Glamour in Glass by Mary Robinette Kowal
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Glamour in Glass follows the turbulent honeymoon of Jane and David as they travel to a small town in Belgium right during Napoleon’s return from exile.
This is a good book and I enjoyed reading it but I think it’s not as compelling as the first in the series. First of all, Shades of milk and honey was a straight-up Austen with magic, while Glamour in Glass is more of a classic historical novel with a dash of adventure, and the difference is noticeable. Second, because of plot reasons, Jane doesn’t get to do much glamour at all, which is somewhat frustrating since, as she says herself, that is her biggest strength and it’s so early in her partnership with her husband.
While reading I felt a lot of Jane’s frustration – at her situation, at her husband’s secrecy, at her confined life – and that reflected somewhat on the feeling I feel toward the book, which I guess is a compliment to Kowal’s ability in making us feel for her protagonist, but it also makes for difficult reading. I did appreciate a lot though that Jane confronted her husband with her doubts instead of falling into the “why don’t they just talk” pitfall of many a romance story.