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Cecelia and Kate #2
The Grand Tour
Kate and Cecy and their new husbands, Thomas and James, are off on a leisurely tour of the Continent. But once they arrive in France, strange things start to happen. Cecy receives a mysterious package, Thomas's valet is assaulted, and Kate loses a glove. Soon it becomes clear that the newlyweds have stumbled upon a magical plot to take over Europe, and they must embark on a daring chase to thwart the evil conspiracy. There's likely more trouble ahead--for when you mix Kate and Cecy and magic, who knows what's going to happen next!
469 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2004
About the author
Patricia C. Wrede
64 books3,695 followersPatricia Collins Wrede was born in Chicago, Illinois and is the eldest of five children. She started writing in seventh grade. She attended Carleton College in Minnesota, where she majored in Biology and managed to avoid taking any English courses at all. She began work on her first novel, Shadow Magic, just after graduating from college in 1974. She finished it five years later and started her second book at once, having become permanently hooked on writing by this time.
Patricia received her M.B.A. from the University of Minnesota in 1977.
She worked for several years as a financial analyst and accountant, first with the Minnesota Hospital Association, then with B. Dalton Booksellers, and finally at the Dayton Hudson Corporation headquarters.
Patricia finished her first novel in late 1978. In January, 1980, Pamela Dean, Emma Bull, Will Shetterly, Steven Brust, Nate Bucklin, and Patricia Wrede -- all, at that point, hopeful but unpublished -- formed the writer's group that later became known as "The Scribblies." Several years later, they were joined by Kara Dalkey. In April of 1980, Patricia's first novel sold to Ace Books. It came out at last in 1982, which is the year she met Lillian Stewart Carl (who introduced her to Lois McMaster Bujold by mail).
In 1985, shortly before the publication of her fifth book, she left the world of the gainfully employed to try winging it on her own.
Her interests include sewing, embroidery, desultory attempts at gardening, chocolate, not mowing the lawn, High Tea, and, of course, reading.
She is a vegetarian, and currently lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota with her cat Karma. She has no children.
Patricia received her M.B.A. from the University of Minnesota in 1977.
She worked for several years as a financial analyst and accountant, first with the Minnesota Hospital Association, then with B. Dalton Booksellers, and finally at the Dayton Hudson Corporation headquarters.
Patricia finished her first novel in late 1978. In January, 1980, Pamela Dean, Emma Bull, Will Shetterly, Steven Brust, Nate Bucklin, and Patricia Wrede -- all, at that point, hopeful but unpublished -- formed the writer's group that later became known as "The Scribblies." Several years later, they were joined by Kara Dalkey. In April of 1980, Patricia's first novel sold to Ace Books. It came out at last in 1982, which is the year she met Lillian Stewart Carl (who introduced her to Lois McMaster Bujold by mail).
In 1985, shortly before the publication of her fifth book, she left the world of the gainfully employed to try winging it on her own.
Her interests include sewing, embroidery, desultory attempts at gardening, chocolate, not mowing the lawn, High Tea, and, of course, reading.
She is a vegetarian, and currently lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota with her cat Karma. She has no children.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 643 reviews
June 15, 2007
The one where Cecy and Kate and their husbands go on a marriage tour of Europe and wind up entangled in a plot.
I'm afraid this lacks a good deal of the charm of Sorcery and Cecelia. It's longer, and more conventional in structure, and while we still get first-person accounts from both Kate and Cecy, they're not talking to each other, so we lose those hints at the cousins' relationship that made the first book so much fun.
My first problem here is that I still can't tell the people apart -- not Kate & Cecy, and not James & Thomas -- and having them all together makes it even worse. I could have kept a chart, I suppose -- X is a magician and Y is not, X likes opera and Y hates it, etc. -- but in the end, if the voices are the same, it doesn't matter what other differences there are.
My second problem is that the structure (with excerpts from one girl's diary and the other's deposition) means that you end up having to read certain key scenes twice, once from each point of view. This is annoying.
Finally, I'm bothered by the book's incuriosity about gender politics. It is in fact almost an AU in which there's equality between women and men in the time of the Napoleonic wars -- almost, but not quite. In practice it's just a story in which inconvenient things like a vicious double standard and a lack of civil rights and an inability to earn a living are all just kept offstage.
This is an extremely gender-polarized time period, with rules governing a woman's behavior waking and sleeping; how can there not be limits placed on women's magic? And if there aren't limits on women's magic, why haven't women used that magic to see to it that they get to be full citizens? And how can you have a villain plotting to bring back the cult of Diana of the Woods without it seeming to occur to anyone that, um, hey, as things currently stand, it turns out that women are really, really powerless!
I'm afraid this lacks a good deal of the charm of Sorcery and Cecelia. It's longer, and more conventional in structure, and while we still get first-person accounts from both Kate and Cecy, they're not talking to each other, so we lose those hints at the cousins' relationship that made the first book so much fun.
My first problem here is that I still can't tell the people apart -- not Kate & Cecy, and not James & Thomas -- and having them all together makes it even worse. I could have kept a chart, I suppose -- X is a magician and Y is not, X likes opera and Y hates it, etc. -- but in the end, if the voices are the same, it doesn't matter what other differences there are.
My second problem is that the structure (with excerpts from one girl's diary and the other's deposition) means that you end up having to read certain key scenes twice, once from each point of view. This is annoying.
Finally, I'm bothered by the book's incuriosity about gender politics. It is in fact almost an AU in which there's equality between women and men in the time of the Napoleonic wars -- almost, but not quite. In practice it's just a story in which inconvenient things like a vicious double standard and a lack of civil rights and an inability to earn a living are all just kept offstage.
This is an extremely gender-polarized time period, with rules governing a woman's behavior waking and sleeping; how can there not be limits placed on women's magic? And if there aren't limits on women's magic, why haven't women used that magic to see to it that they get to be full citizens? And how can you have a villain plotting to bring back the cult of Diana of the Woods without it seeming to occur to anyone that, um, hey, as things currently stand, it turns out that women are really, really powerless!
June 11, 2009
Not as evocative as the first. It doesn't pull you in when you start it, and it doesn't hook you afterwards. Unfortunately, the characters are rather boring in this- it might have something to do with the format- there's a switch from the epistolary layout of the first to a diary/testimony layout, and it really is not at all effective. It makes the story seem flat and dull. It doesn't help that the two title characters have become even more boring- Kate has turned into a wilting flower who only lives for her may-un, and Cecelia is a perfect paragon of sense who seems to enjoy condescending to her cousin when possible. Their husbands are perfectly interchangeable, except one likes to be a bit more demonstrative in a Byron sort of way, and the other is more commonplace, and works for Wellington (which made me roll my eyes pretty high up into my head. He makes an appearance, and his character is just as boring as the rest- not at all how one would expect. Susanna Clarke, you still have far and away the best fictionalized Wellington appearance!) They are all terrible detectives, which makes the mystery incredibly lame- it all could have been over 200 pages in. And yet! When they need to move along the plot, they miraculously discover something that they have no business discovering or knowing or figuring out and everything's just fine. Perfect paragons when they need to be, yet again! You never feel a moment's anxiety for any of them, never a moment of drama between them (all misunderstandings are cleared up in a matter of a page), and yeah, generally- bo-ring.
