City of Secrets

Stravaganza #4

by Mary Hoffman

Stravaganza City of Secrets

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Time Travel, Historical Fiction, Adventure, Historical, Magic

382 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

See also works published under Mary Lassiter

Mary Hoffman is a bestselling British author and reviewer, born in 1945. She is a true enthusiast of Italy and spends a lot of her time there, which shows in her Stravaganza novels: a series currently in publication. In total, she has written over 80 books, including the aforementioned Stravaganza series and the bestselling picture book, Amazing Grace. Mary is also the editor of a review magazine Armadillo for kids.

Watch the book trailer for David, Mary Hoffman's most recent novel

Reviews

[The Book Queen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Is this worth five stars based on a literary merit? No, I don't think so. But based on personal enjoyment, it definitely is. This series is pretty much the only one that I don't judge harshly and question whether it's five stars or not - I've read it so many times, I know it inside out, it feels like an old friend.

[Veronica Morfi · Rating 5 out of 5]

First I have to say that I love Italy, so when I first got my hands on the first Stravaganza book I was really excited and it was great.
This one is the 4th one of the series and it travels us to a 16th century Padua of another world.
Matt is sad in his 21st century London life, with dyslexia and self-confidence problems, when he finds a book that travels him to Padova in Talia. There he meets a professor in a uni that tells him he is a Stravagante and he can travel with his talisman between the two worlds.
He also meets another stravagante Luciano, who is actually a dead boy from his school and lives his life in Talia. In his world he comes across all the Stravaganti from all the previous books and together they help him adjust in his new life.
Everything seems great, a new life in a world where Matt can read, new friends and a new city, until the di Chimici decide to trace Luciano and make him pay for killing a member of their family. All magic becomes forbidden in Padua and the adventure begins!
The book is simple writen, enjoyble and full of magic scenes. I loved it! And I can't wait to get my hands on the next one!

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

My least favorite of the Stravaganza books so far. This review will contain spoilers.
- Our hero makes no sense. What's his problem? That he has an inferiority complex? I just don't buy it. As much as the plot goes out of its way to remind the reader again and again that he's so unlike Luciano, the reminder isn't needed. He isn't like Luciano. He's a dead bore. His issue apparently seems to be petty jealousy and inferiority, he somehow develops this great magical power that is weird, unexplained, and fairly easy to take care of, and his entire 'purpose' apparently amounts to getting beat up. I felt again and again as if the author was trying to prove that she could write four books and give each character a distinctive personalty. So sure. Matt isn't like Lucian or Sky. And I couldn't stand him.
- I felt it in the book before, but now I'm seriously irritated. What is with the Stravagante from our world being all like 'one great purpose and never return'? Why do the Talian Stravagante keep bringing items to our world? It would be much easier to find a way to have the same people come back and forth instead of having to train a new person each time. And how come none of this was happening before Lucien showed up? Or was it? Random plot elements and new characters forced in.
- I'm sick of the old characters and old relationships. I know it is hard to write a sequel, and I'm sure it is equally hard to keep true to the same characters for four books, however, whether it is Nick glancing anxiously at Georgia every time the name Lucien comes up, whether it is Arianna apparently entirely forgetting she was never going to use a double again and putting her maid at risk again, whether it is even Sky's nonchalant attitude about his experience in Talia (I find his not going back ever the strangest of all) I was sick of it. Same old, same old. These characters are starting to become downright bores. And this new one, Matt, is the worst of the lot.
- The relationships. Oooooh boy, let me drag out my soap box. Did you know that one out of every four high school students in England has an STD? If parents act the way they apparently do in City of Secrets, I'm no longer surprised. Teenage sex thrown in novels is one of my greatest pet peeves. I understand sometimes it 'adds realism'. In this book that is not the case. I realize that it is never explicitly spelled out that Matt and his girlfriend have sex, but it is insinuated. A lot. Matt is just turning 17. Maybe their are parents totally okay with their children sharing their beds so young, I am not naive. I realize it happens. However, it is not needed here. Having sex is not some casual, 'well, goes with the relationship' deal. But that is exactly how it is portrayed. And this book is littered with comments about these teenage relationships. Sky and Alice deeply intertwined making out at a party. Matt's girlfriend 'staying over'....quite a bit. Does it add realism? Maybe, but I don't find it necessary. It does not add to the story. It makes the characters no more likable. It promotes a casual, shallow mindset towards relationships. Because if you look at almost every relationship in this book, it boils down to the physical. Touching, kissing, hand holding....are not all bad things in and off themselves. But that is about all these relationships consist of.
- There were other things that bugged me. I did not find Luciano's speech that impressive or persuasive. I sort of snorted in a most unladylike way when he went 'how do we know their religion isn't true?' This book has a flavor of political correctness that I disliked. The plot wasn't all-consuming. The writing wasn't as good. Enrico switched sides really fast and as useful as he was, I thought it sort of made his character less dimensional. He became a convenient plot tool. Nothing more.
In conclusion, disliked Matt. Disliked a lot of the old characters. Found a lot of the stuff thrown in unneeded.

