Review: Ysabel is the champion in this segment. Bravo!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 08 21, 2013
A very very good book, not the least bit disappointing to those who read the first. Had I not have been so captivated by Book of Pawns, I would probably be rating this as a five. But for me, it fell a tad short of number one, perhaps because I found Isabel's lack of resolve tedious and irritating. There is a point when she tells herself that it is time to grow up.  I had been screaming at her to do so for at least fifty pages. And yes, to me she is very real--Gisborne, not so much. He should stay around more, I say!  What we know of him we are getting from others, both his friends and his enemies, those from the deep past and the near present, but I would like to catch a little glimpse of Gisborne as he sees himself, without violating Batten's strict adherence to the first person point of view. I cast myself as Ysabel and share her frustrations.  The characters are every bit as poignant as before, perhaps more so.The ending left me heartsick, but not dissatisfied. I look forward to the third knowing how far Lady Ysabel is prepared to go for the man she loves, and it makes me shudder on the one hand, while craving more, like the poppies fed to Isabel by her caregiver. In this sequence, she, not Gisborne, is the champion, but her victory is bittersweet.