Helpful Score: 1
Reviewed by Lynn Crow for TeensReadToo.com
Paula couldn't be more excited to be arriving in Istanbul with her merchant father, where she'll be assisting him in obtaining a valuable and mysterious artifact of the ancient goddess Cybele. If all goes well, she may finally be able to pursue her dream of starting a book-trading enterprise.
To her dismay, trouble awaits them the moment they disembark. Her father's trusted trading adviser has been murdered, and the secrecy surrounding the artifact has grown even more difficult to penetrate. If Paula's suspicions are correct, the glimpses she's caught of her sister, who vanished into the Other Kingdom several years ago, mean the folk of magic and myth have their own stake in the unfolding events.
Complicating matters are a dashing ex-pirate with an intense interest in Paula, who may or may not be as ruthless as he is charming, and the powerful yet gentle bodyguard Paula's father hires to watch over her, whom Paula cannot help feeling drawn to despite knowing they are worlds apart. As Paula struggles to make sense of the signs her sister sends her and to help her father obtain Cybele's Gift, the three are pulled into a quest more dangerous than any of them could have imagined.
Not all friends can be trusted; not all enemies are what they seem; and the folk of the Other Kingdom don't often give second chances. It's up to Paula to get her companions through this adventure alive, and to find the right path for her own heart.
Fans of Marillier's WILDWOOD DANCING will enjoy catching up with the family via Jena's younger sister, and happily devour this new tale of the Other Kingdom. Though somewhat slower-paced than WILDWOOD DANCING, CYBELE'S SECRET doesn't skimp on adventure or romance. Paula is a strong and resourceful heroine, who admits her mistakes when she makes them and doesn't let her fears stand in her way. The settings are so vivid readers will feel as if they're traveling through Istanbul and the Other Kingdom with them.
If you loved WILDWOOD DANCING, don't hesitate to snatch this one up!
Paula couldn't be more excited to be arriving in Istanbul with her merchant father, where she'll be assisting him in obtaining a valuable and mysterious artifact of the ancient goddess Cybele. If all goes well, she may finally be able to pursue her dream of starting a book-trading enterprise.
To her dismay, trouble awaits them the moment they disembark. Her father's trusted trading adviser has been murdered, and the secrecy surrounding the artifact has grown even more difficult to penetrate. If Paula's suspicions are correct, the glimpses she's caught of her sister, who vanished into the Other Kingdom several years ago, mean the folk of magic and myth have their own stake in the unfolding events.
Complicating matters are a dashing ex-pirate with an intense interest in Paula, who may or may not be as ruthless as he is charming, and the powerful yet gentle bodyguard Paula's father hires to watch over her, whom Paula cannot help feeling drawn to despite knowing they are worlds apart. As Paula struggles to make sense of the signs her sister sends her and to help her father obtain Cybele's Gift, the three are pulled into a quest more dangerous than any of them could have imagined.
Not all friends can be trusted; not all enemies are what they seem; and the folk of the Other Kingdom don't often give second chances. It's up to Paula to get her companions through this adventure alive, and to find the right path for her own heart.
Fans of Marillier's WILDWOOD DANCING will enjoy catching up with the family via Jena's younger sister, and happily devour this new tale of the Other Kingdom. Though somewhat slower-paced than WILDWOOD DANCING, CYBELE'S SECRET doesn't skimp on adventure or romance. Paula is a strong and resourceful heroine, who admits her mistakes when she makes them and doesn't let her fears stand in her way. The settings are so vivid readers will feel as if they're traveling through Istanbul and the Other Kingdom with them.
If you loved WILDWOOD DANCING, don't hesitate to snatch this one up!
Helpful Score: 1
Good sequel to Wildwood Dancing! This time the story is about Paula, the intellectual daughter. She is acting as her father's assistant in a business venture in Turkey to try to buy the mysterious artifact Cybele's Gift, a symbol of a pagan religion. But Paula has seen a vision of her older sister Tati, who hints that she is being sent on a quest on which she must prove her courage and wisdom. When her father learns that his friend and business associate Salem bin Afazi has been killed, he hires a bodyguard, Stoyan, to keep Paula safe. Soon Paula and Stoyan must face danger and treachery not just in this world but in the Fairy world as well if they are to succeed in the quest.
This is unlike any fairy tale I have read, so I do not know if it is based on any like its predecessor, but it carries the flavor of one. The beginning dragged a little, but the story still progressed at a good pace, and the development of the relationship between Paula, Stoyan and the pirate Duarte Aguiar was an interesting one. The travel through the fairy world was full of enough tests and riddles in the vein of the traditional tales to satisfy a fantasy enthusiast. I'm hoping that Marillier comes up with a third book to tell the story of the youngest daughter in this delightful series.
This is unlike any fairy tale I have read, so I do not know if it is based on any like its predecessor, but it carries the flavor of one. The beginning dragged a little, but the story still progressed at a good pace, and the development of the relationship between Paula, Stoyan and the pirate Duarte Aguiar was an interesting one. The travel through the fairy world was full of enough tests and riddles in the vein of the traditional tales to satisfy a fantasy enthusiast. I'm hoping that Marillier comes up with a third book to tell the story of the youngest daughter in this delightful series.