[Maxine Liew · Rating 5 out of 5]

An book about travelers from England in the 21st century, to a new found universe, quite similar to Italy, an amazing place, called Talia, where great and kind rulers have power over certain areas, but a new Grand Duke of Giglia, wants to take over all of Talia. Now, a new Stravagante(the name of these travelers) Matt (Matteo) will help to save Padavia (the city he's in) along side fellow Stravagante to oppose the di Chimici, knowing their opposing to the laws of magic, with the penalty...DEATH.

[Pauline Zander · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ll always have a weak spot for this series. Very excited to read the two books I haven’t read before!
3,5 stars though because the first three ones were definitely better than this one

[Belinda Vlasbaard · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 sterren - Nederlandse paperback

Ik moet eerlijk zeggen dat het heel vreemd voelt om na drie jaar het vierde deel van een trilogie te lezen. Ik had het boek totaal niet verwacht en keek dan ook raar op toen ik het opeens zag.

Ik stootte mijn vriendin, van wie ik de eerdere delen had geleend aan en vroeg haar of het haar bekend voor kwam. Nee, maar dat kon ook niet, want het was pas uit.

Nu ben ik niet meer de doelgroep van de serie, maar ik vond het nog steeds een heel aardig boek. Nog steeds dezelfde personages treden op al was het iets minder spannend dan toen ik nog jonger was... maar nog steeds echt leuk om te lezen. Een echte historische YA.

[Γιώτα Παπαδημακοπούλου · Rating 4 out of 5]

Αυτό το βιβλίο αποτελεί, κατά κάποιον τρόπο, την μετάβαση της σειράς σε μια νέα εποχή, που ναι μεν διαθέτει όλα εκείνα τα στοιχεία που αγαπήσαμε στην πρώτη τριλογία, αλλά που νιώθω πως δεν μου επέτρεψε να έχω ανάλογο δέσιμο με τον βασικό πρωταγωνιστή της. Παρ' όλα ταύτα, είναι πάντα ευχάριστο το να επιστρέφω σε αυτόν τον κόσμο και να ταξιδεύω με τη μαγεία του.

[Monica Kessler · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Caitlín K · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

'Nou ja, je weet zelf hoe het is. Je hebt me vaak genoeg vijf verschillende japonnen op een dag zien dragen. Denk je dat je dat aankunt als we getrouwd zijn?'
'Ik zal met genoegen toekijken hoe je je vijf keer per dag omkleedt,' zei Luciano.

Het is mij altijd opgevallen dat de oorspronkelijke drie Stravaganza-boeken redelijk snel na elkaar verschenen, zeker gezien hun lengte. Maar het duurde drie jaar voor Boek 4 gepubliceerd was - omdat Hoffman eerst nog de intentie had om het voor bekeken te houden, of omdat ze toch nog een paar goeie verhaallijnen moest uitwerken? Wie zal het zeggen...