I've started the third one, though, and it is already better- if irritating in its own special way.
I've started the third one, though, and it is already better- if irritating in its own special way.
February 9, 2009
This book was cumbersome. Again, the authors engaged in the Letter Game, but this time the main characters, Kate and Cecily were side by side, involved in the same plot. It was interesting to see the different points of view with which they approached each event, but the way the story was set up, it was fraught with problems that plagued the plot and made the story drag.
Cousins Kate and Cecy are on their honeymoons – touring Europe with their husbands, who are best of friends. They stumble across international intrigue that suggests someone is trying to use magic to bring Napoleon Bonaparte back to power. Kate writes the events of a day or two in her commonplace book (diary), then we read an excerpt from Cecily’s deposition to the British Ministry of Magic, the War Office, and the Foreign Office, which covers the next day or days. Thus, the characters leapfrog in their explanation of events. It is interesting to note Cecy’s direct development of plot, twists, and forthright telling of events. Kate is much better at creating atmosphere, developing relationships, and adding the personal touch with an occasional and usually humorous ‘note bene’.
Beyond that, the story has problems. If both authors are writing about the same characters in the same rooms, the characters never develop completely. When Cecy’s narrative involves Kate’s husband, Thomas, as it naturally must, we see a different Thomas than the one that Kate writes about. Instead of lending richness to his character, his personality becomes so blurred that he becomes more of a bland pawn of the plot, than the unpredictable rascal with the stinging retorts that we came to love in the first book. The same is true for Cecy’s husband, James when Kate is writing. Each author writes not only about her own character, but tells what the others are saying and doing at any moment, and the essential nuances that help the reader visualize setting and personality are lost.
The plot also suffers. The pace drags. (This book is half again as long as the first book, but develops only one storyline instead of two.) It is clear the authors are not discussing the plot, as the rules of the Letter Game dictate, so each advances the action just so much, then leaves hints for the other to pick up and develop. The hints are sometimes ignored, sometimes dwelt on too deeply, and often lead nowhere important. It was much more interesting in the last book when each character had her own adventure to relate – the other could comment, sympathize, offer advice, but couldn’t actually act in such a way to significantly redirect the plot. Here it seems that each author has an idea about what could happen, but doesn’t want to take the action too far – so as not to overshadow each other. After all, though there are many opportunities for extreme suspense (i.e. James is shot and Cecy nearly blows herself up), the characters recover in a matter of hours or days, all along assuring everyone that they are perfectly fine. It’s as if one author doesn’t dare put the other author’s character into anything resembling real danger. The reader senses this polite restraint, and wishes they would actually do something! When there is actual suspense, in the last sixty pages, I finally couldn’t put the book down.
There are far too many loose ends and sudden character entrances and exits. Why does Lady Sylvia play such a prominent part in the first sections, then suddenly have so little influence in the rest? After all, much is made of her extensive network – why does it really not come to any significant purpose? Are there only a wizards in Britain? Apart from a select few characters, positioned as authorities on the clues they seek, why do our couples not encounter any other normal, magical folk like themselves?
I’m looking forward, with some reservation, to the next book. The dust jacket suggests that the authors return to the successful formula of the first book, in which the characters don’t actually meet during the course of events. That story takes place ten years later – will it be written from the point of view of their daughters?
Cousins Kate and Cecy are on their honeymoons – touring Europe with their husbands, who are best of friends. They stumble across international intrigue that suggests someone is trying to use magic to bring Napoleon Bonaparte back to power. Kate writes the events of a day or two in her commonplace book (diary), then we read an excerpt from Cecily’s deposition to the British Ministry of Magic, the War Office, and the Foreign Office, which covers the next day or days. Thus, the characters leapfrog in their explanation of events. It is interesting to note Cecy’s direct development of plot, twists, and forthright telling of events. Kate is much better at creating atmosphere, developing relationships, and adding the personal touch with an occasional and usually humorous ‘note bene’.
Beyond that, the story has problems. If both authors are writing about the same characters in the same rooms, the characters never develop completely. When Cecy’s narrative involves Kate’s husband, Thomas, as it naturally must, we see a different Thomas than the one that Kate writes about. Instead of lending richness to his character, his personality becomes so blurred that he becomes more of a bland pawn of the plot, than the unpredictable rascal with the stinging retorts that we came to love in the first book. The same is true for Cecy’s husband, James when Kate is writing. Each author writes not only about her own character, but tells what the others are saying and doing at any moment, and the essential nuances that help the reader visualize setting and personality are lost.
The plot also suffers. The pace drags. (This book is half again as long as the first book, but develops only one storyline instead of two.) It is clear the authors are not discussing the plot, as the rules of the Letter Game dictate, so each advances the action just so much, then leaves hints for the other to pick up and develop. The hints are sometimes ignored, sometimes dwelt on too deeply, and often lead nowhere important. It was much more interesting in the last book when each character had her own adventure to relate – the other could comment, sympathize, offer advice, but couldn’t actually act in such a way to significantly redirect the plot. Here it seems that each author has an idea about what could happen, but doesn’t want to take the action too far – so as not to overshadow each other. After all, though there are many opportunities for extreme suspense (i.e. James is shot and Cecy nearly blows herself up), the characters recover in a matter of hours or days, all along assuring everyone that they are perfectly fine. It’s as if one author doesn’t dare put the other author’s character into anything resembling real danger. The reader senses this polite restraint, and wishes they would actually do something! When there is actual suspense, in the last sixty pages, I finally couldn’t put the book down.
There are far too many loose ends and sudden character entrances and exits. Why does Lady Sylvia play such a prominent part in the first sections, then suddenly have so little influence in the rest? After all, much is made of her extensive network – why does it really not come to any significant purpose? Are there only a wizards in Britain? Apart from a select few characters, positioned as authorities on the clues they seek, why do our couples not encounter any other normal, magical folk like themselves?
I’m looking forward, with some reservation, to the next book. The dust jacket suggests that the authors return to the successful formula of the first book, in which the characters don’t actually meet during the course of events. That story takes place ten years later – will it be written from the point of view of their daughters?
January 24, 2012
1. do not attempt to read this without first reading Sorcery and Cecelia -- it will simply not make much sense.
