This felt very similar to the last Heyer novel I read: an essentially unbelievable plot (kidnapping, really?) with a nicely immersive Regency setting and a too-convenient ending. I thought the emphasis on gaming and betting elements was overbalanced so some character development suffered. The atmosphere was my favorite part.

This was a decent addition to a series that I still think is better in conception than in execution. I will say that we did get more details and descriptions of the glamour magic - I wanted more, though (although maybe it's unfair for me to expect this to give me the feeling of Sanderson's Rhythm of War section where Navani and Raboniel are making discoveries). More problematically, after two books I still don't feel like Jane has a defined enough character, almost like Kowal wants her to be all the main Austen heroines at once; she has Elizabeth moments, but she also has Fanny ones. The surroundings are exciting - war, spies, politics, magic discoveries - but the actual plot and characters don't quite live up to the hype. We didn't even really get quality descriptions that pulled me into Belgium. I really didn't like how hastily the

miscarriage

was dealt with, or how conveniently

Anne Marie

switched sides to benefit the plot. 

The Paris setting was fun, but I didn't like how the main character was continually described as helpless or a victim that people needed to save, and then so much conflict conveniently is fixed at the end - "oh, my mom isn't so bad after all, and our relationship has been complicated for no reason!" The time skip ending felt like a cop-out.

I almost didn't finish this book twice, and when I did, I wasn't super excited. I much prefer Sanderson's take when I'm in the mood for YA superheroes. This had a ton of tropes without adding much.

I wanted to love this but it was a little too out there for me. I liked this point made by another reviewer: "A bit more farfetched, which is saying something given that an apocalyptic comet was the setting of the last novel" It was a good time but so unbelievably unrealistic. 

I thought the ending was rushed and overly convenient, but I enjoyed the read overall. The prose was delightfully appropriate to the setting. 

This is a very immersive and addicting romantasy, but it is also frustrating and sometimes even laughable. I can see why it's so popular, but I also was frequently disappointed while reading it, the first time and on reread; there was a lot of potential that was not fully realized, especially for the setting and the magic system, with an extreme overemphasis on sex to the point that both pacing and plot are sacrificed. There are powerful moments, for sure, and I don't deny how well Yarros captures attention.

Predictable and fun. It did feel like it was overly setting up a sequel without giving us more than vague motivations for characters (of course pirates need the pieces of a map conveniently spread out among main players!). I wish this challenged some of the siren tropes instead of leaning into them.

This book really captures the juxtaposition of an ordinary teenager trying to pursue her passion and figure out her relationships with family, friends, and boys while having to navigate the complications of war and its effects. The main character, Sam, had an authentic voice and I liked that there were, realistically, different shades of reactions to the elements of the plot - some characters were sympathetic and acted, others were passive and/or unsure, and others hostile. We often don't talk about the lead-up to internment, and this sheds light on the heartbreaking experience of being born in America yet not being regarded as American enough by peers.

A decent execution of a cool premise. I liked the flashback sequences best and found the parent characters much more compelling than their daughter and her inevitable romance with the only boy she ever talked to.