Interesting thoughts and a great summary! I'm going to come back to this review before I read the 4th book to help remind me what's at stake and what's going on.
The little tag line next to my avatar is the honest-to-gosh truth. This may seem like a caustic review, but I really enjoyed BLUE LILY and I'm totally committed to the series. (Booklikes is a space where I can figure out what didn't work for me; but that doesn't mean there isn't a whole lot that did!) Incidentally, Reflections, I'm listening to THE LADY ELIZABETH because of your review of Alison Weir's THE MARRIAGE GAME, which happens not to be available in audio. You made me want to sample her work. Thank you!