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monicakessler's review
4.0
It can be a bit awkward when you pick up the 4th book of a series that was meant to be a trilogy. You've had the satisfying ending; you've seen a big climax. What could possibly come after that which doesn't pale by comparison? Series that do this well really up the ante and introduce a whole crew of new characters to “change things up”, in my experience.
Unfortunately City of Secrets doesn't manage this. Instead it sticks to a similar formula, mixing things from previous books, and barely introduces any new characters – in fact, far fewer than books 2 and 3 did. This seems to be because there are already a great host of characters to keep up with – and we do have excellent reappearances of beloved characters from previous books (cough, cough, Cesare, my love); however, there was a lack of freshness and vitality to the book because of this.
While the plot drama is as dramatic as the events of previous books, it somehow seems less iconic, which makes sense considering this is the only book in the series which I have absolutely no memory of reading (which is unusual for me) even though, as I was reading it, I definitely recalled having read those events before – even if I then still couldn't remember where the book went next. While it was nice seeing it with fresh eyes, it lacked the excitement of the re-read that the previous two (better) books in the series brought me. At least it was more condensed and less wordy than City of Flowers.
Plot-wise, this one is roughly on par with book one, but has a little less charm; side characters don't feel fresh and poor Luciano really needs a break (I know he keeps being brought back into the picture for fanservice reasons, but honestly, let him live a quiet life for once!! He's been through enough!!) Matt is serviceable as the new MC, but the way his dyslexia is handled (as a “character weakness” or reason for self-doubt/dislike) is much clumsier than other comparable books (e.g. Percy Jackson). While Mary Hoffman is usually very good at showing the character growth of the MC throughout their book – Georgia in particular got a good run of it – in this one, Matt's character growth feels harried in a way and reliant on him growing out of doing things that didn't seem likely for him to do in the first place, when introduced in the first chapter.
Nonetheless, while the overall nostalgia wasn't there and it did have some flaws, the continuity at least was good and the plot and characters remain enjoyable. I love it when they act as a team. Stravagante magic is now vague enough that “Stravagante” might as well be replaced with “wizard”, but I think that's just how we're going to have to roll; it's not too heinous a flaw to have a vague, loose soft magic system. Its conveniences are counterbalanced by the obvious inconveniences of it which are used liberally throughout the plot of all of the books.
4* because I love this world; like most fans, I still don't think further entries in this series will beat City of Stars, but I'll continue onwards with the rest of the books – which I definitely haven't read before! Fingers crossed for some great adventure.
Unfortunately City of Secrets doesn't manage this. Instead it sticks to a similar formula, mixing things from previous books, and barely introduces any new characters – in fact, far fewer than books 2 and 3 did. This seems to be because there are already a great host of characters to keep up with – and we do have excellent reappearances of beloved characters from previous books (cough, cough, Cesare, my love); however, there was a lack of freshness and vitality to the book because of this.
While the plot drama is as dramatic as the events of previous books, it somehow seems less iconic, which makes sense considering this is the only book in the series which I have absolutely no memory of reading (which is unusual for me) even though, as I was reading it, I definitely recalled having read those events before – even if I then still couldn't remember where the book went next. While it was nice seeing it with fresh eyes, it lacked the excitement of the re-read that the previous two (better) books in the series brought me. At least it was more condensed and less wordy than City of Flowers.
Plot-wise, this one is roughly on par with book one, but has a little less charm; side characters don't feel fresh and poor Luciano really needs a break (I know he keeps being brought back into the picture for fanservice reasons, but honestly, let him live a quiet life for once!! He's been through enough!!) Matt is serviceable as the new MC, but the way his dyslexia is handled (as a “character weakness” or reason for self-doubt/dislike) is much clumsier than other comparable books (e.g. Percy Jackson). While Mary Hoffman is usually very good at showing the character growth of the MC throughout their book – Georgia in particular got a good run of it – in this one, Matt's character growth feels harried in a way and reliant on him growing out of doing things that didn't seem likely for him to do in the first place, when introduced in the first chapter.
Nonetheless, while the overall nostalgia wasn't there and it did have some flaws, the continuity at least was good and the plot and characters remain enjoyable. I love it when they act as a team. Stravagante magic is now vague enough that “Stravagante” might as well be replaced with “wizard”, but I think that's just how we're going to have to roll; it's not too heinous a flaw to have a vague, loose soft magic system. Its conveniences are counterbalanced by the obvious inconveniences of it which are used liberally throughout the plot of all of the books.