Feit is wel dat er een frisse wind waait door de boeken. De romantische problematiek en wat de gevolgen daarvan waren in Boek 3, hebben we achter ons gelaten (in Talia, dan toch, want in Engeland zit 't er nog altijd tegen). Dat heeft een nogal verregaande uitwerking op het vervolg van de reeks: Luciano en Arianna treden terug volop naar de voorgrond, zoals in Boek 1. En ook Rinaldo di Chimici is terug (al is dat een iets minder positieve noot). Het is een beetje een nieuwe start.

Matt is weer een aangenaam personage, net zoals de meeste nieuwkomers in dit verhaal. De cast begint nu écht wel uitgebreid te worden, zo'n beetje à la Game of Thrones. En alleen messer Antonio is nogal een idioot. Een met een goed hart, maar nog steeds een idioot. Bij de oude garde zijn er ook duidelijk verschillen te merken (dat is het grote voordeel bij boekenreeksen die zich over een langere periode afspelen, dan merk je veel beter hoe personages evolueren). Bij de familie Di Chimici is lang niet alles koek en ei, en langzamerhand komen er toch problemen bovendrijven. Er wordt, eigenlijk al redelijk vroeg in het boek, een kleine aanzet gegeven naar een belangrijke ontwikkeling in Boek 5. Ook Enrico is weer van de partij, en die herken je helemaal niet meer - behalve aan zijn geur en blauwe mantel dan, natuurlijk. Zijn ontwikkeling is erg tof om te volgen, want persoonlijk heb ik hem altijd wel een goed personage gevonden. Nog een extra voordeel: er wordt heel wat minder aandacht besteed aan Londen, en dus aan Georgia en Nick. Oef.

De snelheid zit er ook weer goed in. Goede actie, goede plotwendingen, zoals gewoonlijk weer een pak intriges en... ja, dit boek heet natuurlijk niet voor niets Stad van Geheimen. De climaxen zijn van een kwaliteit die we toch al eventjes niet meer gezien hebben.

Het verhaal speelt zich af in Padavia. Zoals in het boek gezegd en in het nawoord uitgelegd wordt, is dat de Taliaanse variant van Padua, oftewel Padova in het Italiaans. Naast Venetië ligt ook deze stad mij toch wel nauw aan het hart: hier heb ik ruim vijf maanden gewoond. Ik heb er mijn Erasmus-uitwisseling gedaan, en dat is en blijft toch een onvergetelijke ervaring. (Dat het met de trein een halfuur naar Venetië is, hielp daar ook wel bij.) Ik ken de stad dus, en een aantal beschrijvingen herken ik ook heel goed. Bovendien blijkt, als je het nawoord leest, dat Mary Hoffman echt wel haar werk kent, de plaatsen kent waarover ze schrijft en dat ze ze bestudeert. Knap.

De vertaling is zoals gewoonlijk van Annelies Jorna. We zijn ondertussen aan de kwaliteit gewend. Het valt op dat er hier toch minder typfoutjes aanwezig zijn, en over het algemeen voelt het verhaal net iets beter aan dan de vorige delen. Alleen van twee woorden werd ik gek:
1) Asobak. Na het een jaar of tien genegeerd te hebben, heb ik het op een gegeven moment opgezocht in Van Dale. Die zegt: (NL; in­for­meel) gro­te (ter­rein)­wa­gen met een hoog brand­stof­ge­bruik. Dat 'NL' duidt er dus op dat het in Nederland gebruikt wordt, en inderdaad, ik had dus geen flauw idee wat dit moest zijn. Gelukkig kan ik me niet herinneren dat ik dat woord ooit ergens anders ben tegengekomen.
2) Afrijden. Ondertussen ken ik wat meer van het Nederlands van boven de Moerdijk, en weet ik dus dat ze met 'afrijden' bedoelen dat iemand een praktisch rijexamen aflegt (toch?). Maar ook dit woord is in Vlaanderen onbekend, en dus heb ik me jarenlang afgevraagd wat het betekent. Persoonlijk heb ik niet echt veel met afrijden: alleen het gras, van de oprit en van een helling.
Dus dat zijn twee woorden die ik hoop nooit meer in een vertaling te zien. Maar dat daar gelaten: mooi werk, zoals gewoonlijk!

