faehistory's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
ashra's review against another edition
5.0
Spoiler
He was going to get a family at last - not the kind of brothers he had once imagined and neither the Father or Mother were where he could see them. But it was enough. "I'm ready," he said (420). AUUUGGGGGGI don't know I really like Sky but I feel like the true protagonist is Sandro. That boy he KILLS me i adore him. Him being so alone and so lonely and and and finding a family FINALLY i can't.
I can't believe they made a dog a friar. and his name is Brother Dog. do you really need any other reason to read this book
man I have so many feelings. there is no other rating for me. 5 billion stars. the buildup the brides the stakes slowly rising against Arianna the NEW STRAVAGANTI I can't get enough of Giuditta the coolest sculptor ever and Sulien the DAD ever ... the explosive first part of the climax where everything comes together but you know something is off, you can sense that things are not truly settling down... the ENDING. oh man oh man oh man oh man.
Spoiler
Forgive me, Father ... Bless you, my Son... i can't take itttttThis is one of those series that grows more and more expansive as it goes on until we finally hit this intense and powerful and churning climax where three books worth of lore comes to a violent head. Niccolo's comeuppance...
Spoiler
And then all of a sudden [Enrico] knew exactly what had happened to his fiancée... (456) hooooand the ending....
Spoiler
"It will be bliss," he said, smiling. "Just think, we never had the chance to live together as man and wife and we have been together more than twenty years and have a grown-up daughter.""Don't," said Silvia. "You'll make me feel old."
"You are as beautiful now as when I first met you," said Rodolfo, tightening his hold on her. "And this time all the world will know that we are married and nothing shall ever separate us again" (471).
i would do anything for rodolfo and silvia. anything.
Masterful ending to a high-stakes, complex, and mesmerizingly character-driven series. One of my favorites form my childhood and ... for good reason!! go off stravaganza!
From what I remember, the 2nd series wasn't nearly as integral, so here is the true ending to this phenomenal trilogy <3
adeperi's review against another edition
4.0
Love love love this series. Have been learning about what I think are the historical connections to it as well (the de Medici family in Renaissance Italy, anyone?), which makes it even more exhilarating.
jadelee_ls's review against another edition
Es centos. Nudien. Jau vairāk kā piecus gadus neesmu lasījusi vairākas grāmatas reizē, bet šo atstāju čunčināt pamazām. Ja ļoti aizmiedza acis, varēja piedot tos loģikas caurumus.
Bet tad....
'The Nucci could have been useful,’ said Sulien thoughtfully, ‘but not since the death of Davide. If they see the opportunity to attack the di Chimici they will be caught up in that, not looking out for the Duchessa.’
‘We need more Stravaganti here,’ said Giuditta. ‘I would have Rodolfo summon others of the Brotherhood from all over Talia. If it comes to a fight, it is not swordsmen we need, but those who can communicate without words and surround the Duchessa with their thoughts rather than their muscles.'
Tās spējas stravagantēm kļuvušas par totālu sviestu. Un viņu "brālība"?! Ko pie velna viņi vispār dara? Izārstēs Tāliju no Di Kimiči ar pozitīvo domiņu spēku??
VISS ir kļuvis ļoti paviršs. Ļoti saraustīta skatpunktu pārslēgšana, pārāk daudz Di Kimiči un viņu kāzas, pārāk maz paša sasodītā galvenā varoņa! 1.+2. lieliski sastrādājās ar tēlu pārklājumu un viņu attiecībām. Nu par Remoru knapi viens pīkstiens bijis un Džordžijai vispār pover, ka viņa var stravagēt. Ughhhhh!!!! Tur ir tik daudz potenciāla, bet tāda sajūta, ka katru reizi, kad tas novīd pie apvāršņa, autore met ratus otrādi un skrien pretējā virzienā.
Vispār ļoti liela vilšanās. Gribēju šo sēriju pabeigt un no jauna papriecāties, bet tā vietā uzmetīšu aci plot summaries un slēgšu šito bodīti.
Bet tad....
'The Nucci could have been useful,’ said Sulien thoughtfully, ‘but not since the death of Davide. If they see the opportunity to attack the di Chimici they will be caught up in that, not looking out for the Duchessa.’
‘We need more Stravaganti here,’ said Giuditta. ‘I would have Rodolfo summon others of the Brotherhood from all over Talia. If it comes to a fight, it is not swordsmen we need, but those who can communicate without words and surround the Duchessa with their thoughts rather than their muscles.'
Tās spējas stravagantēm kļuvušas par totālu sviestu. Un viņu "brālība"?! Ko pie velna viņi vispār dara? Izārstēs Tāliju no Di Kimiči ar pozitīvo domiņu spēku??
