hellojorelle's review against another edition
2.0
I have loved the entire series but I felt that this book was rushed. Isabel's character felt very flat and was just used as a vehicle for the reader to see what was happening with the rest of the characters that we've already gotten familiar with. With the influx of so many old reoccuring characters, this felt like a rerun, or recap book. The big moments in this book felt so glossed over, with the interesting twist that happened with Stravagation, and the big finale that the book was building up towards. The relationship developments just felt so hollow and I found myself not caring for anyone in the story whereas in books like City of Masks and City of Stars I was so heavily invested in the outcomes of the situations and those characters.
bak8382's review against another edition
3.0
Isabel has always lived in the shadow of her twin brother Charlie, and has never felt as if she's done anything important in her life. All that changes when she finds a red velvet bags that transports her to the world of Talia which is much like historical Italy. She soon becomes friends with the other "Stravaganti," and discovers her destiny.
Familiar characters and storylines from the previous books appear in this entry, and once again it's hard to tell characters apart. I enjoyed catching up with the familiar characters, but I wasn't particularly attached to Isabel's story especially as her big moment I felt could have been done by anyone. I was a bit surprised by the Sky-Alice breakup, don't know why as Alice has been a downer since day one, but I can see Isabel's appeal when compared to Alice. The first book [b:City of Masks|86737|City of Masks (Stravaganza, #1)|Mary Hoffman|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171080760s/86737.jpg|3877968] is still my favorite, and they're my favorite characters so I'll continue reading this series if only for them.
Familiar characters and storylines from the previous books appear in this entry, and once again it's hard to tell characters apart. I enjoyed catching up with the familiar characters, but I wasn't particularly attached to Isabel's story especially as her big moment I felt could have been done by anyone. I was a bit surprised by the Sky-Alice breakup, don't know why as Alice has been a downer since day one, but I can see Isabel's appeal when compared to Alice. The first book [b:City of Masks|86737|City of Masks (Stravaganza, #1)|Mary Hoffman|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171080760s/86737.jpg|3877968] is still my favorite, and they're my favorite characters so I'll continue reading this series if only for them.
annina_hmn's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
faehistory's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
adeperi's review against another edition
4.0
Hoffman still manages to throw in unexpected plot twists and keep the story going in the fifth book of her series- a truly amazing feat for any author.
monicakessler's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
aotora's review against another edition
5.0
I don't remember reading this book when I was younger because I don't think that the last three in the series were ever translated.
But this was the book that made me fall in love with Talia all over again. And this was the book that made me fall back into the world and that made me love reading all over again - truly reading. Just sitting and falling into the book for a few hours and just forgetting everything around me.
I loved the story, it was intense, the stakes were high, the final battle was interesting and intense and the fact that anyone could die at any moment- even the characters we've been following for 5 books at this point was good.
The protagonist was finally interesting again - she didn't have as intense of a backstory as Georgia and Luciano had but it was still better than both Sky's and Matt's story.
I didn't really like Alice in this story though. She acted like a brat and a garbage person for no real reason other than being jealous of Sky for spending so much time with his other friends and making a new friend in the protagonist, Isabel.
All the new characters in this book were likeable and I loved learning more about Filippo Nucci as he was a really interesting character in the third book but then didn't appear in the fourth book. I like seeing princess Beatrice being good too. And the side characters were interesting as always.
I also loved that compared to the last book a lot of this book is happening in Talia and not focusing on present day as much as the previous one did. And I love that the other Stravaganti play a much bigger role in this one instead of just being there to support and encourage the new Stravagante but not really doing much beyond that. Seeing them also stravagate back into Talia alongside Isabel and visiting the other cities with her made me smile and it was refreshing to read.
The book does start a little bit slowly like all of them do- we are introduced to Isabel and it takes a while to get going but once it does start and gets going the story is intense, the setting is intense, you find yourself cheering for the protagonist and the final battle feels much better than all the other final tasks Stravaganti are sent to Talia to do - in this one it actually felt like Isabel could die whilst in other books you somehow know that the protagonist will make it out alive or translate to the other world safely like in the first book.
So all in all - this is my favourite book in the series, it reignited my passion for this series and I can't wait to read the last one. I just wish that it wasn't the last one because there are so many interesting side characters in these books and I wish we could see their stories as well.
But this was the book that made me fall in love with Talia all over again. And this was the book that made me fall back into the world and that made me love reading all over again - truly reading. Just sitting and falling into the book for a few hours and just forgetting everything around me.
I loved the story, it was intense, the stakes were high, the final battle was interesting and intense and the fact that anyone could die at any moment- even the characters we've been following for 5 books at this point was good.
The protagonist was finally interesting again - she didn't have as intense of a backstory as Georgia and Luciano had but it was still better than both Sky's and Matt's story.
I didn't really like Alice in this story though. She acted like a brat and a garbage person for no real reason other than being jealous of Sky for spending so much time with his other friends and making a new friend in the protagonist, Isabel.
All the new characters in this book were likeable and I loved learning more about Filippo Nucci as he was a really interesting character in the third book but then didn't appear in the fourth book. I like seeing princess Beatrice being good too. And the side characters were interesting as always.
I also loved that compared to the last book a lot of this book is happening in Talia and not focusing on present day as much as the previous one did. And I love that the other Stravaganti play a much bigger role in this one instead of just being there to support and encourage the new Stravagante but not really doing much beyond that. Seeing them also stravagate back into Talia alongside Isabel and visiting the other cities with her made me smile and it was refreshing to read.
The book does start a little bit slowly like all of them do- we are introduced to Isabel and it takes a while to get going but once it does start and gets going the story is intense, the setting is intense, you find yourself cheering for the protagonist and the final battle feels much better than all the other final tasks Stravaganti are sent to Talia to do - in this one it actually felt like Isabel could die whilst in other books you somehow know that the protagonist will make it out alive or translate to the other world safely like in the first book.
So all in all - this is my favourite book in the series, it reignited my passion for this series and I can't wait to read the last one. I just wish that it wasn't the last one because there are so many interesting side characters in these books and I wish we could see their stories as well.
manilea's review against another edition
4.0
I didn't enjoy this book as much as the previous ones, but it was a decent read. Andrea was a very interesting new character and I liked the Beatrice/Fillippo storyline. There were quite a few sub-plots rolled into the story, but I would have liked to see each of them go into more depth.
m3l89's review against another edition
5.0
I enjoyed this; I've really enjoyed the entire series so far!
I didn't feel that there was as much character development for Isabel as an individual (or for Matt in the previous book) as there had been for the previous major characters. I can't help feeling that in the first 3 books the stravagante was crucial to the plot in Talia, whereas Matt and Isabel were sort of like excuses for the reader to get back to Talia to find out about the ongoing story there. But on saying that I'm quite interested to find out how the Beatrice/Filippo plot development affects everything.
I didn't feel that there was as much character development for Isabel as an individual (or for Matt in the previous book) as there had been for the previous major characters. I can't help feeling that in the first 3 books the stravagante was crucial to the plot in Talia, whereas Matt and Isabel were sort of like excuses for the reader to get back to Talia to find out about the ongoing story there. But on saying that I'm quite interested to find out how the Beatrice/Filippo plot development affects everything.
manonh90's review
4.0
Razend spannend, echt een heel goed verhaal dat het heden en het verleden perfect combineert.