2. i love Sorcery and Cecelia -- while it's fluff, it's terribly well written fluff. and it's in epistolary format, which i'm a sucker for. i think it's safe to say it's one of the most re-read books on my shelf.
3. this doesn't evoke nearly as much love. which disappointed me greatly for about the first half of the book. eventually the plot engaged me enough to get over it. so if you too love S&C, temper your expectations for this one. if you simply *liked* S&C, then maybe that alone will keep your expectations at a proper level.
4. why didn't i love it? the character voices didn't ring true this time. perhaps it was because instead of letters, we had a diary and a deposition -- since there was no direct communication between the two cousins, the comfortable tone was alternately missing or out of place. also, it seemed like the characters hadn't really learned from their previous adventures -- they kept treating each other more like stereotypes rather than close family/friends. it just felt off.
5. but the plot was fine. maybe a little convoluted, but enjoyable.
2. i love Sorcery and Cecelia -- while it's fluff, it's terribly well written fluff. and it's in epistolary format, which i'm a sucker for. i think it's safe to say it's one of the most re-read books on my shelf.
3. this doesn't evoke nearly as much love. which disappointed me greatly for about the first half of the book. eventually the plot engaged me enough to get over it. so if you too love S&C, temper your expectations for this one. if you simply *liked* S&C, then maybe that alone will keep your expectations at a proper level.
4. why didn't i love it? the character voices didn't ring true this time. perhaps it was because instead of letters, we had a diary and a deposition -- since there was no direct communication between the two cousins, the comfortable tone was alternately missing or out of place. also, it seemed like the characters hadn't really learned from their previous adventures -- they kept treating each other more like stereotypes rather than close family/friends. it just felt off.
5. but the plot was fine. maybe a little convoluted, but enjoyable.
October 21, 2020
These characters are just great and I loved the hijinks they get into. Truly the greatest portrayal of double dating lol.
July 28, 2012
2.5
Like the first book, we get the story from the perspective of the two protagonists, Kate and Cecy, through their writings; however, instead of letters written back and forth between the two we get Kate's entries from her "commonplace" book - pretty much a diary - and Cecy's deposition of the incident.
It didn't work quite as well in this book as it did in the first.
For one thing, everyone is together on the Wedding/Mystery Tour, so it makes less sense to have it written this way - though it is interesting to see the same events from the two viewpoints. Moreso, though, the plot dragged more in this one. Even though there was a big mystery and high stakes, I never really *felt* the tension. More time seemed to be spent discussing buying gowns and interviewing maids than the 'who's killing people' aspect, and if this was more of a romance that would be fine, but it felt like it tried to be too many things and sort of failed at fulfilling any of it.
Also, I had a harder time keeping track of who was who. Even though the two character's writings are written by different authors, their voices were just too much the same - not to mention a certain deal of inconsistency. (For instance, at one crisis we're told how Kate .
More than anything, though, it seemed to not work as well because our heroines took a backseat to most of the action. James and Thomas were not only tiresome in constantly trying to protect the girls, which is understandable to some degree, but they were often successful, so we get entries of how Kate, for instance, is sitting at home and waiting for news.
Not exactly the most riveting thing to read.
Even their maids seemed more active, as they were constantly complaining of being tired and going to bed and letting others take care of things.
Also, since Cecy's parts were written as a deposition, we don't really get any personal touches. In Kate's parts we at least see moments of tenderness and romance with her and her new husband, but with Cecy we don't get to see much of that side at all.
If the mystery is going to be tepid I at least want some decent romance, damnit!
Still, it was a pretty short read, though draggy in places (especially the travelling bits), and did have a certain bit of charm. I do intend on reading the third in the trilogy, but I can't not pretend that I'm not hoping for an improvement.
Like the first book, we get the story from the perspective of the two protagonists, Kate and Cecy, through their writings; however, instead of letters written back and forth between the two we get Kate's entries from her "commonplace" book - pretty much a diary - and Cecy's deposition of the incident.
It didn't work quite as well in this book as it did in the first.
For one thing, everyone is together on the Wedding/Mystery Tour, so it makes less sense to have it written this way - though it is interesting to see the same events from the two viewpoints. Moreso, though, the plot dragged more in this one. Even though there was a big mystery and high stakes, I never really *felt* the tension. More time seemed to be spent discussing buying gowns and interviewing maids than the 'who's killing people' aspect, and if this was more of a romance that would be fine, but it felt like it tried to be too many things and sort of failed at fulfilling any of it.
Also, I had a harder time keeping track of who was who. Even though the two character's writings are written by different authors, their voices were just too much the same - not to mention a certain deal of inconsistency. (For instance, at one crisis we're told how Kate .
More than anything, though, it seemed to not work as well because our heroines took a backseat to most of the action. James and Thomas were not only tiresome in constantly trying to protect the girls, which is understandable to some degree, but they were often successful, so we get entries of how Kate, for instance, is sitting at home and waiting for news.
Not exactly the most riveting thing to read.
Even their maids seemed more active, as they were constantly complaining of being tired and going to bed and letting others take care of things.
Also, since Cecy's parts were written as a deposition, we don't really get any personal touches. In Kate's parts we at least see moments of tenderness and romance with her and her new husband, but with Cecy we don't get to see much of that side at all.
If the mystery is going to be tepid I at least want some decent romance, damnit!
Still, it was a pretty short read, though draggy in places (especially the travelling bits), and did have a certain bit of charm. I do intend on reading the third in the trilogy, but I can't not pretend that I'm not hoping for an improvement.
June 7, 2016
Sadly this book is lacking the fun and lightheartedness of the first book. For the most part of the book nothing really happens and the two narrators lose themselves in descriptions, whining and not saying anything.
The end revived some of what I enjoyed about the first time we met these characters, but this just had me wishing they would get to the point and flirt more.
The end revived some of what I enjoyed about the first time we met these characters, but this just had me wishing they would get to the point and flirt more.
May 24, 2016
This was pretty much exactly what I was expecting: more of what I got in Sorcery & Cecilia. This is a good thing. It’s a fun, lighthearted adventure with great characters, some truly funny dialogue, and a goat.
April 13, 2019
A fun book, but not quite as much fun as the first in the series. I was somewhat disappointed in Kate. In the first book she is as involved and dynamic a character as Cecy, but in this book she allows herself to be cowed by almost everyone until the very end and often even seems rather dim, worrying more about her social situation and being a miserable traveler rather than engaging in the mystery at hand.
August 24, 2021
3.5 stars
This one didn’t have the same zing as the first, but it was still decent. I listened to most of it on audio and then switched to my kindle copy toward the end when things started getting exciting. The reader did a nice job overall, but her Italian accent wasn’t great.
I’m looking forward to reading the third in the trilogy, set ten years in the future. It sounds like it goes back to the epistolary format, including correspondence between James and Thomas, so wheee!
