There were so many things I loved about this book. So so many. It's going to be tough going to write an objective review since all I really want to do is squee all over the place and make everyone I know read this book. So, with an attempt at coherence and objectivity, here's what I liked:

1) The setting: Salzburg, Austria 1804. (This books is set just before Portrait of Seduction.) Its mostly winter and damn, Lofty can pick a great setting. It's fresh, new and interesting. She made me feel as thought the book was a city map come to life. Loved the touches of the Dutch language, too.

2) Neither the hero nor the heroine were royalty/upper-class. There's some posh-ness going on, but this book is refreshingly free of class divides and issues.

3) Mathilda is a musical prodigy. BUT! Rather than that turning her into a perfect, can do no wrong, birds perch on her shoulders and sing, she has some interesting quirks and challenges that keep her firmly grounded in reality. Her issues around gossip and security are heartfelt and her navigation towards resolving those issues felt very real.

4) Arie is not charming, handsome or rich. He's pretty much a grumpy old bastard with a deep cynical streak and a well of insecurity. He's also got a deep, dark secret that could be THE BIG MISUNDERSTANDING of the novel. However, once again Lofty flips this plot device on it's head and deals with Arie's secret and the reveal in a wonderfully human way.

5) By the end of this novel, I wondered if Lofty herself was a musician. He ability to render music into text is phenomenal. "Lyrical" doesn't even begin to describe the talent that Lofty displays with her rich and imaginative prose.

Seriously, stop making me wax poetic about this and just go read it.