So ... remember how I said that Hilary Mantel was a study in minimalist writing? Well, I'm pretty sure this book was the antithesis of that. Seriously, there were a number of places where I could have deleted three paragraphs without losing anything. The main character took way too long to figure stuff out when I was way ahead of her and just wanted to get on with the story. Also, the big twist at the end, wasn't really such a big twist. I saw it coming way before it hit.
OK, now I have to talk about what I liked. Despite being overly chatty, I did like the main character. She was funny and tough, even though she didn't know how tough she was. Also, on a side note, what is with the recent fad of heroines who are tough but don't know that they're tough? Can we please bring back the heroines who know exactly what their strengths are and play to them? Thanks
I also really liked the side characters. Jarvis was my favorite, largely because I loved the main characters' reactions to and interactions with him. Clio was also a blast and I totally want to be her bff. I particularly liked the scene where she was trying to explain physics and magic to the main character because the main character's reaction was pretty much exactly how I would have reacted to that explanation.
Ultimately, it was a fun light read. It entertained me and definitely made me want to keep reading.
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