This one didn’t have the same zing as the first, but it was still decent. I listened to most of it on audio and then switched to my kindle copy toward the end when things started getting exciting. The reader did a nice job overall, but her Italian accent wasn’t great.
I’m looking forward to reading the third in the trilogy, set ten years in the future. It sounds like it goes back to the epistolary format, including correspondence between James and Thomas, so wheee!
April 14, 2022
While I appreciated being reunited with these characters, the snappy dialogue and magic contained in the first book lost some of its sparkle in the second. It felt long and drawn out. And because the story was told in overlapping writings, there was quite a bit of rehashing. I wish the authors had kept the epistolary style from the first book. I’m still going to finish the series. 3 stars
Shelved as 'dnf'
June 17, 2017Amount read: 33%
Though the plot is moving at a faster pace than book one, the episodic nature of the mystery and the lack of character development equals a lack of investment. I was going to force myself through it since it's bought the eBook, but life is short and this book is long.
Though the plot is moving at a faster pace than book one, the episodic nature of the mystery and the lack of character development equals a lack of investment. I was going to force myself through it since it's bought the eBook, but life is short and this book is long.
March 28, 2021
I liked it, but I liked the first one better
May 1, 2021
This book isn't nearly as entertaining as the first one, for several reasons. The main problem is that the two cousins are no longer writing to each other. I really missed the light-hearted "conversations" they had back and forth in the first book. Their personalities didn't come through nearly as well here. (Speaking of personalities, their husbands don't have any at all.) Also, if you're writing a book about travel the reader should get some sense of setting. Here Paris, Venice, Rome... they all felt alike. And lastly, I didn't care about the mystery because the reader has no idea who's behind it all. If you don't have a solid "bad guy" you've got to add tension by putting the MCs in peril. But that didn't happen. So all in all this book had a hard time holding my attention and wasn't a satisfying read. I've heard the third book is better, though. And I'm always hopeful when reading new books. :)
December 12, 2020
Reread in 2020 - So completely charming, I was so happy to see Kate and Cecelia adjusting to married life and visiting all of Europe while also investigating plots to maybe restore Bonaparte to the throne. What a great way to mix their lives with History and just a bit of magic (lovely, it's woven into clothing, can you imagine). I enjoyed reading about all the different countries and the plot itself was quite riveting while staying fun and light. Amazing series, adding a fifth star to this one.
Original review in 2018 - So good! Even better than the first even if the magic only makes an appearance at the end. I'm loving the authors' portrayal of marital life, the couples are so sweet. Also enjoyed visiting other countries. This series remains delightful.
Original review in 2018 - So good! Even better than the first even if the magic only makes an appearance at the end. I'm loving the authors' portrayal of marital life, the couples are so sweet. Also enjoyed visiting other countries. This series remains delightful.
March 5, 2016
As with the first book, this was a bit slow and slightly difficult to work through. The story won me over, though, and I powered through the boring bits.
One thing that really irritated me about this book was the fact that several parts of the story were repeated. It is told from the perspectives of two cousins, each taking a turn to fill in a part of their story. But when one ended and the next began, there was often a summarization of the chapter that had just ended, which was unnecessary and frankly annoying.
One thing that really irritated me about this book was the fact that several parts of the story were repeated. It is told from the perspectives of two cousins, each taking a turn to fill in a part of their story. But when one ended and the next began, there was often a summarization of the chapter that had just ended, which was unnecessary and frankly annoying.
October 25, 2021
I found Sorcery and Cecelia to be fun, if not particularly complex or thought-provoking, and The Grand Tour had a similar level of charm. However, I would have preferred a story where Cecy and Kate go on separate honeymoons and have separate adventures. Not only would this have allowed the authors to keep up the epistolary format, it would also have allowed the reader to cover twice the distance, and created some interesting plotlines, especially if the characters were forced to converge in Rome for the climax of the story.
One review commented that the nature of Cecy’s deposition left little room for her inner thoughts or feelings, and I agree. Compared to Kate’s “commonplace book,” Cecy shares very little with the reader apart from what is occurring in the moment.
This is a shame, as I considered Cecy to be far more reasonable of the two cousins. Kate spends most of her time pining for Thomas, lamenting her own insecurities, and complaining. Her relationship with her husband seems largely built on hero-worship, and I found her entries much more grating than Cecy’s calm and rational, if rather emotionless, contributions to the story.
All in all, a fun romp but lacking any real development and growth for the characters.
2.75 stars.
One review commented that the nature of Cecy’s deposition left little room for her inner thoughts or feelings, and I agree. Compared to Kate’s “commonplace book,” Cecy shares very little with the reader apart from what is occurring in the moment.
This is a shame, as I considered Cecy to be far more reasonable of the two cousins. Kate spends most of her time pining for Thomas, lamenting her own insecurities, and complaining. Her relationship with her husband seems largely built on hero-worship, and I found her entries much more grating than Cecy’s calm and rational, if rather emotionless, contributions to the story.
All in all, a fun romp but lacking any real development and growth for the characters.
2.75 stars.
April 3, 2015
*Special Content only on my blog, Strange and Random Happenstance during Regency Magic (March & April 2015)
Cecelia and Kate are back in action, together not separate for this adventure, and they're bringing their new spouses along for the honeymoon. Though Kate doesn't think there's any chance she's going to get used to being called Lady Schofield, much as Cecelia is having a hard time remembering she is Mrs. Tarleton, nevertheless they are in wedded bliss. Heading to the continent with Kate's new mother-in-law, Lady Sylvia, in tow for the first leg to Paris, they have barely arrived in France when magical misdeeds are afoot. They are inexorably drawn into a possibly Bonapartist plot to use items of magical significance to legitimize Napoleon as ruler of Europe, or at least they assume it's the recently deposed despot. The magic adds supernatural significance to the appointed leader making their rule as close to divinity as is possible. Asked by Wellington himself to stop this atrocity from happening, the happy couples are able to move about the continent on their grand tour with the whim of newlyweds, when really their whims are strategic plans to catch a magical mastermind. Hopefully they won't be in too much danger and that there will be lots of operas for Kate.
As you can imagine, reading all these books centered during the Regency in England basically means that I've been living in the early 1800s now for a couple of months. What you might not be aware of unless you've noticed the link on my sidebar is that I'm participating in a year long re-read of all Lauren Willig's Pink Carnation, aka Napoleonic War Regency England, books. This month I'm moderating the discussion of the re-read of The Orchid Affair on my friend Ashely's blog, The Bubble Bath Reader. And no, I'm not mentioning this just to get you to go over to her blog, though that would be rather nice, I'm mentioning this because my re-reading of both The Orchid Affair and The Grand Tour was a nice confluence of events that made me appreciate the later more then I did initially.
