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19th out of 97 books
—
392 voters
The Traitor's Smile (Pimpernelles #2)
Eugenie de Boncoeur has fled the violence of the French Revolution to find sanctuary in England at the home of her cousin, Hetta. At first, the two girls find themselves at loggerheads: Hetta can't understand Eugenie's preoccupation with clothes and appearance, and scorns her politics. Soon, however, they are drawn together by a shared sense of danger, for across the Chann...more
Paperback
Published
November 4th 2010
by Hodder Children's Books
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*Note: this is the second (and last) book. I didn't read book one but I was still able to thoroughly enjoy the story. There may be some elements carried over from the first one, so read it if you like. It's called "The Pale Assassin."
Set in the time of the French Revolution, we follow Eugenie, a French aristocrat who flees to Deal, England; her cousin Henrietta ("Hetta"), an Englishwoman; and Julien, a friend of Eugenie; and Guy Deschamps, aka. Le Scalpel, a French spy and assassin. Guy poses as...more
Set in the time of the French Revolution, we follow Eugenie, a French aristocrat who flees to Deal, England; her cousin Henrietta ("Hetta"), an Englishwoman; and Julien, a friend of Eugenie; and Guy Deschamps, aka. Le Scalpel, a French spy and assassin. Guy poses as...more
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Mar 27, 2012
Kris
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
bookreviewcenter,
youngadult
Recommended for gr. 6-10. Historical fiction, set during the French Revolution. Second in series, helpful but not necessary to have read the first book. Helpful cast of characters at the beginning, historical note and timeline of the French Revolution at the end.
As the book begins, Eugenie has just arrived in England to live with her English relatives while she worries about her brother who is imprisoned and likely to be guillotined in Paris. She has narrowly escaped imprisonment and an evil man...more
As the book begins, Eugenie has just arrived in England to live with her English relatives while she worries about her brother who is imprisoned and likely to be guillotined in Paris. She has narrowly escaped imprisonment and an evil man...more
Oh LORD, this was a slog. And the worst part is that it really, really shouldn't have been, at least not for me!
Reader, here are a few things I love: female characters having adventures, sweet but spoiled girls, female characters having friendships, 18th-century history. And yet even I couldn't enjoy this. I'd been running through books at a rate of one or more a day in the past few weeks; this took me well over a week because I just couldn't bear more than a chapter or two at a time, it was so...more
Reader, here are a few things I love: female characters having adventures, sweet but spoiled girls, female characters having friendships, 18th-century history. And yet even I couldn't enjoy this. I'd been running through books at a rate of one or more a day in the past few weeks; this took me well over a week because I just couldn't bear more than a chapter or two at a time, it was so...more
Eugenie has escaped from the horror of the Revolution to her uncle's house in England, safe from the attentions of Roul Goullet, The Pale Assassin. Or is she? Roul's agent the sinister and charming Guy Deschamps, has come across the Channel to being Eugenie a proposition -- she must return to France and marry Goullet, or her brother Armand will face the guillotine! Eugenie's actions will pull her cousin Hetta and love Julien into the turmoil of the Revolution, and mortal danger.
This book left me...more
This book left me...more
I almost didn't read this because I found the previous book in the series less than gripping, to say the least. Glad I did because I enjoyed it much more. The story moved along more quickly, not too much history getting in the way, and the plot less convoluted. That all sounds like a back-handed compliment, so I must go on to say I actually stayed up late to read this one. The second half had me hooked. I'm conflicted about the omniscient viewpoint. In some cases, jumping from one place and set...more
The book was an interesting read. A well-written historical fiction about the French Revolution and a little on the war between France and England soon after. It's the 2nd book in a series, but you could read the Traitor's Smile and not be completely lost (the 1st is called The Pale Assasin).
Violence - there is some, but doesn't go into detail (beheading, shot)
Language - don't think there was any
Sex - nope! aren't you so glad ;)
Drugs/drinking - there is mention of various alcoholic drinks, but n...more
Violence - there is some, but doesn't go into detail (beheading, shot)
Language - don't think there was any
Sex - nope! aren't you so glad ;)
Drugs/drinking - there is mention of various alcoholic drinks, but n...more
SUMMARY:
The Traitor's Smile starts right where the Pale Assassin ends, with Eugenie and Julien arriving in England. When a familiar face turns up, that of the traitor Guy Deschamps, Eugenie learns that her brother has been captured and will soon be sentenced to death for his aristocrat status and his failed plan to save the King. Guy delivers a ultimatum from Goullet, the assassin. Either Eugenie goes back to France and marries him, or her brother dies.
PROS:
1. There's less history than in the Pa...more
The Traitor's Smile starts right where the Pale Assassin ends, with Eugenie and Julien arriving in England. When a familiar face turns up, that of the traitor Guy Deschamps, Eugenie learns that her brother has been captured and will soon be sentenced to death for his aristocrat status and his failed plan to save the King. Guy delivers a ultimatum from Goullet, the assassin. Either Eugenie goes back to France and marries him, or her brother dies.
