I probably ought to start out by stating that I am kind of a big Sarah Rees Brennan fan.

It would be a problem if I felt like my literary preferences could ever be a problem, but I knew going into this that I was going to really like it or be horrifyingly let down because of how high my hopes were.

Fortunately, it ended up being the former and not the latter.

I somehow, perhaps because I may possibly have insta-clicked when I saw the author, knew almost nothing about this going in, and certainly did not realize it bears some intentional resemblances to another story. For the sake of having the same nifty realization moments that I had, I'm not going to mention which story, but it tied together really well and genuinely felt like it was worth of its predecessor, which I loved.

The characters were actually well-done, and I enjoyed that, for all that everything seems very black and white (and is certainly painted as such for a bit), that is certainly not so. I'd never expect such from this particular author, but it is always nice to see a book where in the end I kind of understand everyone and am fully aware that there is no real way I am going to be completely happy about the ending. Please note the difference between being happy with the ending (I was very pleased with it) and happy about the ending--it could not have ended any other way, I feel, but it was a rough ride.

The titular arc words were quite beautiful, and I loved them coming back again and again. The strength they personified throughout this family was inspiring and made me smile every time, even when I was actually upset about what caused their repetition.

Lucie is a bit divisive for me: I understand her quite a bit, but her view on things is occasionally oddly simplistic given her background. She does learn from her mistakes, though not always in time, and I liked that. The only thing I couldn't quite forgive her for was her love interest, who is a Nice Guy. I like nice guys as love interests, I honestly do--I've never been a "bad boy" kind of girl. My problem here is that I don't really know that much else about him. He's really...nice? And he does nice stuff. To be nice to her.

Fortunately, the focus is more properly on the plot and less on the romance, or this might not be getting the score it is getting from me just because of that.

As far as I can tell, this is a stand-alone novel, which I appreciate in these days of sequels and prequels and sidequels and all the other bits and pieces we get of a universe. It has a solid beginning and a solid ending. It doesn't need more to finish the story in a satisfactory way.

Having said that, however, if the author ever wishes to revisit her very divided New York, I would certainly be willing to poke my head back in and see what is going on there...

This book was provided to me for free via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was kind of a disappointment to me. Now, that's not completely the fault of the book itself: it introduced some interesting ideas, it added some new characters, and things did progress (though it took a little longer to get to the "progression" stage of the story than I wanted). However, as a heads up that I definitely did not have going in, this is not the last book in the series, and it is also rather alarmingly short.

The combination of these two things meant that up until almost the very end, where I finally felt like we started moving things forward, I was getting progressively more miffed with the way things were going. I had questions that needed answers, I was not getting answers to those questions, but I *was* getting more questions, which is not how one wants to see the ending of a series go. Having my Kindle inform me every time I turned a page that I was now 2% further along in the story was just adding insult to injury.

Amy was weirdly whiny throughout, mostly over her Love Interest, which I found oddly annoying. I don't generally mind teen angst over romance, even in the midst of bad situations, but this felt oddly forced and like a step back from Amy's gung-ho attitude in previous books. She didn't seem like the type to suddenly start whingeing about like this and it was distracting.

Her relationship with her mother and with her Kansas--I guess I'm going to say 'friends' because I'm not sure what else to call them, but wow I did not see that coming--was not well-handled either. Things seem like they may finally be coming around with her mother, but do we get to see much of this? No. It was somehow weirdly important without actually seeming to be handled.

The magic of Oz was legitimately intriguing, and the parallels between Amy and Dorothy being painted throughout were fascinating, but Amy's behavior in the face of them was also a bit questionable. While I've always admired her ability to throw advice to the wind and just do stuff (both for plot purposes and because this Oz is remarkably insane and figuring out who to trust is difficult at best), when the advice of a bunch of people you swear you trust and your own experiences seem to line up, you should maybe take a step back and consider things again.

Despite all of this ranting (I am aware this has become a rant), I retain a fascination with this universe that won't quite let go. I will be reading the next book in the series (though I won't burn myself by buying it on release day as I did this) just to see how things come out in the end. This Oz is dark and fascinating, and putting together the pieces of how one of my favorite childhood fantasy-lands turned into this is worth the price of admission for me.

This is not my favorite Georgette Heyer book (Cotillion still holds my heart, I'm afraid), but her books are remarkably readable and fun and this was definitely an enjoyable romp.

Regency romances (and this is, although that is probably not really my favorite part, a Regency romance) and I have a curious relationship. They are one of those genres that I tend to like the idea of more than the actual result. Some of it is my curious relationship with the whole romance genre (I like, and often even require romance in my books, but generally heavily mixed with something else), and some of it due to the fact that Jane Austen kind of holds the title for the genre, and very few things really manage to hold up in comparison for me.

Setting that minor digression aside, The Grand Sophy was charming, and a large portion of that was due to the main character. Sophy is one of those characters you want to see succeed at whatever she is currently turning her hand to. She's outrageous enough you completely understand London being turned upside-down simply by her existence, but despite a bit of a temper and maybe just a soupçon of bossiness, she genuinely has people's best interests at heart, even when she seems not to, and watching her arrange things to the satisfaction of herself and those she loves best is a remarkable venture.

I did see pretty early on where this was actually going in almost all respects, but the journey itself was worth every moment. People are in love who shouldn't be. People aren't in love who should be. Good people deserve a happy ending and bad people don't. It's relatively basic fare, but it's all handled with a style and panache that makes you genuinely like the characters and thus care about their ends.

I think this book may have sent me rushing back into a Georgette Heyer mood, and I don't regret that a bit. I've heard this book described as one of her best, and I can absolutely see that.