VISS ir kļuvis ļoti paviršs. Ļoti saraustīta skatpunktu pārslēgšana, pārāk daudz Di Kimiči un viņu kāzas, pārāk maz paša sasodītā galvenā varoņa! 1.+2. lieliski sastrādājās ar tēlu pārklājumu un viņu attiecībām. Nu par Remoru knapi viens pīkstiens bijis un Džordžijai vispār pover, ka viņa var stravagēt. Ughhhhh!!!! Tur ir tik daudz potenciāla, bet tāda sajūta, ka katru reizi, kad tas novīd pie apvāršņa, autore met ratus otrādi un skrien pretējā virzienā.
Vispār ļoti liela vilšanās. Gribēju šo sēriju pabeigt un no jauna papriecāties, bet tā vietā uzmetīšu aci plot summaries un slēgšu šito bodīti.
annelienvan's review against another edition
3.0
third installment in the series, and you do notice it. The plotlines grow a bit thin, and the characters grow a bit rigid. The newly introduced characters are, to me, not as likeable as the previous ones.
I had a few annoyances throughout the book:
- people don't seem to change much.
- everyone is deeply in love with someone. I know it's a YA novel and that to a YA it seems very important, but to me all the different pairings and the tensions got a bit much.
- Dr Dethridge, again. we know he speaks in an older kindof language, but the way it's written is just very difficult to read and rather annoying.
The plot was nice, exciting and interesting. I liked the way it all came together, but there could have been fewer pages. it was nicely written though, really takes you along to Talia/italy and you can feel that the other loves it all herself.
i'd give this 3.5 if i could!
book: 4/50
pages: 1200
I had a few annoyances throughout the book:
- people don't seem to change much.
- everyone is deeply in love with someone. I know it's a YA novel and that to a YA it seems very important, but to me all the different pairings and the tensions got a bit much.
- Dr Dethridge, again. we know he speaks in an older kindof language, but the way it's written is just very difficult to read and rather annoying.
The plot was nice, exciting and interesting. I liked the way it all came together, but there could have been fewer pages. it was nicely written though, really takes you along to Talia/italy and you can feel that the other loves it all herself.
i'd give this 3.5 if i could!
book: 4/50
pages: 1200
aotora's review against another edition
2.0
This one was my least favourite of the first three in the series. It wasn't bad... but it wasn't good either. The story was good and there were some parts that I really enjoyed like the duel between the Duke and Luciano and the slaughter during the weddings - but then there were also parts that seemed to go by way too fast.
After the slaughter we don't know if Gaetano will live or not .... for a few pages than he is suddenly alive and well and able to walk.
I also didn't care for most of the characters in this one aside from Sandro, I almost wish that Sandro was the focus instead of Sky because his story was more interesting than Sky's. We had Luciano that had cancer and was dying, we had Georgia who was relentlessly bullied by her step brother and used Talia as an escape from that - then we get Sky... who has a sick mother and a father he doesn't know - which would've been fine if his mother didn't get well and good really fast- I wish that she remained sick through most of the book and get better at the end, that would've made Sky a little bit more interesting and a better protagonist.
I loved Luciano and Arianna in the previous book - but I didn't like Arianna in this one- and I hated their side plot in this book. They are in love, they don't say it to each other, they get engaged at the end- I was waiting for them to finally get together and married and that took way too long.
Some of the book really dragged on and it took me way too long to finish this one when I flew through the previous two. It's not a bad book but it's missing something compared to the other two.
Here's hoping that the next three are better.
After the slaughter we don't know if Gaetano will live or not .... for a few pages than he is suddenly alive and well and able to walk.
I also didn't care for most of the characters in this one aside from Sandro, I almost wish that Sandro was the focus instead of Sky because his story was more interesting than Sky's. We had Luciano that had cancer and was dying, we had Georgia who was relentlessly bullied by her step brother and used Talia as an escape from that - then we get Sky... who has a sick mother and a father he doesn't know - which would've been fine if his mother didn't get well and good really fast- I wish that she remained sick through most of the book and get better at the end, that would've made Sky a little bit more interesting and a better protagonist.
I loved Luciano and Arianna in the previous book - but I didn't like Arianna in this one- and I hated their side plot in this book. They are in love, they don't say it to each other, they get engaged at the end- I was waiting for them to finally get together and married and that took way too long.
Some of the book really dragged on and it took me way too long to finish this one when I flew through the previous two. It's not a bad book but it's missing something compared to the other two.
Here's hoping that the next three are better.
m3l89's review against another edition
3.0
Everything seemed to come together in this novel, plots and suspense that had been building in books 1 and 2.
No matter how long I sat down and read this for I never seemed to get nearer the end, which I found boring and a little laborious as the book dragged on.
No matter how long I sat down and read this for I never seemed to get nearer the end, which I found boring and a little laborious as the book dragged on.
monicakessler's review against another edition
5.0
Gosh, I really love the Stravaganza sequence, and I can really tell why this was my favourite series as a teen.
