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These stories are so full of adventure, and are enchanting and exciting. The writing is totally evocative of the whole culture in Italy at that time, rich in wealth, and steeped in romance, art, religion and history. Every page a work of art as the reader is totally transported out of the room they are reading in, far away to Talia.
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The period detail that Mary Hoffman gives to this series of a glamorous Renaissance Italian world is incredible.
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Each book is about a different character in a different city state of Talia, cities that correlate to real places we have in Italy today such as Venice, Florence, Siena and Padua. The author has clearly put many years and incredible effort into creating her world of Talia, an alternate world of Italy in the 1500's. There are many, many references in this book to events and characters in the previous novels that are key to this story's unfolding. Without first reading City of Masks, City of Stars, and City of Flowers, you will be totally clueless and will not understand who is who and what is happening. One must read all three other novels before starting the City of Secrets. One warning about this episode, it is not a stand alone story. City of Secrets continues to carry over a high standard mix of quality writing, fabulous characters and thickened multi-layered plots. With all the hundreds of young adult fiction books that are published each year, Mary Hoffman's Stravaganza books still remain my all-time favorite series since I picked up the first installment seven years ago.