I didn't like this book as much as number 1. There are no letters, instead there's a deposition by Cecy and a diary by Kate. Kate writes annoying reminders in her diary, such as to remember to hem a dress. These remarks are distracting. It was still difficult to know which one of the two was talking, particulalry with their changed names. But also because Kate and Cecy sound the same. The main difference is that Kate gets down and tired from hardships, Cecy is more awake and actually does things (like magic).
The story itself was fun enough, but towards the end I was getting bored. It seemed like I was watching a chess game and was just waiting for the players to array their pieces to an inevitable win. Overall, it was enjoyable enough, but not as much fun as book nr 1. ( )

I really wish reading a different edition would mark others as read because i dunno if I need to seek out the paperback version I clicked "to read" on earlier, right? anyway.

The Grand Tour takes Cecelia and Kate and their new husbands off to the Continent for a honeymoon tour, where they shortly become involved in tracking the disappearance of various coronation regalia and coming across an unpleasant person from their last adventure. Having read [a:Mackenzi Lee|7327341|Mackenzi Lee|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1512266703p2/7327341.jpg]'s Montague siblings books earlier this year, I remembered what a bear-leader was when they come across a young man also on a tour- both series pair nicely if you want to do fantasy!Regency reads (throwing in [a:Mary Robinette Kowal|2868678|Mary Robinette Kowal|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1365253716p2/2868678.jpg]'s Glamourist Histories too).

If I had reread [b:Sorcery & Cecelia: or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot|64207|Sorcery & Cecelia or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot (Cecelia and Kate, #1)|Patricia C. Wrede|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388180354l/64207._SY75_.jpg|505], I probably would've been able to remember various relatives of theirs better. As it is, the people they meet on their journey kind of blended together for me (aside from Theodore), so when the grand architect of the scheme is revealed I had to flip back to when they were introduced because they weren't really on my radar (which was the point I guess?)

The fact that we end on Kate musing about how they'll all be better at letter writing/other things in 10 years and the next book's title being [b:The Mislaid Magician: or Ten Years After|169872|The Mislaid Magician or Ten Years After (Cecelia and Kate, #3)|Patricia C. Wrede|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1435786675l/169872._SY75_.jpg|164037] feels intentional/on the nose, but the plots have been remarkably coherent for coming out of a letter writing game between authors. ( )

This is the second book of Wrede and Stevermer's Cecelia and Kate series. Both are now happily married after their adventures in book 1 and have traveled to the continent for their wedding tour. (As an historical aside, I never knew that was a thing. I guess that's were today's honeymoon evolved from.) Almost as soon as they set foot off the boat, however, they find themselves caught in the middle of another plot.

The book started out a bit convoluted, and it took a bit for me to really get into it. The language or writing style seemed a bit off. But once I got used to it, I was able to plot through it relatively quickly. For this book, more than the first, I had a really difficult time differentiating between Kate and Cecelia's accounts. The first book was written in letters, with the identifying "Dear Kate/Cecelia" at beginning of each so it was easy to figure out who was the narrator. This one is told through alternating accounts from Kate's diary and Cecelia's statement to the Society of Wizards. Each section was clearly labeled with heading text, but my eye naturally wants to skip over those.

The thing that I really loved and want to know more about were the hints of Lady Sylvia's past adventures, as a member of the "League of the Pimpernel" (also, I had a geek-filled squee of delight when that first came up and made me love her even more). Please, can we get Lady Sylvia's story sometime in the future? ( )

3.5 stars

This one didn’t have the same zing as the first, but it was still decent. I listened to most of it on audio and then switched to my kindle copy toward the end when things started getting exciting. The reader did a nice job overall, but her Italian accent wasn’t great.
I’m looking forward to reading the third in the trilogy, set ten years in the future. It sounds like it goes back to the epistolary format, including correspondence between James and Thomas, so wheee! ( )

hi