This book... well, I was sorry I bought it in hardback. It kept me entertained, but I pretty much guessed everything that was going to happen, and the writing was very cliched and sappy in places. I think the main problem was that it was supposedly set in a Victorian sort of England, but was very much the stereotype of England (ie, wrong.) The characters were only vaguely appealing, and things were a little too neatly done - very much like a children's novel, the good guys get good things and the bad guys bad, with no ambiguity. I've always found Mercedes Lackey to be rather hit-or-miss; some things I love, some not so much, and sadly, this one - not so much.