor did. I wanted to love it, but I never quite managed to sink in. I can't blame it on the writing, overly, as I've read far worse prose by far better paid writers, nor can I really blame it on the niceties of plot, pacing, or characters, as those were all known quantities.

I guess I just slid off this one. Perhaps I was not in the mood. I only know that I sat down this morning, and determin More...

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Dec 30, 2008

Allison rated it:

Kate, Thomas (umm, and his mother?!?), Cecelia, and James go on their honeymoon tour of Europe with the duel purpose of solving a royal mystery for the Duke of Wellington.

It took me forever to get through this, and Lindsey was totally right. It focused on a lot of unexplained bits of magic (blah blah blah MAGIC, should have been the title). It also felt like the authors were stringing each other along, and neither knew what was going to happen- but when it did happen, it worked o More...

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Apr 04, 2011

Holly rated it:

I probably would have rated this higher if I didn't have such high expectations after Sorcery and Cecelia. The story itself is fun and the plot is interesting, but I feel like it fell a little flat after how original and interactive the first book was. There was no real character growth that I could see, and it just felt like there were too many characters not really doing anything. Maybe it wasn't as good because Cecy and Kate were together? I don't know. Like I said, I liked the story and the More...

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Jan 04, 2012

Britain rated it:

I gave this book five stars because it is worth reading, even though it is not as good as the first one. The thing that didn't work quite so well this time was exactly what made the first one great: the Letter Game. In this book, the cousins' adventures are taken from their personal accounts of the story. Cecelia is writing to a public government audience, while Kate writes in her journal. I preferred the private entries to the public ones. They were more in keeping with the style of the first b More...

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Apr 21, 2011

Erin rated it:

Silly and charming, but not as silly or charming as the first. The letter game format worked really well when Cecelia and Kate were actually writing to each other, but when they're on the same trip, writing about basically the same events, the plot drags a little. Also, this might seem like a small quibble, but the choice to have Kate writing in a diary and Cecelia in a formal deposition seems to immediately set the reader up to favor Kate and Thomas (honeymoon! romance! obviously implied sex!) More...

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Dec 06, 2010

Jodi rated it:

Not quite the charm as the first one, but still enjoyable enough to continue reading. I found myself reaching for it instead of other books I've been reading (always a good sign). The cousins are now married to the men they met in book one and are taking a double honeymoon together and find themselves embroiled in another mystery. I didn't really like all the magic in this one, but was more interested in the relationships and the historical aspects. The characters were more developed which w More...

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Aug 06, 2009

Julie rated it:

Cecelia and Kate, now married, embark upon a Grand Tour of the Continent with their husbands. The mysterious delivery of a package pulls the foursome into an investigation of stolen coronation regalia, apparently to be used in a magical ritual. Since Cecy is a neophyte magician, studying with Kate’s husband Thomas, she is more attuned to the magical side of things while Kate uses her status as Lady Schofield to meet and investigate various highly-placed people in Paris, Venice, and Rome. Told More...

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Sep 16, 2011

Matia rated it:

More adventures of Kate and Cecy from The Chocolate Pot, but this time the writing is in a journal format. That makes it a bit more fun, when the two write about the same event from a different perspective. One of my favorite parts is when one of the brides must learn the facts of life from her mother-in-law just before her wedding night. (Not that they go into much detail--it's still a squeaky clean book-- but I found the situation hilarious). The action seemed to move along a bit quicker than More...

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Oct 25, 2009

Broodingferret rated it:

I picked this up on a whim 'cause it looked like it would be a fun, light read, and I was right. The setting, which is done well, is 19th century Europe with magic thrown into the mix. Wrede has both a good grasp of Victorian syntax and a way with witty turns of phrase which make her writing quite entertaining. I managed, however, to miss the fact that this is book 2 in a 3 book series, but the story is written in such a way that it was unaffected by being read out of sequence. Nevertheless, More...

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Aug 20, 2011

Michelle rated it:

I enjoyed this second book in the series. It was good to see that the authors maintained the letter writing style, using a journal and testimony to the Royal College as an alternative method. It was interesting to see their Grand Tour of Europe and how right from the start the two married couples get involved in a mystery. The characters continue to be quite likeable and the mystery is intriguing. Magic plays a key role once again. This one lacks a little of the suspense of the previous book wi More...

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Jan 28, 2011

Alyssa rated it:

This was less cute and charming than the first book, but I still liked it. The plot was ok with a little predictability, the characters were more mature (unfortunately in my book), and the settings were fabulous. So I guess my main gripe was that the characters seemed a less close than before, which was realistic since they were married, but I wish they would have done it better (somehow). So overall I'd say this book is a nice and easy read though it's nothing spectacular to write home about wh More...

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Nov 21, 2008

Shareen rated it:

Sequels can often be disappointing. I thought this one was so bad that I probably wouldn't have finished it if it wasn't that I enjoyed the first book so much. Somehow the same characters that I liked in the first book were annoying in the second. The plot was boring to me. The characters talk of nothing but the mystery. Half of the book is written as a "sworn testimony", which I found too formal and detached to get involved in. I wouldn't bother with this book, unless like me, y More...

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May 03, 2011

Doris rated it:

Really more like three and a half stars. Certainly enjoyable and fun, but not quite as fun as the first book in the series; partially because it feels one character was a lot more spunky in the first one and then suddenly much more shy in the second one. Also, unlike the first which takes places as correspondence (narrating two dovetailing storylines), this one essentially gives two perspectives of the same events. You can tell the authors worked hard to not tread over the same events, but it More...

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Oct 27, 2011

Annie rated it:

Even though this is the second in the series, it's the third book I've read about Cecelia and Kate. I have to admit I enjoyed it somewhat more than The Mislaid Magician in part because it's closer in the time line to Sorcery and Cecelia so I had a better handle on who was who and how their prior experience fit into the current story.

Like the others, this is a quirky, fun, sweet tale. I enjoy these characters and I enjoy the way plots unfold. But in some ways this one seemed unbalanc More...

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Feb 04, 2012

Erica rated it:

Book talk: After everything they've been through Cecy and Kate are excited to get away from England for their honeymoon trip around Europe. But if they were expecting a leisurely vacation with the occasional sightseeing outing they were sorely mistaken. It all begins when a mysterious woman shows up with vial of what seems like perfume. Before long they're chasing missing coronation regalia all over Europe in a desperate attempt to prevent a new Napoleon from rising to power. At least they g More...

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