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3.73 AVERAGE
3.73 AVERAGE
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
I utterly loved the first book in this series and have been waiting on pins and needles for months to read the second installment. The first story left the reader on a cliffhanger, with the death of young Edward VI and the rise of his bitter, older half-sister Mary, all witnessed by the time-traveling protagonist, Rose.
I was very interested in Rose's modern life, where she and her friends have rallied around the new girl in school, Marisol, whom they eventually learn has entered the country illegally and is in search of her missing mother. Marisol is taken in by Rose and her grandmother, and in the midst of seeking a way to make Marisol's presence in the country legal, Rose is up to her ears in dealing with the previous book's antagonists, the Mean Queens. Here Lasky cleverly takes the bullying girls and adds a new dimension to their behavior - not only are they bullies, but there is an element of flat-out racism as well, something that is all too prevalent in this day and age.
In addition to that, Rose's life in Tudor England is no less dramatic, as she works as a seamstress for Queen Mary, trying to maintain a low-level relationship with her father while also keeping from drawing the Queen's suspicions and paranoia down on her as Mary seeks to pluck out the Protestantism that had taken hold of the country and return England to the Catholic Faith.
Each life is full of its own dramas, as people in both time periods seek to cause trouble for Rose, or aid her in her goals. That being said, the Tudor era subplot felt a little thin. Rose would go there, do some work for Mary's dresses, decry Mary's policies (and eventually her burning of those she deemed "heretics"), try to meet with her dad, and then end up rushing back to the present. And then there was Rose's brief time serving Mary Queen of Scots in France after Rose's father ushered her out of the country before Queen Mary could have her burned. It felt kind of pointless to tack it on - so I'm hoping that it will come to mean more in future installments? Otherwise, it felt like we were just there to see that Mary Queen of Scots is a wishy-washy girl who assumes she will be Queen of England after Queen Mary's death and who both cries and faints when that doesn't happen because Elizabeth takes the throne after her half-sister's death. I'm guessing this is meant to set up the infamous rivalry between Mary and Elizabeth that bloomed during Elizabeth's reign?
Overall, this book, while decent, didn't quite have the same jolt of excitement that the first installment inspired. Still, I'm very curious to see where the series will ultimately end up and look forward to seeing what comes next.
Spoiler
Toward the end of the book, Rose refers to herself as living a double life, the first in the present time with her grandmother and friends in modern day Indiana and the second in Tudor era England where the kingdom braces for the fires of the reign of Mary I, known to history as "Bloody Mary". Rose is accurate in how she describes herself, and both of her lives are pretty interesting.I was very interested in Rose's modern life, where she and her friends have rallied around the new girl in school, Marisol, whom they eventually learn has entered the country illegally and is in search of her missing mother. Marisol is taken in by Rose and her grandmother, and in the midst of seeking a way to make Marisol's presence in the country legal, Rose is up to her ears in dealing with the previous book's antagonists, the Mean Queens. Here Lasky cleverly takes the bullying girls and adds a new dimension to their behavior - not only are they bullies, but there is an element of flat-out racism as well, something that is all too prevalent in this day and age.
In addition to that, Rose's life in Tudor England is no less dramatic, as she works as a seamstress for Queen Mary, trying to maintain a low-level relationship with her father while also keeping from drawing the Queen's suspicions and paranoia down on her as Mary seeks to pluck out the Protestantism that had taken hold of the country and return England to the Catholic Faith.
Each life is full of its own dramas, as people in both time periods seek to cause trouble for Rose, or aid her in her goals. That being said, the Tudor era subplot felt a little thin. Rose would go there, do some work for Mary's dresses, decry Mary's policies (and eventually her burning of those she deemed "heretics"), try to meet with her dad, and then end up rushing back to the present. And then there was Rose's brief time serving Mary Queen of Scots in France after Rose's father ushered her out of the country before Queen Mary could have her burned. It felt kind of pointless to tack it on - so I'm hoping that it will come to mean more in future installments? Otherwise, it felt like we were just there to see that Mary Queen of Scots is a wishy-washy girl who assumes she will be Queen of England after Queen Mary's death and who both cries and faints when that doesn't happen because Elizabeth takes the throne after her half-sister's death. I'm guessing this is meant to set up the infamous rivalry between Mary and Elizabeth that bloomed during Elizabeth's reign?
Overall, this book, while decent, didn't quite have the same jolt of excitement that the first installment inspired. Still, I'm very curious to see where the series will ultimately end up and look forward to seeing what comes next.
medium-paced
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I loved this book, but not as much as the first one. I just didn’t like the way this book ended and would’ve liked an ending that gave me more closure. Other than that, it’s great.
Picks up where the previous book ends. It feels very jumbled and not just because the story is switching between time periods. The writing doesn't always flow together very well and you can get mixed up on who is talking and who's perspective it is at that point in time. I had higher hopes for it.
adventurous
dark
informative
medium-paced
This book was all anxiety and no action!
A good portion of the beginning was just restating what had happened in the first book. Once we finally got past that, the critical plot points happened and the problems were never resolved. There were some side plot development too, and some of that was left open-ended. One side plot was resolved, but it didn’t feel very satisfying after an entire book of problems without solutions. A very frustrating read, and there were spelling mistakes too.
A good portion of the beginning was just restating what had happened in the first book. Once we finally got past that, the critical plot points happened and the problems were never resolved. There were some side plot development too, and some of that was left open-ended. One side plot was resolved, but it didn’t feel very satisfying after an entire book of problems without solutions. A very frustrating read, and there were spelling mistakes too.