The two books serve as complimentary volumes dealing with the loss of the monarchy in France because of the revolution. While The Orchid Affair was about restoring a prince of the blood during the reign of Napoleon prior to his self-proclaimed Empire, The Grand Tour dealt more with the aftereffects of the war and the desire to not repeat recent history. Because both books, while not exactly being for governance by a sovereign entity, show quite well the fact that there is a benefit to stability. In France the stability is no longer having a fear of the guillotine, in Italy, it is the unification of all of Italy into one nation. By having a better grounding in history due to The Orchid Affair, what was on my first read of The Grand Tour a rather dull trek through Europe following artifacts, became something more real, something that actually had importance and impact. A little perspective can easily change your opinion if you are willing to let it.
But what I really think is the strength of The Grand Tour is that it brings the actual tradition, the coming of age right of the grand tour of Europe into a more visceral experience. Mainly this has to deal with travel during the early 1800s. In so many books of the time, or written about the time, the grand tour was just mentioned as a right of passage, a way to expand your knowledge and tastes by traveling and seeing great works of art. You were expected to gain some culture and then return home with a broadened mind and some stories. So in fiction you usually have the character who mentions they are setting off on this trip or have just returned, but do they talk about the actual day to day travel? No, they talk about art and artifacts. But just wrap your head around the fact that this is before trains, before cars, and there are a lot of mountains in Europe.
The "Tour" was more of a trek. To get a sense of this one would be better off reading travel narratives of the day, not fiction, or just read The Grand Tour. What Stevermer and Wrede have done so expertly is capture the hardships and danger that was involved in traveling through Europe in the 1800s, masked gunmen aside. We think we have it bad when our plane is delayed or we are rerouted? Imagine having to take days in a carriage banging about just to get from one city to another? Not only that. How about crossing the Alps? Here's your donkey, don't look down. Seriously, we, as travelers, have NOTHING to gripe about. Nothing! Poor Kate seems to spend the entirety of the trip cold, wet, and rattled; and that's not even because of evil magicians set on creating an overlord, this is just because of drafty carriages, wet weather, wind, and badly maintained roads. It takes the glamor right out of the grand tour, but in it's place it leaves a truth that is universal but is usually glossed over by other writers.
As for Stevermer and Wrede's continuation of the letter game? It fell flat. The Grand Tour was written over fifteen years after Sorcery and Cecelia and during the interim both the authors have gained a maturity in their writing. While this does lead to a solid writing style, it loses the spontaneity and fun of the previous book. It's more refined, it's more polished, almost to the point where you can no longer hear the distinction between the author's voices. Plus, I know the fact that the characters are on the tour together means that the previous convention of writing letters back and forth isn't tenable, so we are into diary territory, but the whole gimmick of the letter game is that the characters aren't together. So Stevermer and Wrede thought it would be fun to break basically the only rule of the letter game. Maybe they should have realized the rule is there for a reason. Having the narrative shift back and forth between Kate and Cecelia while they are often in the same room led to a bad case of head-hopping and having us readers get whiplash. So the book might have a lot going for it, and it's a solid read, but it lacks that magical spark that makes Sorcery and Cecelia so memorable.
Cecelia and Kate are back in action, together not separate for this adventure, and they're bringing their new spouses along for the honeymoon. Though Kate doesn't think there's any chance she's going to get used to being called Lady Schofield, much as Cecelia is having a hard time remembering she is Mrs. Tarleton, nevertheless they are in wedded bliss. Heading to the continent with Kate's new mother-in-law, Lady Sylvia, in tow for the first leg to Paris, they have barely arrived in France when magical misdeeds are afoot. They are inexorably drawn into a possibly Bonapartist plot to use items of magical significance to legitimize Napoleon as ruler of Europe, or at least they assume it's the recently deposed despot. The magic adds supernatural significance to the appointed leader making their rule as close to divinity as is possible. Asked by Wellington himself to stop this atrocity from happening, the happy couples are able to move about the continent on their grand tour with the whim of newlyweds, when really their whims are strategic plans to catch a magical mastermind. Hopefully they won't be in too much danger and that there will be lots of operas for Kate.
As you can imagine, reading all these books centered during the Regency in England basically means that I've been living in the early 1800s now for a couple of months. What you might not be aware of unless you've noticed the link on my sidebar is that I'm participating in a year long re-read of all Lauren Willig's Pink Carnation, aka Napoleonic War Regency England, books. This month I'm moderating the discussion of the re-read of The Orchid Affair on my friend Ashely's blog, The Bubble Bath Reader. And no, I'm not mentioning this just to get you to go over to her blog, though that would be rather nice, I'm mentioning this because my re-reading of both The Orchid Affair and The Grand Tour was a nice confluence of events that made me appreciate the later more then I did initially.
The two books serve as complimentary volumes dealing with the loss of the monarchy in France because of the revolution. While The Orchid Affair was about restoring a prince of the blood during the reign of Napoleon prior to his self-proclaimed Empire, The Grand Tour dealt more with the aftereffects of the war and the desire to not repeat recent history. Because both books, while not exactly being for governance by a sovereign entity, show quite well the fact that there is a benefit to stability. In France the stability is no longer having a fear of the guillotine, in Italy, it is the unification of all of Italy into one nation. By having a better grounding in history due to The Orchid Affair, what was on my first read of The Grand Tour a rather dull trek through Europe following artifacts, became something more real, something that actually had importance and impact. A little perspective can easily change your opinion if you are willing to let it.
But what I really think is the strength of The Grand Tour is that it brings the actual tradition, the coming of age right of the grand tour of Europe into a more visceral experience. Mainly this has to deal with travel during the early 1800s. In so many books of the time, or written about the time, the grand tour was just mentioned as a right of passage, a way to expand your knowledge and tastes by traveling and seeing great works of art. You were expected to gain some culture and then return home with a broadened mind and some stories. So in fiction you usually have the character who mentions they are setting off on this trip or have just returned, but do they talk about the actual day to day travel? No, they talk about art and artifacts. But just wrap your head around the fact that this is before trains, before cars, and there are a lot of mountains in Europe.
The "Tour" was more of a trek. To get a sense of this one would be better off reading travel narratives of the day, not fiction, or just read The Grand Tour. What Stevermer and Wrede have done so expertly is capture the hardships and danger that was involved in traveling through Europe in the 1800s, masked gunmen aside. We think we have it bad when our plane is delayed or we are rerouted? Imagine having to take days in a carriage banging about just to get from one city to another? Not only that. How about crossing the Alps? Here's your donkey, don't look down. Seriously, we, as travelers, have NOTHING to gripe about. Nothing! Poor Kate seems to spend the entirety of the trip cold, wet, and rattled; and that's not even because of evil magicians set on creating an overlord, this is just because of drafty carriages, wet weather, wind, and badly maintained roads. It takes the glamor right out of the grand tour, but in it's place it leaves a truth that is universal but is usually glossed over by other writers.