8,2/10

[aconstellationoftomes · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Stravaganza Sequence is one of my favourite childhood series and while my ratings are influenced by nostalgia, this series is starting to go downhill. 

There are some aspects that keep me interested such as the di Chimici family and their plotting, the secret printing press and the persecution of groups practicing different religions (as well as its parallel to current events). Padavia is a charming city, but its exploration and the plot is repetitive and has been done before. 

At this point, I have a theory that the Stravaganza Sequence follows the story of Arianne and Luciano through the PoV of random side characters. The random side character in City of Secrets, Matt, is another boring and forgettable protagonist. The characters from previous books (with the exception of Sky and Alice) are likable so I enjoy their appearances in City of Secrets. Though, Enrico changing sides is odd because it doesn't seem to follow his character arc and is rather done for the sake of plot progression. 

There are a few aspects that are starting to bother me a little. This series revolves around time travelling to an alternate Renaissance Italy and though there has always been plot holes, they're becoming more noticeable. It's also weird that the science aspects are seeming more like magic such as using glamour to make Matt and Luciano look like each other and using the water from the swamp to douse the fire.

My review seems to point out the negatives more than the positives and while City of Secrets might be predictable and repetitive, it's still an entertaining and engrossing read. 

[Kat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, this book was just so, Wow!
Out of all the main characters there has been through the series, Matt is the most like a normal teenager. He has two parents, perfect health, a girl friend, he's working towards his licences. In a way it makes me want to know more about him.
But sadly Luciano was more of the main character than Matt. I've come to the conclusion the series is really his story through the eyes of everyone else. But it's interesting.
The only thing I would have wished was there to be more Matt. I'd have loved to really get to know him, like we did the others. In the other books I felt like the characters were really settled and sorted out, but not Matt. I felt he need to do something else. That he wasn't quite better. I felt like he was still brand new in Talia.
Hopefully they'll be more about him though in the next book. I'd like that.
But the plot with Flillipo and Luciano, it was just too awesome to sum up! How do you talk about something like that? It was just so sneaky and Luciano fell for it? That was just so amazing that they played it out so perfectly:)

[Judith · Rating 3 out of 5]

The series concept remains very good, but it is becoming a lot of the same. That won't stop me to continue reading, though!
We finally get to go to Padua, which we heard of in the first installment of the series as the place where Dr Dethridge teaches. During my honeymoon, my husband and I went to visit modern day Padua, so it was a very fun read! It really is a university town, and that feel came through in the book very well, even though there have been quite a few changes.
The evil eye part of the story... I understand that superstition is very big in that era, and that it had to be mentioned some time, similar to the Zinti (who we meet again, yay), but unlike the Zinti, I do not have the feeling that the evil eye storyline adds anything.
I'm looking forward to how the story will continue and how the problems with the Chemici family will resolve themselves (if they ever will).

[Matthew · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did enjoy reading another book from the Stravaganza series, because of Talia and the reappearances of familiar characters. However, in this book, the main character did not have a strong story of his own and some actions did not feel as logical as I am used to from this series. What I liked about Stravaganza, is that the actions of characters never annoyed me, because even when their plans were likely to fail, they seemed to have good reasons for their ignorance or the situation just did not leave them with much choice. In the City of Secrets, the usually natural character development and twists were off and I hope they are present again in the books I yet have to read. Nevertheless, it was not a bad read and I am likely going to complete this serie.

[claes · Rating 2 out of 5]

I now remember why I stopped this series when I was younger. The characters are so flat I genuinely couldn't tell one from the other without the mini descriptions of them each time (sky with the dreads etc.). I have no connection to any of the characters and I feel that there are too many crowding the story. Why is Georgia still making guest appearances when she isn't doing anything? It is just wasting pages and I genuinely feel like she is just trying to use up pages. The whole thing with Matt putting the evil eye on Jago was a distraction and nothing more it didn't really develop his or anyone else's character.
I just feel like this series has no real story and I'm just reading randomness unfold before my eyes.

