The Other Countess, Eve Edwards

I'm submitting this book to the 2012 YA Historical Fiction Challenge hosted by YA Bliss.

Description

My thoughts: What a cute, wonderful book. Eve Edwards's writing is pretty good and she has a way of perfectly weaving the historical setting. The Other Countess is set in Elizabethan times and it shows. I loved to read about Elizabeth I's court, how it was all a game of appearances and intrigue, of looking innocent but doing the nasty behind scenes. This is described in a natural and candid way, and I felt I was truly there. The "country at war with itself" angle is slightly explored, with the religious conflicts that existed in 16th century England. And it broke my heart a little to read about how girls and women had their role so cut out for them, and how they were restrained of choices sometimes. And how they still made the best of it.

Which brings me to Ellie, who is a scholarly girl and feisty and speaks her mind. That, combined with her alchemist father who brings noblemen to spend all their money on fruitless pursuits, doesn't make her very popular or desirable. It saddened me to see what she had to endure with her father, of being sometimes very close to misery because of her father's obsession with alchemy. But it was awesome to watch her keep her cool and be brave.

As for Will, I was mad at him in the beginning because of his misconceptions about Ellie, but it was lovely to watch him and Ellie falling for each other. I rooting for them to overcome their obstacle, but I wish it wasn't so easy to overcome... or else, we don't actually see them overcoming it - I assume it happens sometime after their happy ending.

Eve Edwards is very good at creating secondary characters fully-fleshed that stay from the cliché. I loved to read about Jane and Jamie, who are the main characters of the next book in the series (I'm already rooting for them); and also about Will and Jamie's family, the Laceys, or Robert Cecil.

A pretty good and well-developed historical, with good characters, great description of setting and an interesting story.

Pages: 352

Publisher: Razorbill (Penguin)