As for Stevermer and Wrede's continuation of the letter game? It fell flat. The Grand Tour was written over fifteen years after Sorcery and Cecelia and during the interim both the authors have gained a maturity in their writing. While this does lead to a solid writing style, it loses the spontaneity and fun of the previous book. It's more refined, it's more polished, almost to the point where you can no longer hear the distinction between the author's voices. Plus, I know the fact that the characters are on the tour together means that the previous convention of writing letters back and forth isn't tenable, so we are into diary territory, but the whole gimmick of the letter game is that the characters aren't together. So Stevermer and Wrede thought it would be fun to break basically the only rule of the letter game. Maybe they should have realized the rule is there for a reason. Having the narrative shift back and forth between Kate and Cecelia while they are often in the same room led to a bad case of head-hopping and having us readers get whiplash. So the book might have a lot going for it, and it's a solid read, but it lacks that magical spark that makes Sorcery and Cecelia so memorable.
January 9, 2021
This book is a good 200 pages too long, at least. The epistolary format of Sorcery and Cecelia was relatively charming and added to the story, but the diary format in The Grand Tour served no purpose except to bore me for the vast majority of it. It slowed down what was actually a fairly interesting plot; too much time was spent on unimportant exposition and the interesting things didn't happen until about the last 175 pages.
Sorcery and Cecelia sets up Cecy and Kate to be spirited, bright young protagonists, but in The Grand Tour their marriages seem to render them both docile. Their personalities are very mush squashed at the expense of their husbands - who are both so similar in their overbearing manner and assumption of their wives' incompetence that I kept mixing them up.
The Grand Tour also did absolutely no world-building about magic and magicians in the Regency time period. Lady Sylvia is regarded as a great magician, yet Cecy's magic is controlled and looked down upon by her husband (and Kate's husband) to an alarming degree. There is a giant disconnect between the apparent power female magicians can wield both magically and socially, and the subservience of women to their husbands. It made for a discordant plot point and was never resolved.
The climax of the story, where it was revealed that the Contessa was the mastermind behind all of the scheming and murding, was pretty underwhelming. Wrapping up a good 300 pages of near-nothing with a villain plucked from thin air read as extremely lazy.
The Grand Tour had such potential and was let down by a bunch of filler, protagonists with personality transplants, and lazy plotting.
Sorcery and Cecelia sets up Cecy and Kate to be spirited, bright young protagonists, but in The Grand Tour their marriages seem to render them both docile. Their personalities are very mush squashed at the expense of their husbands - who are both so similar in their overbearing manner and assumption of their wives' incompetence that I kept mixing them up.
The Grand Tour also did absolutely no world-building about magic and magicians in the Regency time period. Lady Sylvia is regarded as a great magician, yet Cecy's magic is controlled and looked down upon by her husband (and Kate's husband) to an alarming degree. There is a giant disconnect between the apparent power female magicians can wield both magically and socially, and the subservience of women to their husbands. It made for a discordant plot point and was never resolved.
The climax of the story, where it was revealed that the Contessa was the mastermind behind all of the scheming and murding, was pretty underwhelming. Wrapping up a good 300 pages of near-nothing with a villain plucked from thin air read as extremely lazy.
The Grand Tour had such potential and was let down by a bunch of filler, protagonists with personality transplants, and lazy plotting.
July 30, 2018
still charming and enjoyable! the scope of the plot of this one is also much more complex / far-reaching than book 1.
some negative-flavored notes from me though:
-i keep on getting cecilia and kate mixed up. their voices are similar enough that i have the epistolary version of faceblindness, especially now that they're in close proximity to each other all the time (in book 1 i could distinguish by "this is the one in the country, and that is the one in london" but now they're always together and honestly they're ... not dissimilar?!)
-i don't actually like james very much... and i don't understand the merits of james. someone explain the merits of james to me, bc yo. let cecy ride whatever horses she feels capable of riding? i guess in terms of voice distinguishment, i feel like there's a lot more affection between kate and thomas compared to cecy and james, which reflects my lack of affection for james.
-in general, let the ladies do whatever they deem necessary? have these husbands learned nothing about the capacities of their chosen life partners?
tho obviously one of the themes of these books is "ladies being underestimated" so i guess that kind of insufferable male energy is inescapable
bye
some negative-flavored notes from me though:
-i keep on getting cecilia and kate mixed up. their voices are similar enough that i have the epistolary version of faceblindness, especially now that they're in close proximity to each other all the time (in book 1 i could distinguish by "this is the one in the country, and that is the one in london" but now they're always together and honestly they're ... not dissimilar?!)
-i don't actually like james very much... and i don't understand the merits of james. someone explain the merits of james to me, bc yo. let cecy ride whatever horses she feels capable of riding? i guess in terms of voice distinguishment, i feel like there's a lot more affection between kate and thomas compared to cecy and james, which reflects my lack of affection for james.
-in general, let the ladies do whatever they deem necessary? have these husbands learned nothing about the capacities of their chosen life partners?
tho obviously one of the themes of these books is "ladies being underestimated" so i guess that kind of insufferable male energy is inescapable
bye
August 30, 2018
I was disappointed by this book - I was charmed by the first one and hoped that the sequel would expand on the adorable characters. Ideally the 'mystery' would have required one or both of the characters to delve into their past or family history. This book was still a quick read, but the slightly disjointed feeling I got from the first novel was increased through the second. Something just felt off and I kept waiting for it to resolve...and it didn't. The men were even more bland, and though I like the new maids I would have liked more character development there as well.
There were still a few amusing moments, like the dissolving desk and Kate falling into the canal (maybe I appreciated that because I can imagine doing the same), but overall the story just didn't draw me in as much...maybe too many characters for the length of the book. I don't plan to read the third installment in the series.
There were still a few amusing moments, like the dissolving desk and Kate falling into the canal (maybe I appreciated that because I can imagine doing the same), but overall the story just didn't draw me in as much...maybe too many characters for the length of the book. I don't plan to read the third installment in the series.
September 27, 2019
This one was much more drawn out than the first. Kate's entries especially started to bug me with the sentimentality and the gushing over Thomas without actually adding to the story. Yes, yes, they are cute and in love and on their honeymoon. We get it. I don't think the entries were the best way for the storytelling in this one. It would have been served better by a more traditional format, I feel.
June 25, 2017
Cecy and Kate's European adventure is stalled by some baddies that are the outside of enough. They and their new husbands explore the continent while engaging in even more shenanigans. Possibly more hilarious than book one.
