I was surprised by the many reviews addressing the change in Lily's personality in book 4, claiming that she was out of character here. I suggest that we discuss her character development throughout all 4 books.

We should also not forget that the first three books are set in Earton. Earton is one thing, whereas the capital is another. The Countess is in charge in Earton, nobody can order her around. The capital, however, is a political minefield, requiring extreme caution. That is why she is behaving differently in books 4 and 5, purely also because she is at an audience with King Edward.

I also agree with PTSD and depression. She has a delayed post-traumatic stress syndrome after realizing that she is stuck in this world forever. Before, she didn’t ponder her situation much. She had to climb out of a hole and get everything up and running. But after sorting it out, she starts thinking about finding her place… And she starts acting out. She’s not made of iron; it’s hard not to waver.

I consider her character development throughout the 5 books in the following way:

In First Lessons (A Medieval Tale, #1) , she is in a bit of a jam. She gathers courage from the mere thought of her parents.

In The Clearing (A Medieval Tale, #2) her sole purpose is to get settled, and she is working on it.

The idea dominating Palace Intrigue (A Medieval Tale, #3) is mainly "how did I manage to get so many enemies? Anyway, it’s fine since the estate of Earton is ready to live in.”

In The Royal Court (A Medieval Tale, #4) she realizes that the capital is a mess too.

The Price of Happiness (A Medieval Tale, #5) is more about “ready or not, here I come, you can't hide.”

For more character and topic discussions, visit my Facebook author page @linajpotter and/or A Medieval Tale Reader Group on Facebook.

Warmly,
Lina