PROS:
1. There's less history than in the Pa...more
Eugenie de Boncoeur and Julien de Fortin have reached the coast of English land seeking sanctuary from the violence of the French Revolution. At first Eugenie and her cousin Henrietta at at each other, both quite different. But they find themselves together as best friends after danger has arisen as the Pale Assassin have tracked down Eugenie and Julien. The Pale Assassin is determind to claim Eugenie as his bride. So when Eugenie's brother Armand is in prision, the Pale Assassin makes out that...more
I think that this book was excellent though at times a tad slow.
(view spoiler)
Overall I liked this installment, but I did not love it. As I said, at timed it was a tad slow but I was entranced nonethele...more
(view spoiler)
Overall I liked this installment, but I did not love it. As I said, at timed it was a tad slow but I was entranced nonethele...more
The second and final book of the pimpernelle series was a bit more intriguing then the first. It captivated me longer and had a more complex climax. I enjoyed the close calls and escapes the main characters had. I also appreciated the number of characters not becoming too long of a list. It can be difficult to follow a large amount of characters but this book had just the right amount. The girls, Eugenie and Hetta, are daring and courageous, though sometimes Eugenie again becomes too careless. O...more
I thoroughly enjoyed this sequel. Perhaps more so than The Pale Assassin, as with this one I was rather involved from beginning to end. Maybe it went a little slow to begin with, but not as much as the previous book, and although it seemed a slow read, I finished it the next day! Although it gave a satisfactory ending, I do find myself wishing for a third instalment.
I never would have guessed that this was a sequel. It stands alone just fine. I will look for the first book though, because I highly enjoyed this one. The bad guys were creepy, the girls were brave and intelligent, and it was an interesting look at the chaotic time of the French Revolution.
The story sounded great, but it wasn't that good. The story was all right, but the author's voice was what destroyed the book, in my opinion. It was so choppy. Not at all good. I haven't read the first book, but after reading this one, I have no wish to.
Such a wonderful sequel to The Pale Assassin!
The plot seems sort of convoluted, at first, which isn't bad, and seems to work quite well with the chaotic times the book is set in, so I won't try to summarize it here.
I did love it, though. The story was well-paced, and I loved Hetta's character. It's always fun to see a character grow in a book, without losing who she is as a character!
This book was fun, and exciting. I wish I could see a third book, but I've heard little of the third book, despi...more
The plot seems sort of convoluted, at first, which isn't bad, and seems to work quite well with the chaotic times the book is set in, so I won't try to summarize it here.
I did love it, though. The story was well-paced, and I loved Hetta's character. It's always fun to see a character grow in a book, without losing who she is as a character!
This book was fun, and exciting. I wish I could see a third book, but I've heard little of the third book, despi...more
This book was sooo good! I literally couldn't put it down. It is definitely one of my top favorites. This book would totally be eligible for 6 stars.
Again, really enjoyed the setting and historical details. The story is even fairly good. However, the writing is mediocre at best.
In this book, two cousins fight to stay alive while war rages, and they have to make choices that will effect their lives forever.
Sep 08, 2012
Ji Mei ^_^
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
historical-fiction,
real-life-fiction
This book was so frustrating! There was all these complex relationships between the characters and sometimes it made me so mad at the main character I wanted to shake her awake. But that was what also made this book really good. It was so real, reading about the French Revolution, and there were many things I didn't expect. The details were amazing and I liked how it came to a good end. It was sort of predictable at times, but it's easy to ignore those parts since overall, I liked it. Plus I'm g...more
I love it! But by the looks of how it ended, does that mean that there won't be another book?
I thoughtthefirest one was really good so I'm excited to read the second one!
Awesome sequel to The Pale Assassin. I don't know why everyone seems to either kind of like this book or hate it! I read a lot of historical fiction and both the Pimpernelles books were well researched and well written. Eugenie is a little spoiled throughout the series, but that is her character! Not all of us can be the same. I enjoyed looking at the French Revolution through the aristocrats eyes and liked watching Eugenie's character develop.
I love historical fiction! (I'm very glad that I was not a French aristocrat during the revolution!) This book was just as good as the first book in the series, "The Pale Assassin". The story moves along swiftly and I enjoyed all of the characters. They all had different roles to play in the events of the revolution and it was interesting to see history from different perspectives.
Jul 02, 2011
Hallie
marked it as life-is-too-short-to-finish-this
Shelves:
historical-fiction,
history-project
This is a toss-up between currently reading and life's too short. Got it as a hopeful contender for 'romp' in the period (roughly) from 1660 to 1914, but I'm not sure it'll fit, and I'm pretty sure it's not my kind of book at all.
Life's too short won. So not my kind of book, and not needed for That Was Then, so...
Life's too short won. So not my kind of book, and not needed for That Was Then, so...
Took me a while to get into it, but it sucked me in by Part Two. Love reading historical fiction for young people, it makes me happy that history is promoted in this way.
Good book, enjoyed it, great to see the characters again, and yeah, good book!
The main character bugged me at times.
May 17, 2013
Rus Kay
marked it as to-read
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Patricia Elliott was born in London and grew up in Europe and the Far East. She has worked in publishing in London and in a children's bookshop in New York. She now teaches a course in children's literature at an adult education college. She lives in London with her husband, two sons, and a yellow labrodor named Finagal.
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Sep 10, 2011 08:33am