Last year I read A School For Unusual Girls and liked it a lot- the premise being a boarding school for wayward young ladies in reality is an academy training the women to be spies for the Crown. Sounds like a pretty standard YA plot, right? And it is- but the book was good and I liked that the five young women who live and train there each had their own distinct personality and skill set. The plan for this series is to showcase a different POV each time- in the first one it was Georgianna and in this one it's Tess.
Tess has prophetic dreams that terrify her- she comes from a line of women who eventually succumb to madness or tragedy due to these visions. She's afraid to sleep, terrified of what she might see. She has a lot of guilt in her past and also struggles with a forbidden attraction to a lord whose personal history is intertwined with the ladies due to events in the first book. We saw this relationship develop in Unusual Girls and here it takes center stage.
This book was very readable and I found it flew by like the first one did. This is an alternate history of sorts exploring what might have happened if Napoleon had been more successful and regained the French throne. I like how all five students bring something to the table, they all have a role to play, and unlike the first book most of the action takes place at the school, with its secret passages and sea cliffs.
The book delves into the relationship between Tess and Daneska as well. Daneska is the former student and current nemesis who now works for Napoleon. They were close before the betrayal and their scenes are handled well. The only thing I didn't like were the occasional secrets that were held from other characters- that's always a pet peeve of mine when the protagonist doesn't share valuable info. Sure it might move the plot but it's dumb, although to be fair there are good reasons for it here. And the conclusion is thrilling and builds on the setting nicely. I would definitely read the first book however before this one as all the relationships are established there
Ugh yes, characters who don't share info bothers me too unless they really have a legitimate reason that's not just arbitrary on the part of the author. But I'm glad you enjoyed this book aside from that :-) It sounds like a fun premise for the series, and forbidden romances are usually interesting!
ReplyDeleteI hate it when characters hold info back- one of my biggest annoyances. I always think if I would tell someone the protagonist should too- but when they don't just to move the plot it aggravates me. :) So in spite of that (and to be fair the reasons are pretty good ) I liked this one... and I like that the point of view changes every book.
DeleteI'm not familiar with this series but the premise reminds me of Carriger's series. Will have to check it out.
ReplyDeleteIt does seem similar, I haven't read those but I know the premises are pretty similar. These are good though, I liked the first one maybe a little but more but both were good.
DeleteI have A School for Unusual Girls on my TBR and this one looks like a good follow up. The secret keeping always makes me want to yell at the characters but it doesn't sound like it was too bad here. I'm looking forward to reading this one and I love that cover!
ReplyDeleteI don't like that either when they don't tell, or share info. Although here it's pretty understandable... this was quite good and just the first one, a pretty good story. I highly recommend Unusual Girls and if you like that you'll like this also...
DeleteI don't think I've heard of this one before. Sounds good! Great review!!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Unusual Girls came out last year and was quite good. I'm glad to see she's keeping this moving... :)
DeleteYou sometimes come up with books I haven't heard of but that look really good to me.
ReplyDeleteI like the premise of the girls training to be spies :) I'll have to check into book 1-- thanks.
I really liked the first one and can't wait to start this one (hopefully soon). I'm glad you enjoyed it. It does bother me when characters hold onto important information to further the plot. It tends to happen quite often in mysteries or suspense novels.
ReplyDeleteOoooh this is the follow up to School for Unusual Girls! I have that one on my tbr shelf! I'm happy you enjoyed the new POV in this one...sometimes I find myself missing the original POV but I LOVE when you can love every new POV character! It bugs me when characters keep secrets too, it's so juvenile. Sigh. Despite that, I really want to get into this series :) Great review as usual Greg^^ x
ReplyDeleteTht pulp novel looks interesting. The cover is certainly eye catching!
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