Review Detail

Reader reviewed by Marla Arbach, Foreign Correspondent



England, 1794.  Spirited young Sovay decides shes tired of living as the pawn of the men in her life, so she takes control and becomes a highwayman.  Thrown into a web of international intrigue, she must keep her head if she is to save herself and the ones she loves.

If youre looking for action and adventure with a plucky, independent heroine, you might enjoy this novel, but I found Celia Rees Sovay pretty disappointing.  Character development is almost completely sacrificed in favour of narration of the main characters adventures, and the action becomes more and more ridiculous as the novel progresses (I almost stopped reading after the part about the mad scientist).  Supporting characters are hardly more than outlines, with the result that its difficult for readers to know which (if any) is a viable love interest for the heroine (this may be realistic, but its also out of place, it seems to me, in a grand historical adventure). Even the historical setting does not really ring true until the last act:  this novel gets a whole lot better once Sovay and her companions are caught up in the French Revolution.  Those scenes did feel real, and its too bad the first 300 pages werent of the same quality.

It felt to me as if this high-action, low-character-development novel was written especially to be turned into a big-budget movie starring Keira Knightley or the latest it girl.  If thats to your taste, go for it, youll probably enjoy this novel.  If not, there are many other better choices set in England at around the same time period, for example, Ann Turnbulls No Shame, No Fear and its sequel, or Katherine Sturtevants At the Sign of the Star and its sequel, all of which I have also reviewed on this site.