Have you ever been to a melodrama on stage where they exaggerate the villans and hold signs that prompt the crowd to boo and hiss and then exaggerate the hero and hold signs to cheer? When one reads this book one feels as though one is attending just such an event! (One also speaks this way when one is introducing every chapter!) It is light and funny, but the exaggeration and silliness keep you from ever really caring about the characters. Petronella never felt real to me, but I enjoyed the word play and some of the silliness.