The Grand Tour
Kate and Cecy and their new husbands, Thomas and James, are off on a leisurely tour of the Continent. But once they arrive in France, strange things start to happen. Cecy receives a mysterious package, Thomas's valet is assaulted, and Kate loses a glove. Soon it becomes clear that the newlyweds have stumbled upon a magical plot to take over Europe, and they must embark on a daring chase to thwart the evil conspiracy. There's likely more trouble ahead--for when you mix Kate and Cecy "and "magic, who knows what's going to happen next!First Sentence:
I suppose that if I were going to blame our involvement on anyone (which I see no reason to do), I would be compelled to say that it was all Aunt Charlotte’s fault.Sequels are always nerve wracking for me as a reader because I’d hate to not love it as much as its predecessor, especially when book one blew me away. Luckily, The Grand Tour was every bit as good as Sorcery & Cecelia.
Gosh, where do I start on this one! I loved that the second installment in the Kate and Cecelia series takes place no more than a few weeks after the end of book one. I thought it was nice that the authors kept such a tight timeframe between both books because it helped to set the scene since you were already familiar with the characters and their connections to one another. But what really impressed me with The Grand Tour was that the authors managed to tie off the last of the loose ends from book one and to connect it with the plot line in this one. It was definitely interesting to see how the two books were just a continuation of the first and
I usually don’t enjoy the romantic portions of books, but the relationship between Kate, Cecelia, and their husbands were actually pretty interesting. I especially enjoyed it (shocker, I know) because it was not all sunshine and rainbows, it actually had them dealing with the ups and downs, as, well as misunderstandings which made it more plausible to me. I won’t say more on this subject of the book other than it was so nice to read about their relationships and how each one came to value their husband/wife and their individual talents (some for getting into trouble).
One of the things I am enjoying immensely about this series is that it has, like, the perfect blend of humor, danger, and adventure set in a magic filled post Napoleonic Europe. But what really makes the setting of The Grand Tour so fascinating is that the authors have mixed in fantasy with some historical happenings to create one addictively amazing read. Even if the characters were not so loveable, I would still be impressed with the world and both authors storytelling…it is just that good.
Now, I don’t want y’all to think that I have gone soft, but The Grand Tour was such a great follow up in the series that I cannot find anything to complain about. I loved that the authors kept the same basic formula for telling Kate and Cecelia’s adventures, yet loved that instead of using their correspondences between each other you got to see the story from their personal journal entries…you know since they were travelling together.
Final Verdict: The Grand Tour is an excellent follow up to one of my favorite series discoveries of the year. Vibrant writing, excellent world building, and characters that you’ll actually love.
I stopped after the first, but I'm glad you enjoyed it! Have you read Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell? It's almost the same.
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