What other author in the early noughties was writing YA fantasy featuring a mixed race, child carer protagonist?? What other YA author was setting their stories in magical Renaissance Italy?? And what other YA author focuses on love hexagons rather than love triangles in their stories (although that was more in City of Stars)??? All with a wonderful cast of main characters?? Mary Hoffman was really feeding me the goods.
IIRC, City of Flowers was my favourite of the original trilogy, and I can see why. Dramatic scenes, an amazing large and colourful cast of characters, etc. But reading with an adult's eye, I can also see why City of Stars is commonly considered the best in the series - Stars is a better book. While the politics and fantasy elements expand a bit in Flowers, Stars focuses on telling a very well-structured story with the absolute best resolution. Even though Flowers had both incredible and important scenes, the actual arc of the story was far less strong - down to the detail of the fantasy elements, which were incredibly hazy at best and about as unexplored as possible, as well as the story being a little less compact than it perhaps should have been. I don't know what would have been cut, but some things felt like they should have been tightened, and pacing and events smoothed into each other a little better. You can tell that this book is the editor/agent (I forget which)'s favourite book because it feels like it's been through the least before publication, because everyone liked it so much. And let's be real - I'm one of those people. I love it. But mainly for the characters and perhaps events 3/4 of the way through - not for the whole story arc, or Sky's big conclusion, which was definitely the weakest of the three books so far, even if it was significant to the macro plot.
I just love this cast of characters so much, and definitely this one in particular felt the most like a book that would make a great TV series - much more so than the previous two. In contrast, City of Masks would be the most disappointing to adapt of all three so far imho.
I now look forward to delving into the second trilogy of this series. I am hopeful for recurrence of the main characters; I know Luciano will always be there, but fingers crossed for Georgia, Sky, and Nick too.
On a last note, I've always wondered why I've been impervious to people saying, "such and such a book is AMAZING because it's got really good morally grey characters". I've since realised it's because I've been reading about the best morally grey characters in fiction like Stravaganza and His Dark Materials since I was in double digits. And I threw aside comments of, "bookworm readers pick a character and steal their personality traits," thinking that didn't apply to me. Well upon re-read, I realised how much I had been trying to emulate the traits of the amazing Sky Meadows. We live and we learn.
4.75*
What other author in the early noughties was writing YA fantasy featuring a mixed race, child carer protagonist?? What other YA author was setting their stories in magical Renaissance Italy?? And what other YA author focuses on love hexagons rather than love triangles in their stories (although that was more in City of Stars)??? All with a wonderful cast of main characters?? Mary Hoffman was really feeding me the goods.
IIRC, City of Flowers was my favourite of the original trilogy, and I can see why. Dramatic scenes, an amazing large and colourful cast of characters, etc. But reading with an adult's eye, I can also see why City of Stars is commonly considered the best in the series - Stars is a better book. While the politics and fantasy elements expand a bit in Flowers, Stars focuses on telling a very well-structured story with the absolute best resolution. Even though Flowers had both incredible and important scenes, the actual arc of the story was far less strong - down to the detail of the fantasy elements, which were incredibly hazy at best and about as unexplored as possible, as well as the story being a little less compact than it perhaps should have been. I don't know what would have been cut, but some things felt like they should have been tightened, and pacing and events smoothed into each other a little better. You can tell that this book is the editor/agent (I forget which)'s favourite book because it feels like it's been through the least before publication, because everyone liked it so much. And let's be real - I'm one of those people. I love it. But mainly for the characters and perhaps events 3/4 of the way through - not for the whole story arc, or Sky's big conclusion, which was definitely the weakest of the three books so far, even if it was significant to the macro plot.
I just love this cast of characters so much, and definitely this one in particular felt the most like a book that would make a great TV series - much more so than the previous two. In contrast, City of Masks would be the most disappointing to adapt of all three so far imho.
I now look forward to delving into the second trilogy of this series. I am hopeful for recurrence of the main characters; I know Luciano will always be there, but fingers crossed for Georgia, Sky, and Nick too.
On a last note, I've always wondered why I've been impervious to people saying, "such and such a book is AMAZING because it's got really good morally grey characters". I've since realised it's because I've been reading about the best morally grey characters in fiction like Stravaganza and His Dark Materials since I was in double digits. And I threw aside comments of, "bookworm readers pick a character and steal their personality traits," thinking that didn't apply to me. Well upon re-read, I realised how much I had been trying to emulate the traits of the amazing Sky Meadows. We live and we learn.
4.75*
manonh90's review against another edition
4.0
Mooi verhaal, goede personages en zeker spannend. Het zou alleen handig zijn geweest als de lijst met personages voorin had gezeten. Een goed einde van een trilogie die uiteindelijk geen trilogie bleef.