Glamour in Glass by Mary Robinette Kowal
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I don’t usually review subsequent books in a series (I used to, then I tried to do it in the Wheel of Time series). But there is so much new and interesting in this second book in Mary’s series that I will anyway.

Setting: This novel mostly takes place in France, in the dangerous time right after Napoleon is deposed. The descriptions of the French (and Belgium) countrysides really make the book come alive and reminded me of my time in Europe.

Plot: Jane and Vincent are on their honeymoon, but trouble erupts and Jane has to save Vincent from jail. I loved the interplay between the personal and the main plots. The turmoil felt very real. The way that Jane devises to save Vincent is simply ingenious!

Conflict: There are conflicts between Jane and Vincent, Jane and her expectations of parents, Jane and Vincent’s captors, Jane and her maid, and France and Napoleon. Plus there is a conflict between glamour and war (the ethics of “technology”).

Character: I love Jane’s self-effacing attitude and yet her strong character and opinions contrast so nicely with it.

Text: The writing was lovely and reminded me so much or reading an Austen novel.

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