Jennifer's Books

Not as good as the first two books (the 2nd is my favorite so far), but still a very enjoyable read.

 

The book did lag in spots--most notably when Brisbane was absent--and the mysteries themselves were rather easy to figure out, but the interesting characters more than make up for it.

 

 

That is where I feel Ms. Raybourn truly shines--her characterization. She writes compelling and complex characters that you cannot help but care about, with Brisbane being the most captivating of the lot.

 

Julia's family proves to be as entertaining as always, although unfortunately we didn't get to see as many of them in this novel due to the isolated setting of the moor. Portia's my favorite of Julia's rather large assortment of brothers and sisters and I was saddened to read about the split between her and Jane. I do hope that she finds some happiness in a later book.

 

Moving on to the story itself, as I said above, I found the mysteries to be quite easy to figure out. I knew early on that Ailith was not as meek and sweet natured as she seemed to be, nor that Hilda wasn't going to turn out to be as awful as she first seemed. I'd also correctly surmised that Lady Allenby was not the one who actually poisoned Brisbane, the true nature of the relationship between Ailith and her brother Redwall, as well as the parentage of the mummified infants. That being said, the book is still very enjoyable mainly due to the intriguing relationship between Julia and Brisbane. I thoroughly enjoy the back and forth between the two. The fact that they loved each other and both knew it, but yet something always managed to keep them apart made it all the more bittersweet. That being said, I am so glad that the author gave them their happy ending at the end of this book and didn't drag it out until the next book. I do wonder, however, how Ms. Raybourn will keep the relationship between the two from growing stale now that most (I have to say most, I cannot believe we know all there is to know about Brisbane just yet) of Brisbane's secrets have been revealed. I'm perhaps not as worried as I should be. I trust that Ms. Raybourn will not let us down.

 

Before I end this review--and oh, how I wish I could place this outside of the spoiler cut--I have to comment on the cover. Quite simply, it is repulsive. The first two books had such beautiful, quality covers...ones that gave a true representation of the book that lay between them. This cover does not. It looks cheap and tawdry and just...ugly. It's fortunate for me that I'd already read and loved the first two books in this series, for had I not--or if they'd both featured covers in the vein of this one--I'd have not given them a second glance.