[Anja · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maybe I've outgrown these series. Although I still like the concept (a teenager is magically transported to a 16th century country that resembles Italy), at a lot of points the story was annoying to read. The main character never became quite believable and many of the (dangerous) mistakes that the characters made were so stupid that they weren't believable either. This book leaves me with one question: "But... why...?"

Three stars because I like the concept so much.
Also, I think the story was a bit harder to follow because it had been quite some time since I read the previous three books.

[Madelon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Zeker, ik was enorm blij om weer terug te zijn in Talia, want wat een heerlijke wereld! En wat blijven de personages leuk. Alleen worden de boeken wel steeds minder. Deze was langdradig en de ontknoping was maar heel kort in vergelijking met de 400 pagina's van het boek.
Een uitgebreide recensie volgt binnenkort op www.thebookdiaries.nl.

[Angie · Rating 5 out of 5]

i'm a huge fan of the series and i love it i just wish i knew a little more about the some of the characters from the previous books

[Shannen · Rating 3 out of 5]

The series is really falling apart at this point. Obviously Lucien and Arianna are meant to be the core of the story, but the mechanics of the magic are falling apart left and right. For as much as Rodolfo said magic was like science in the first book, there's really no evidence of that at this point. Even the new kids who are stravagating don't seem to have a clear purpose - and they're always mixed up in whatever Lucian's doing. What would they be doing if Lucian wasn't stuck there? In the first book Lucian had a clear and individual role in the story; in book 2 he was at the rescue while Georgia was at the race (which was something only she could do, but unrealistically - they really had NO ONE prepared as a backup for the horse or rider for the most important race of the year?); in book 3 Sky helps with the fighting and the medicine collecting but he's hardly by himself and it doesn't seem like things would have gone differently if he hadn't been there. Unless his purpose was to SAY SILVIA'S NAME and save - Lucian. Matt's purpose might also have been to save Lucian (Fillipo loses interest in grabbing him once he has Matt? Despite having a vendetta against him?? At least until later...when Matt intercedes again (at the time I wondered why they couldn't use Cesare)). The mechanics are wobbly too; Sky and Falco bring their injuries back but Matt doesn't. Lucian and Matt are cured of their physical ailments when they switch worlds but Falco isn't. I doubt that cancer is less invasive than a stab wound or bones that haven't healed right. The magic of the world seems increasingly inconsistent and used as a means to support the author's whims for the story, taking the wind out of an otherwise intriguing premise. It just doesn't hold up and the more it goes on the more it takes me out of the story.

Matt himself has even less personality than poor Sky (seeing him in this book reminded me of how little we really know him - and Alice seems to be in the story purely to be a nuisance and create drama). By the time Fillipo comes through I had actually forgotten Ayesha knew what was going on. This book was really all over the place. I think a longer more through book would be able to give due attention to all the elements of the story, but this book feels rushed and patchwork and scraped together. There's too much going on for the author to attend to it all. If I weren't invested in Lucian and Arianna (from Book 1, not from their continued exploits), I wouldn't be interested in continuing reading about this random collection of events. Even their chemistry feels distant and...almost performative. They seemed more connected in book one but now they just seem like puppets on a stage.

And as for the feminism apparent in the earlier books - there are NO new female characters in this book. Unless you count the obligatory background mom and Ayesha - whose only purpose is to be Matt's girlfriend and feed his insecurity (apparently he's deeply unhappy because he's deeply insecure). Arianna makes a few passing comments about the unfairness of it all but she and Silvia seem to be there more as wives/girlfriends than actual autonomous characters.

The "unhappy" factor of these kids seems to be shady too. Lucian and Georgia were for sure deeply unhappy and stravagating helped them - Lucian was able to live cancer-free and Georgia was able to escape being bullied until her parents realized what was happening. Sky is unhappy because he was worn out from taking care of his mother? And then she got better with no connection to the stravagation so it really didn't make a difference? Matt was able to build confidence in a way he apparently couldn't in his own world. Normally I'd say either he'd start to feel better in his own world without that crap, or he wouldn't believe he did anything special in the other one either (see deep insecurity), but logic is thrown out the window here so it doesn't really matter.

