4.5 stars

Changeling is a must read for YA fans who love a well crafted historical read, with a rich setting, in-depth characters, and a romance that leaves you wanting more. Philippa's YA debut is fabulous! She not only brought her 1400's Italian setting to life within the pages of her book, but she creates the perfect character chemistry, adds in the perfect amount of mystery and betrayal as well as creates a surprising paranormal twist that was worked in to the story perfectly, and fit in well during this time period. I finally understand all the buzz that surrounds her adult books. Philippa is a master story teller and being the historical fan I am, I want to go pick up more of her books!

Told from alternating points of views, readers get to meet characters Luca Vero and Isolde. I liked the way in which they're both drawn together in this story. Luca is the irresistible, intelligent, charming, good lucking character who against his will is thrown into a secret order, called The Order of the Dragon. His mission to go out and not only investigate, but also document the dangers and evils happening around his country and Europe. This leads him to the nunnery that Isolde has been forced into by her brother after her father, Lord Lucretili died. Unlike Luce, it took me awhile to warm up to Isolde. I liked being able to get to know her as the story went on. There's a reason why she herself is shrouded in mystery for the first part of the book. She is a character who stands up for what she believes in. She's intelligent, beautiful, grounded and will do whatever it takes to gain back the inheritance she rightful has claim to.

It's during Luca's interrogation of the nuns at the nunnery that the story's mystery starts to unravel. There's murder, betrayal, secrets and a surprising twist in this story that made it hard to put it down. The twists that are loaded in this book are unpredictable and make for an exciting story line. I loved how authentic this story felt. From the mannerism of the characters, to the way they talked, dressed, the roles men and women had during this time period and the social statuses of men, women, those of the church, slaves and so forth. The theme of God and the religious elements stayed true to this time period and didn't weigh the story down. I thought Philippa did a suberb job with how she intertwined everything together to create a story that felt like it leaped out of the history books.

This story also has some great supporting characters who play significant roles in the lives of both Isolde and Luca. The romance/character chemistry is so well drawn out. I loved it! There's this undeniable draw between the Luca and Isolde, but being forced into making vows to the church forbids them for having a relationship. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing what happens between these two as the series continues. Being that this book is the first in the series, I felt Changeling does a great job at setting up what's to come with the rest of the series. There were times I felt a little confused with the beginning of the book about what was happening, but I quickly caught on and couldn't put this book down. I think both YA fans and fans of Philippa are going to enjoy this book. It's a book I highly recommend picking up on May 29th!