July 9, 2019
The Grand Tour is the second novel in the Cecelia and Kate series. It was nice to be back in Regency England with a touch of magic but the plot was a bit messy and prolonged for my taste. I had a hard time keeping up with who may or may not be the villain and who may or may not have double-crossed the good guys and the other villains... like I said, it was a bit messy.
January 13, 2018
I truly loath travel books. Although I begrudgingly forgive older books that add the grand tour because it was still quite the thing to do, I find it difficult to forgive the boredom of travel in modern recreations. I added a star because I didn't finish the book, so the ending may have earned it. I wasn't willing to finish it to find out.
August 21, 2014
What can I say? I suppose if I'm being fair, the tagline for this review can be summed up as "not as bad as I remembered". It pains me to not be able to shower praise down on this book. It really does. But I can't will a book to be stellar (would that I could).
I read this book the first time when it was orginally release in a fevered state of excitement that turned quickly to despair. This time around I went in with my expectation bar on its lowest setting and was able to find somethings to enjoy.
Caroline Stevermer and Patricia Wrede step back into the shoes of the two corresponding cousins from Sorcery and Cecelia, with Stevermer writing from Kate's perspective and Wrede from Cecy's. Only this time, the girls are off on an adventure together and the novel is made up of diary entries as opposed to traded letters.
Stevermer's voice as Kate continues to be engaging and light, her diaries here still have the same companionable tone as ever. I suppose if matrimony has softened Kate and tamed her spunky ways, then like a good friend I just have to be happy that she is happy. Her romance with Thomas continues to be the most engrossing relationship in the world of these novels, as does her narrative in general.
But the book reads as though the two authors deliberately divided narrative duties, with Stevermer taking on the responsibility of character and setting descriptions as well as establishing mood and tone. Whereas Wrede soldiers through the exposition of an unnecessarily elaborate plot. This two-pronged approach makes the pacing choppy at best and downright distracting at worst. Moments of noticeable offense include but are not limited to: a chapter mid-book spent entirely on characters explaining the plot to one another, uneven character development,and ham-fisted explanations of the (endless and tiring) rules of magic.
Wrede spends no time at all on the personal and as such, Cecy's husband James is even more of a blank than ever. The character of Cecy shows little to no affection for anyone and is single-mindly concerned with advancing the story forward. Which leaves for very awkward passages where Stevermer as Kate has to do the heavy lifting of proving to the reader that Cecy and James have any chemistry or feeling for one another whatsoever. At one point **SPOILER** James is shot and it's Stevermer who has to describe Cecy's distress. Wrede writes pages and pages of Bonapartist maneuverings and political contriving and it is Stevermer who comes in behind to make mention of Cecy & James' bedroom canoodling.
But I don't mean to say this book is lopsided. It is uniformly less than satisfying. In the first book, with the two cousins separated by geography there was actually a greater sense of familial bond between them than in this book where the characters share almost every scene together and barely connect or communicate. In the first book their lack of direct interaction made perfect sense given that one girl was in London and one in Rushton. Their letters back and forth to one another served as a telling window into their friendship. Here, however, that key piece of their friendship is missing. As is a general sense of community. They may travel to three or four different countries during the course of this book, but without Georgy, or Aunt Charolotte, Aunt Elizabeth, Oliver, or Mr. Wrexler from the first book, the world they occupy feels much, much smaller. All's the more perplexing, then, that the four main characters never really seem to gel or acquire a dynamic, outside of Kate and Thomas.
It is a fast read with some moments of fun escapism that would make it a serviceable beach book. But nothing like its devotion-inspiring predecessor.
I read this book the first time when it was orginally release in a fevered state of excitement that turned quickly to despair. This time around I went in with my expectation bar on its lowest setting and was able to find somethings to enjoy.
Caroline Stevermer and Patricia Wrede step back into the shoes of the two corresponding cousins from Sorcery and Cecelia, with Stevermer writing from Kate's perspective and Wrede from Cecy's. Only this time, the girls are off on an adventure together and the novel is made up of diary entries as opposed to traded letters.
Stevermer's voice as Kate continues to be engaging and light, her diaries here still have the same companionable tone as ever. I suppose if matrimony has softened Kate and tamed her spunky ways, then like a good friend I just have to be happy that she is happy. Her romance with Thomas continues to be the most engrossing relationship in the world of these novels, as does her narrative in general.
But the book reads as though the two authors deliberately divided narrative duties, with Stevermer taking on the responsibility of character and setting descriptions as well as establishing mood and tone. Whereas Wrede soldiers through the exposition of an unnecessarily elaborate plot. This two-pronged approach makes the pacing choppy at best and downright distracting at worst. Moments of noticeable offense include but are not limited to: a chapter mid-book spent entirely on characters explaining the plot to one another, uneven character development,and ham-fisted explanations of the (endless and tiring) rules of magic.
Wrede spends no time at all on the personal and as such, Cecy's husband James is even more of a blank than ever. The character of Cecy shows little to no affection for anyone and is single-mindly concerned with advancing the story forward. Which leaves for very awkward passages where Stevermer as Kate has to do the heavy lifting of proving to the reader that Cecy and James have any chemistry or feeling for one another whatsoever. At one point **SPOILER** James is shot and it's Stevermer who has to describe Cecy's distress. Wrede writes pages and pages of Bonapartist maneuverings and political contriving and it is Stevermer who comes in behind to make mention of Cecy & James' bedroom canoodling.
But I don't mean to say this book is lopsided. It is uniformly less than satisfying. In the first book, with the two cousins separated by geography there was actually a greater sense of familial bond between them than in this book where the characters share almost every scene together and barely connect or communicate. In the first book their lack of direct interaction made perfect sense given that one girl was in London and one in Rushton. Their letters back and forth to one another served as a telling window into their friendship. Here, however, that key piece of their friendship is missing. As is a general sense of community. They may travel to three or four different countries during the course of this book, but without Georgy, or Aunt Charolotte, Aunt Elizabeth, Oliver, or Mr. Wrexler from the first book, the world they occupy feels much, much smaller. All's the more perplexing, then, that the four main characters never really seem to gel or acquire a dynamic, outside of Kate and Thomas.
It is a fast read with some moments of fun escapism that would make it a serviceable beach book. But nothing like its devotion-inspiring predecessor.
November 13, 2020
It's just not a good idea to try to recapture lightning in a bottle.
This comes as no surprise if you have read any of the myriad reviews below, but the sequel just cannot hold a candle to the original. The first book was clever, light, fun, and fast-paced. It had nothing to say, but it said it entertainingly, and the story of how the book came to be was almost as fun as the novel itself. Plus, it combined two of my favorite genres in a fantasy Regency romance.
