The Grand Tour: Book Review
The sequel to Sorcery and Cecelia, this book follows Cecelia and Kate as well as their husbands, James and Thomas, on their honeymoon journey across continental Europe. But it's not your usual romantic get-away when the newlyweds soon become embroiled in a mysterious plot where the freedom of all of Europe hangs in the balance.
I liked this book at least as much as the first one, (which I would give five out of five stars), and in some places I even liked this one better because I'm such a sucker for romance. I loved seeing the development of Kate and Thomas's relationship.
My biggest complaint for this book is that we see almost nothing of James and Cecy's relationship as a married couple. True, it made sense that Cecy wasn't about to put the intricacies of her relationship into a deposition, but I would have preferred if they were both diary entries if that was the only reason to withhold that part of the story. Aside from the romance, I also felt in many places that Cecy's deposition contained too much intimate information to believably be a witness statement. For instance, she makes particular reference to members of her family, like Aunt Elizabeth, as if the reader should know them. So, even if the writing was not changed, the deposition would have been far more credible as diary entries.
I just had to console myself by imagining that James and Cecy's private bedroom activities and conversation, unlike the sweet nothings and elliptical references from Kate, were deemed too adult to be included in a children's book. This actually seemed believable for the characters--Cecy being markedly less shy than Kate. Of course, there's also the fact that Kate's part is written by Caroline Stevermer who has written for adults, whereas Wrede is most notably a children's author.
I'm currently awaiting the third book, The Mislaid Magician, at the Sacramento Public Library. I was a little miffed that I couldn't get it from the Roseville Public Library, since it's so much closer. I could recommend they get it, but it's faster for me simply to stop being so lazy and go to the other library.
My one romantic quibble aside, the story itself is an excellent follow-up to the first. I highly recommend both the first and the second books of this series, and I only hope the third book is as good as the first two.
I liked this book at least as much as the first one, (which I would give five out of five stars), and in some places I even liked this one better because I'm such a sucker for romance. I loved seeing the development of Kate and Thomas's relationship.
My biggest complaint for this book is that we see almost nothing of James and Cecy's relationship as a married couple. True, it made sense that Cecy wasn't about to put the intricacies of her relationship into a deposition, but I would have preferred if they were both diary entries if that was the only reason to withhold that part of the story. Aside from the romance, I also felt in many places that Cecy's deposition contained too much intimate information to believably be a witness statement. For instance, she makes particular reference to members of her family, like Aunt Elizabeth, as if the reader should know them. So, even if the writing was not changed, the deposition would have been far more credible as diary entries.
I just had to console myself by imagining that James and Cecy's private bedroom activities and conversation, unlike the sweet nothings and elliptical references from Kate, were deemed too adult to be included in a children's book. This actually seemed believable for the characters--Cecy being markedly less shy than Kate. Of course, there's also the fact that Kate's part is written by Caroline Stevermer who has written for adults, whereas Wrede is most notably a children's author.
I'm currently awaiting the third book, The Mislaid Magician, at the Sacramento Public Library. I was a little miffed that I couldn't get it from the Roseville Public Library, since it's so much closer. I could recommend they get it, but it's faster for me simply to stop being so lazy and go to the other library.
My one romantic quibble aside, the story itself is an excellent follow-up to the first. I highly recommend both the first and the second books of this series, and I only hope the third book is as good as the first two.
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