Helpful Score: 2
I got this book due to reading some glowing review of it somewhere or other. I don't remember where. The cover blurb is by Neil Gaiman, which is somewhat promising...
When I first got it in the mail, the first thing that struck me was the awfulness of the cover. I don't think I have ever seen a stupider-looking rendition of dragons. I am pleased to report that the dragons (which do appear, albeit very briefly) in the book do not actually resemble the cover art in the slightest.
However, I didn't love this book either. It's a good idea - the Faerie court appears in 16th-century England, bent on retrieving a changeling who is actually the heir to Faerie - and mix up a female bookseller, her associates, and assorted playwrights and such in their doings. I liked the protagonist, Alice Wood, a middle aged widow with an odd mix of naivete and personal strength...
but overall, I felt like the characterization wasn't strong enough, the plot was kind of here and there, and the point-of-view changed focus without warning too much. I wasn't really feeling people's motivations, or the tension, as I should have.
When I first got it in the mail, the first thing that struck me was the awfulness of the cover. I don't think I have ever seen a stupider-looking rendition of dragons. I am pleased to report that the dragons (which do appear, albeit very briefly) in the book do not actually resemble the cover art in the slightest.
However, I didn't love this book either. It's a good idea - the Faerie court appears in 16th-century England, bent on retrieving a changeling who is actually the heir to Faerie - and mix up a female bookseller, her associates, and assorted playwrights and such in their doings. I liked the protagonist, Alice Wood, a middle aged widow with an odd mix of naivete and personal strength...
but overall, I felt like the characterization wasn't strong enough, the plot was kind of here and there, and the point-of-view changed focus without warning too much. I wasn't really feeling people's motivations, or the tension, as I should have.
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