In the sequel, however, one can see that the material is becoming frayed. Our two heroines are on their honeymoon together, and this already eliminates some of the charm that made the first story work. Though still styling itself an epistolary novel, the letters are now diaries, so the conversational aspect is lost. The plot is slow to start and hard to follow. Neither author seemed willing to delve into background or politics of the world they had created, and so the magical intrigue had unclear rules and consequences. Both authors seemed reluctant to write important scenes that involved the other character, making our heroines and their respective love interests flat and dull when they were featured in the writings of the other. The fact that the two cousins were writing their own memoirs rather than to each other meant that occasionally we saw the exact scene over again from the other person's perspective, which never failed to tire me.
The novel isn't terrible; it is still a fun example of the genre. Caroline Stevermer in particular seems to be doing most of the heavy lifting and her scenes are enlivened by genuinely touching character moments and a sense of charm. However, the humor often falls flat and the historical inaccuracies occasionally made me wince. I'm sure the authors themselves enjoyed the project, so I hesitate to say the novel has no value at all. However, if you have already read the first one, just stop there. There really isn't anything for you further down this road.
This comes as no surprise if you have read any of the myriad reviews below, but the sequel just cannot hold a candle to the original. The first book was clever, light, fun, and fast-paced. It had nothing to say, but it said it entertainingly, and the story of how the book came to be was almost as fun as the novel itself. Plus, it combined two of my favorite genres in a fantasy Regency romance.
In the sequel, however, one can see that the material is becoming frayed. Our two heroines are on their honeymoon together, and this already eliminates some of the charm that made the first story work. Though still styling itself an epistolary novel, the letters are now diaries, so the conversational aspect is lost. The plot is slow to start and hard to follow. Neither author seemed willing to delve into background or politics of the world they had created, and so the magical intrigue had unclear rules and consequences. Both authors seemed reluctant to write important scenes that involved the other character, making our heroines and their respective love interests flat and dull when they were featured in the writings of the other. The fact that the two cousins were writing their own memoirs rather than to each other meant that occasionally we saw the exact scene over again from the other person's perspective, which never failed to tire me.
The novel isn't terrible; it is still a fun example of the genre. Caroline Stevermer in particular seems to be doing most of the heavy lifting and her scenes are enlivened by genuinely touching character moments and a sense of charm. However, the humor often falls flat and the historical inaccuracies occasionally made me wince. I'm sure the authors themselves enjoyed the project, so I hesitate to say the novel has no value at all. However, if you have already read the first one, just stop there. There really isn't anything for you further down this road.
May 18, 2009
Summary: I was disappointed in this book, but if you liked the first, you should go ahead and plow through this one. The third is better, but you might need background information from this one to understand it.
I was excited about reading this after reading Sorcery and Cecelia or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot Being the Correspondence of Two Young Ladies of Quality Regarding Various Magical Scandals in London and the Country; unfortunately, this one did not work as well.
Instead of using letters between the two main characters, the authors used journal entries for one and a sworn deposition statement for the other.
In this journal, the two young couples who met in Sorcery and Cecelia are newly married and on a wedding tour of the European continent. They are touring items of historical interest recommended by Cecilia's father, and they quickly stumble into some kind of political plot. This book follows them on their travels until finally they unravel the plot.
I think there are several reasons this book does not work as well as the previous. One is the format. Journal entries are personal, intended to be read at a future date; they don't carry the same sense of intimacy as the letters used in the previous novel. Another problem is overreach on the part of the author; the problems in the first novel were personal and so it made sense to have the two young girls involved. This book uncovers a plot to have someone crowned Emperor of Europe. It is so unreasonable that it is a little bit boring.
Kate is made to be even more of a social dunce in this book than previous; I think that's to set up her starring role in the end, but the result for me was annoyance.
I was excited about reading this after reading Sorcery and Cecelia or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot Being the Correspondence of Two Young Ladies of Quality Regarding Various Magical Scandals in London and the Country; unfortunately, this one did not work as well.
Instead of using letters between the two main characters, the authors used journal entries for one and a sworn deposition statement for the other.
In this journal, the two young couples who met in Sorcery and Cecelia are newly married and on a wedding tour of the European continent. They are touring items of historical interest recommended by Cecilia's father, and they quickly stumble into some kind of political plot. This book follows them on their travels until finally they unravel the plot.
I think there are several reasons this book does not work as well as the previous. One is the format. Journal entries are personal, intended to be read at a future date; they don't carry the same sense of intimacy as the letters used in the previous novel. Another problem is overreach on the part of the author; the problems in the first novel were personal and so it made sense to have the two young girls involved. This book uncovers a plot to have someone crowned Emperor of Europe. It is so unreasonable that it is a little bit boring.
Kate is made to be even more of a social dunce in this book than previous; I think that's to set up her starring role in the end, but the result for me was annoyance.
July 13, 2016
Cecy and Kate are newlyweds to their beloved Thomas and James, and are taking a honeymoon tour of the continent: magical Regency France, Switzerland, and Italy. But, naturally, there is something amiss as they are robbed by highwaymen and someone is trying to steal ancient coronation artifacts in order to gain power over all Europe. Kate is discovering her own unique powers, beyond just being clumsy, and Cecy is practicing hers. Thomas and James are enchanting, literally and figuratively.
This is not as good as the tightly written, fast paced intrigue of the first book, which was served well by the romantic plotlines and two separate and complex stories. This has less story, less of a complex story, and it is often hard to keep track of who is who because it bounces between the two journals so quickly (and everyone is with each other on the tour). On the other hand, perhaps because I was reading it on vacation, on the beach, I quite enjoyed being swept up in the Regency tour of the continent, sprinkled with the highly clever, imaginative, and subtle magic of these two authors, woven wonderfully with Regency concerns, language, and literature. The writing and the characters are thoroughly charming, and this is a world that I want to crawl into. It’s funny, sweet, and mysterious. It was also fun to see married couples and friends unraveling a mystery together. The writing is clever and cheeky. Not as good as the first one, but I think well worth the read, and it spoke to my tastes. Books are pretty amazing because they can take you to places you can never go, and sometimes that is enough. Grade: A
This is not as good as the tightly written, fast paced intrigue of the first book, which was served well by the romantic plotlines and two separate and complex stories. This has less story, less of a complex story, and it is often hard to keep track of who is who because it bounces between the two journals so quickly (and everyone is with each other on the tour). On the other hand, perhaps because I was reading it on vacation, on the beach, I quite enjoyed being swept up in the Regency tour of the continent, sprinkled with the highly clever, imaginative, and subtle magic of these two authors, woven wonderfully with Regency concerns, language, and literature. The writing and the characters are thoroughly charming, and this is a world that I want to crawl into. It’s funny, sweet, and mysterious. It was also fun to see married couples and friends unraveling a mystery together. The writing is clever and cheeky. Not as good as the first one, but I think well worth the read, and it spoke to my tastes. Books are pretty amazing because they can take you to places you can never go, and sometimes that is enough. Grade: A
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