I was looking forward to this sequel by Patricia Wrede and Caroline Stevermer (the first being Sorcery and Cecelia). I loved the first, but in retrospect, I think I loved it more for the writing method (the Letter Game) than for the story. And it just didn’t hold up this time. Oh, don’t get me wrong: the story was fun (chasing a mad murderer wizard who wants to reinstate an Emperor across Europe while on their wedding trip), but it wasn’t nearly as engaging as the first book. The two distinct writing styles really came through this time. Stevermer’s character would spend pages talking about wedding bliss, or opera, or getting used to be a Marchioness and then Wrede’s character would swoop down, write a couple of pages and advance the plot tons. I could just imagine Wrede saying to herself, “Crap. Gotta move the plot along again.” It just made for a very uneven book. Granted, it all picked up in the end, which was good (a good ending can redeem a less-than-great book, just like a bad ending can kill). Still, I think next time I’ll stick with the first book, and forget the sequel.
The Book Nut 
What do you mean next time you’ll stick with the first book and skip the sequel? Do you mean if there’s another sequel connected to these ones? Or do you mean sequels in general?
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Since I was only operating on about 4 hours of sleep when I wrote this… I’m not quite sure what I meant. Maybe a little of both. Sequels, in general, usually aren’t as good as the original. But maybe that’s just movies. I’m trying to come up with an example, and I’m only coming up with movie ones… most series books are good — Prydian, Dark is Rising, Harry Potter, Little House… but for some reason, this sequel just didn’t work.
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Melissa, you said that you enjoyed Alexander’s <>Illyrian Adventure<>. I can tell you that the sequels in that series are all wonderful as well. (After reading <>Illyrian<>, I wanted to <>be<> Vesper Holly.)
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I have yet to pick this series up. I have heard the first book is great.
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