I started rereading these purely because I realized I hadn't read the last two and wanting to see what happens is all that is keeping me going at this point; I'm not really invested in them anymore. When I started this book I remembered none of it; it did seem a little familiar as I went on but I can see why I blanked it out. Books 1 & 2 were much better.

[Lara Vehar · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to love this book as much as I liked the previous ones but I just... couldn't.

Matt just wasn't as interesting as a protagonist as the rest of them were- including Sky. His problem was that he had dyslexia and girlfriend issues- the problem was that dyslexia is mentioned here and there but by the end of the book it's barely even mentioned or there and it's not even a key thing in his adventures in Talia. He ends up at an university in the city of words- Padavia, working as a pressman - printing books and whatnot- but, it turns out that he can read just fine in Talia - I wish that instead he couldn't and he'd have to overcome his struggles and learn how to pretend to be able to read just fine so he could pretend to be the press worker. Ayesha was also one of the most obnoxious characters ever and whilst I at least somewhat rooted for Sky and Alice in the previous book I didn't care for either of these two in this book.

There were also hexes in this book - which would be fine... if they weren't used precisely once and never again. It felt just tacked on and didn't contribute much to the story. Same with having the old main characters making cameos- they were fine and all but the story would've been fine without them because they barely do anything.

There is also this constant comparison between Matt and Luciano which annoyed me, yes the other characters mentioned not being able to live in Talia for good and not wanting to leave the modern world behind... but he does it so much that it becomes annoying to see.

The one interesting and bright spot in this book was Enrico though - which I didn't expect because I didn't care for him through the first three books, but seeing him become somewhat good and seeing him help out the stravaganti made me smile - I can't wait to see where his story goes from here and if he appears in the last two books.

Other than that this was my least favourite book in the series so far and I truly hope that I like the last two because the idea about time and space travel is so interesting if it's well executed. And this one just wasn't.

[Eduardo · Rating 4 out of 5]

STRAVAGANZA continues! Originally meant as a trilogy, but now it’s six books and this is book four. This one is in PAdavia, the Talian equivalent of Padua, and our new protagonist Matt finds himself working at the Scriptorum in the university there. Matt is an odd protagonist, in that unlike the previous ones, he doesn’t have a massive gaping problem in his life that he’s got to get past, other than the usual anxieties of being a teenager.

Also Matt’s relationship with Ayesha is WAY healthier than Sky and Alice’s.

I have ISSUES with the Talian view of religion, in general. I imagine that I should handwave it away with “It’s an alternate world, of course it’s different,” and while I certainly don’t think anyone should be burning people, the fact is that the protagonists are acting like worship of the moon goddess is completely compatible with Christianity (albeit, Christianity of an alternate dimension), and that only the villains have problems with it because they’re using it as an excuse to grab power, when it’s really, *really* not.

You know, whatever. I do appreciate that this book sort of highlights that the Italian Renaissance wasn’t just art and enlightenment and festivals all around with the odd stabby aristocrats. No, religious oppression was A Thing, even in alternate history, and it SUCKED. Thankfully our heroes work on reducing the damage, but it’s still present.

Also, Luciano. You’re a bit silly for not realizing that de Chimici family still has it out for you and you should travel with armed guard at all times. The continuation of his arc with Arianna is fine, I guess, but I want them to get hitched already. I figured it’d be settled by the end of this book, but not yet.

And the stravaganti display some power here which feels a lot more than they’ve shown before this point. Which isn’t bad–it makes me sort of excited to see what kinds of wondrous things we’ll maybe get to see in the last two books of the series. And these protagonists! I wonder how returning protagonists will be featured going forward, considering where we left Matt, Sky, Georgia, and Luciano in this book.

