Thursday, September 18, 2014

Palace of Spies by Sarah Zettel - OPTIONAL

Zettel, Sarah Palace of Spies, 362 pgs. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2013. $16.99.  Language: PG (5 swears, 5 gods, 0 ‘f’); Mature Content: PG-13 (sexual content brief but descriptive); Violence: PG-13 (fighting, killing, some blood, nothing gory) ; 

The story takes place in the royal courts of England during the 1700s. Margaret Fitzroy is an orphan, her father deserted her when she was a baby and her mom died a few years later, so her uncle begrudgingly takes her in.  She has no money and no prospects but isn’t too worried about it because she has a great relationship with her cousin, Olivia, and figures everything will work out until the day her uncle informs her that she has been betrothed to someone she has never met and knows nothing about.  All at once, her life changes dramatically.  First, she has a chance meeting with the boy she is to marry.  He is charming and she is, initially, intrigued, until he tries forcing himself on her and she has to fight him off.  He is angry and vindictive and informs her uncle the marriage is off.  Her uncle uses this as his excuse to  throw her out.  Then, she encounters a man who offers her a job, of sorts.  She is wary but he claims to have information about her mother which he will give in exchange for her assistance.  He places her in the court of King George as a spy working for a group of people that she doesn't quite trust while trying to figure out who is sabotaging the King.  

This was a light, easy read, good for a summer day.  There are a few historical aspects that are interesting and a mystery to solve but not much character development.  I did appreciate the main character not taking herself too seriously and I found her a bit amusing but I was never fully invested in the story and the characters never endeared themselves to me. 

HS - OPTIONAL  Reviewer: RB

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