Meanwhile, Sido has been in London with her Aunt and Uncle Laxton. Yann has come to be known as the Silver Blade and it grows ever more perilous for him and his companions to continue their operations. Yann Margoza has been in France all this time rescuing people from the guillotine and the atrocities of the Revolution, risking everything in a dangerous bid to save lives following the tradition of the Scarlet Pimpernel. The story picks up approximately 18 months after the ending of The Red Necklace. Sequel to The Red Necklace, and the conclusion of Gardner's French Revolution series. You won't be able to compare it to something you have read before it really is delicioulsy different. One part that irked me was how Anselm's part played out and there is this one character that I believe was only used to make a point. I think it's that way to give you the sense that the gypsy magic is still suppose to be a bit of a mystery to us.

The ending is just right, even if it isn't totally explained. Though of course a big part of why and how he does things is because of her. I was bit let down when we didn't get to see so much of Sido, but really this is Yann's story. He's such a flawed hero and you root for him anyway.

I now really understand why people use that phrase now. The French Revolution is often painted as something relatively heroic and as a reader I learned just how much went wrong even after the nobles were overthrown.

Gardner's descriptions are just so rich and fit this time period. You get sucked in so easily in this world. It may have been because I didn't read it in one stretch, but again I urge future readers to pay attention. Sometimes I'd have to flip pages to jog my memory. I actually had a hard time remembering who was who sometimes. The plot to this story is very intricate so it's important to pay attention to names. And as most people guess (I'm sure this really isn't a spoiler) that Count Kalliovski still roams the catacombs of Paris. Sido on the other hand is safe in London, but is not as safe as everyone assumes. He uses his extraordinary powers to help people escape the unforgiving guillotone and becomes to be known as the Silver Blade. Yann Margoza has become a Robin Hood of sorts. Seriously, I almost felt like I could smell the blood. This one is darker in tone and there is even more dread of death upon everything. The sequel to The Red Necklace certainly does not dissapoint. I think this one comment sums it all, 'Gardner just keeps getting stranger and better.' The Telegraph

The silver blade sally gardner