4* because I love this world; like most fans, I still don't think further entries in this series will beat City of Stars, but I'll continue onwards with the rest of the books – which I definitely haven't read before! Fingers crossed for some great adventure.
manonh90's review against another edition
3.0
Dit boek voelde minder geïnspireerd dan de vorige drie in de serie, hoewel het verhaal nog steeds wel erg sterk is.
fictionalmandy's review
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
booksthatburn's review
CITY OF SECRETS drops any coyness about being a magical cure narrative and goes for it almost immediately. Matt is dyslexic and struggles with reading, but in Talia he can read easily. It’s true that in Talia Luciano was always cancer-free, but somehow this feels more egregious to me, even though neither boy can take this “cure” home to England with them.
Ultimately I became frustrated with the strange pacing and the way this doubles down on treating the Manoush as magical, where Aurelio (a blind Manoush man first appearing in CITY OF STARS) is extra magical even for them. My original impression of the Manoush is they're the Talian version of the Romani, so their increasing role as oracles who pop in and have special powers plays into a bunch of real-world stereotypes.
I don't like Matt, I don't like how he treats his girlfriend. He spends so little time with her that I got a third of the way in and all I know is she's named Ayesha, he's jealous when she has male friends, and a little of what she looks like.
Quitting while I'm ahead, this was better as a trilogy. Georgia and Nicholas's storylines were specifically, definitively wrapped up in CITY OF FLOWERS, so them hanging around now feels so pointless. The scenes don't even focus on them when they do show up, it's just like "hey, remember characters you actually like? here they are!" I don't like that at all.
Ultimately I became frustrated with the strange pacing and the way this doubles down on treating the Manoush as magical, where Aurelio (a blind Manoush man first appearing in CITY OF STARS) is extra magical even for them. My original impression of the Manoush is they're the Talian version of the Romani, so their increasing role as oracles who pop in and have special powers plays into a bunch of real-world stereotypes.
I don't like Matt, I don't like how he treats his girlfriend. He spends so little time with her that I got a third of the way in and all I know is she's named Ayesha, he's jealous when she has male friends, and a little of what she looks like.
Quitting while I'm ahead, this was better as a trilogy. Georgia and Nicholas's storylines were specifically, definitively wrapped up in CITY OF FLOWERS, so them hanging around now feels so pointless. The scenes don't even focus on them when they do show up, it's just like "hey, remember characters you actually like? here they are!" I don't like that at all.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism, Alcohol, and Pregnancy
Minor: Death of parent, Violence, Murder, and Death
snow_turtle's review
3.0
Looked like the author tried to make the book more complex but that ruined its appeal.
urlphantomhive's review against another edition
4.0
READ IN DUTCH
This fourth book was a bit a surprise for me, as I believed it was a to be a trilogy. It was a nice surprise though, as I really liked the first books in the series.
This book was a little bit less than the first ones for me though. I think it might be a combination of multiple factors. For one, it started to feel a bit repetition, it's not so different from the other books, and secondly, the story felt quite closed for me after three books, so I thought the re-opening wasn't really logic. Finally, I was also a some years older when I read this, and I think the story is really aimed at children around 12 years. It's still nice to read, I still liked the story, but it didn't feel as special as before.
This fourth book was a bit a surprise for me, as I believed it was a to be a trilogy. It was a nice surprise though, as I really liked the first books in the series.
This book was a little bit less than the first ones for me though. I think it might be a combination of multiple factors. For one, it started to feel a bit repetition, it's not so different from the other books, and secondly, the story felt quite closed for me after three books, so I thought the re-opening wasn't really logic. Finally, I was also a some years older when I read this, and I think the story is really aimed at children around 12 years. It's still nice to read, I still liked the story, but it didn't feel as special as before.
astrid13reads's review
3.0
The ending was good but the rest of the book was a little too slow for me.
flyingsails's review against another edition
3.0
I'm sort of hoping there might NOT be 12 books in this series; after only the fourth (this one) it is getting a bit tiring to read about people finding an object they are strangely drawn to, falling asleep, and stravagating to Talia. From there they are bewildered and generally think it's a dream but still go on. Haven't any of the talismans chosen not so well and the stravagante has freaked out?
Anyway, the books could make up for that themselves, but after the first two (which I thought were really good), the plots haven't been as original.
Anyway, the books could make up for that themselves, but after the first two (which I thought were really good), the plots haven't been as original.
kolymaarasto's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0