I loved it. Alright, so the blurb sounds skeptical at best. A young noblewoman is sent to her eccentric uncle the Mad Duke to learn swordsmanship, what scandal! Anyway, this somehow manages to navigate the endless potential to be cliche, overwrought, and archetypical. Instead of the norm, it's the coming-of-age of a teenage girl finding her own strengh, written as if for young adults, but with serious adult overtones.

It has feminist overtones, gay and bisexual and sex-positive characters, adult humor written under teenage naivete, an allegory of open-mindedness and empowerment. But it's never preachy.

The closest comparison I could make would be to Jacqueline Carey's Kusheline series. But instead of Phedre's social perfection, Katherine is stubborn, unusual, a little out of place. Instead of Delaney's godlike mentorship, the Mad Duke is irritatinly, charmingly, bizarre and hedonistic. And there is no perfection or fulfillment because the characters were born of a certain race or circumstance; the characters pull themselves up by their bootstraps, entertain socially acceptable and unacceptable alike, and grow in a dynamic range.

The characters are loveable, the plot quick and enticing.

My only problem with the book is that it is obviously part of a series; the backstory is filled out easy enough to follow, but if you read this one first, it does feel like there is significance that has been lost. Definitely recommended.