This is the second book in Patricia Wrede's Mairelon Series. I thought this book was only slightly better than the first in that I managed to read the entire thing with out skimming and skipping pages. I am not surprised that there is no third book in this series. When I got near the end I couldn't wait for it to over so I could start something better. I liked how the plot in this story was a little more complex than that in the first book, when we were meeting 50 different characters to just find a silver magical platter. This plot had a coming of age story, a romance and a magical mystery, but it just wasn't enough for me. The romance didn't have me with butterflies in my stomach, the coming of age story didn't inspire any moments of nostalgia and even the magic left something to be desired. I was not impressed with magical protecting wards or conjured balls of light. How boring! 
 So glad it's over.