Book Report: More Immaturity

I don't have any Enchanted, Inc. series questions in queue to answer tomorrow, so if you've got something you want to know that is not about events that might happen in future books or backstory that's likely to be revealed in future books. In other words, no fishing for spoilers. Or I guess I could broaden the Q&A to other stuff, but I reserve the right not to answer questions.

As I continue the Summer of Extreme Immaturity, I have more young adult and children's books to discuss. I finally got The Hidden Gallery, the second book in the Incorrigibles series by Maryrose Wood. This series, about a young governess and the raised-by-wolves children she looks after, is a lot of fun. In this installment, our heroine, her employers and the children pay a visit to London, where a very strange guide book causes a lot of trouble. However, as much fun as this series is, I'm starting to feel that it's mostly about the voice and the antics of the children. The plot seems unnecessarily strung out, especially for a children's book. There seems to be one major revelation or development per book, right before the cliffhanger ending, which could easily lead to frustration rather than intrigue. Still, I like the characters and I would love to try writing something in that omniscient "storyteller" voice.

Then there was another sequel, the third book in the "Sorcery and Cecilia" series by Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer. This is one of those line-blurring books that comes from the YA side of the publisher and that was shelved in the teen section of my library, but it's not really a teen book. It's teen-safe, but there are no teen characters. The main characters are in their late 20s/early 30s and have pre-teen children. These books are written through the "letter game" with each author taking the role of one set of characters and developing the plot by exchanging letters, so the story is told entirely through letters exchanged by the main characters (something else I'd like to try). In this installment, which takes place ten years after the last book, one couple is trying to find a magician who disappeared while investigating a possible link between ley lines and the newly built railways, while the other couple has foiled an attempted kidnapping and found a mysterious girl who refuses to reveal her identity. I've really enjoyed this series, which combines two of my favorite kinds of books, Regency romances and fantasy. It's like Georgette Heyer with magic.

I'm finishing one more kids' book, and then my reading list will grow up a bit, as everything on it for the near future (which is related to a project I'll be working on) is in the adult category.