[E · Rating 1 out of 5]

So dissapointing. This series has turned into the Luciano SHOW

The lead character in this book Matt is actually quite interesting in simple way, and yet nothing he does matters and his only contribution to the reason he is in the story is to basically be a punching bag on Luciano’s behalf.
I hate how dumb Luciano is. We are told this guy is street smart but he is literally matrying a ruler and has the world’s smartest mentor and apparently he doesn’t know basic rules about how not to be killed or kidnapped or out everyone he knows in danger.
Arianna is spoiled, nothing like the girl she started as and their are no consequences for what an adshole she is to her handmaid.
Georgia has become insufferable in her “new confidence”
Nick continues to lack any growth whatsoever, even though the last book was all about him finding a way to more forward with his issues.
All the older Stravagante reintegrate the same information every book, and if it gave any interesting take or new information I wouldn’t have been skip reading whole chapters (even in the last quarter, this is not exposition in the beginning ITS THROUGHOUT)

If I’m being petty, my take is the author is in love with Luciano and all other “leads” for each book followingwill be shallow reasons just to help him accomplish escaping all the issues he could have solved by being more politically saavy (somehow the one skill he hasn’t learned from HIS GIRLFREIND AND MENTOR AND HIS NEW FATHER AND THE FORMER RULER AND EVERY OTHER HUMAN HE COMES INTO CONTACT WITH FROM TALIA)

I’ve held onto these paper backs for over 15 years waiting for the chance to actually finish the series and now I’m thrilled to be passing them onto someone who doesn’t mind that lack of character growth

I hope I’m proven wrong, eventually I’ll read the last two books in this series and I hope their amazing

[Gemma · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a lovely book!
I find that with each book, Mary’s characters become a little more rounded & better to understand.

I love that Luciano & Arianna are getting married!!! & I love hoe Georgia is with Nicholas !
But I don’t understand what is going on with Sky & Alice , what is Alice’s problem?
I can’t believe that Luciano was nearly experimented on!?
Also…. What could the Di Chimici possibly do next …

What I like about these books is that they are written in simple , easy to understand english which is perfect when you’re studying everyday & you want something enjoyable & fun to read.

5/5 ⭐️

[Hildie Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was another well-researched and engaging Stravaganza tale. Though Matt was not a fun person himself - too much of a worrier to enjoy the time travel much. That said, the other Stravagante were like visiting with old friends - all of the previous characters are back in this book and that was very enjoyable! I'm now onto "The City of Ships" and the Battle of Lepanto (or at least the fictional version of it). I really like these books and am delighted that the author wrote more books set in this extraordinary, alternate Italy!

[Bookman6 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Stravaganza is a wonderful series name, and the setting, a parallel version of late 16th century Italy, is magnificent. The author has a talent for description, making you feel she has been to the places she speaks of.

Where she lost me, though, was that the story was laced with far too many elements of the occult, which I find utterly distasteful, and which mar the story for me. Therefore, I was only able to rate the story two stars instead of the four it would otherwise have received.

[Elise · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 stars

The plot elements in Talia were a lot darker this time around (someone almost getting dissected alive is just the tip of the iceberg) but the modern day elements were weak. Matt's problem felt very superficial at times and I think his "storyline" is the weakest of the protagonists so far. A lot of relationship angst that didn't make me care about him, though he got better by the end.

[Brooke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Finally finished this 8 months later. This series was my favourite as child and book 1-3 still hold up, but I found I didn't enjoy book 4 as much. I liked the continuation of the characters from the previous books, but I didn't connect with the new main character. As each book centres around a new main character I could see this becoming a problem with more and more characters to keep up with.

[Danielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was an enjoyable read but not quite as catching as the first books in the series. Didn’t really like the new Stravagante and his ‘problems’. Enrico switched sides veeeery conveniently and quick, that wasn’t believable at all.

[Dymphie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dit vond ik tot nu toe de minste.
Vooral in het begin vond ik het maar matig, en de hoofdpersoon heel matigjes.
Te korte hoofdstukjes voor de wisseling van perspectief ook.
Later werd het beter en toch wel spannend.
Wachten op deel 5 van de bibliotheek :)

[Manon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dit boek voelde minder geïnspireerd dan de vorige drie in de serie, hoewel het verhaal nog steeds wel erg sterk is.