Now Face to Face, unfortunately, turned out to be a very disappointing sequel to Through A Glass Darkly. To be honest, there was entirely too much backstory to slog through which kept the plot from moving forward. Barbara, the Countess Devane, travels to colonial Virginia (after the death of her husband and subsequent financial ruin) to oversee her grandmother's tobacco plantation. After being introduced to a cast a ho-hum characters in Virginia (the exception being Colonel Edward Perry - a very fine gentleman and true friend) and plodding through several hundred pages, Barbara again suffers a heartbreaking loss -- will there be no end to the tragedy in her life? Meanwhile, back in England, divisions run deep as to which of two men, rival cousins, has the right to wear the crown of England. Again, the reader is subjected to hundreds of pages of backstory which keeps the plot stalled. It isn't until page 512 (in 721 pages) that we get even a glimmer of what we experienced in Through A Glass Darkly.....Barbara's return to England to "face" (hence the title) the problems associated with the heavy fine on her husband's estate for his part in the South Sea investment fiasco, as well as to "face" the tangled web of events at court. Diana, Barbara's mother, is as despicable as ever, even as age and debauchery are catching up with her; the Duchess of Tamworth is still iron-willed as ever and fiercely devoted to her grandchildren, and we learn of Jane's fate, Barbara's dear childhood friend. But, alas, it is all not enough to make up for the fact that we just don't have a true sense of what life will hold for Barbara ; there are some clues, but you're not left with a sense of closure for her. Very disappointing -- if there is another book to continue the saga, I'm afraid I've invested enough time and not gotten enough in return. ( )

This novel just isn't Through a Glass Darkly. There were many great things about this book, but there were some major things that really frustrated me.

For one thing, there were huge gaps in the story line. Something dramatic would happen, and then there would be a gap afterwards and we would never learn what the conclusion of the incident was. For example, Hyacinthe goes missing, and we learn hardly anything of what happens of him between the time he is captured and the time he returns home.

I felt that the characters in this book were not as well drawn as they were in Through a Glass Darkly. Although a woman in the sequel, Barbara's character is flat. Sure, she has this adventure in Virginia, only to return home in the middle of a mini-civil war, but she seems completely unaffected by what's happening around her. I found her story to be very unbelievable. There's no romance; the adventures in love that Barbara had as a younger woman are written off by the author as youthful indiscretions and completely out of character for Barbara.

I wanted to hear more about the Duke of Tamworth and his grandmother, the Duchess; but I was sadly disappointed. Tony seems selfish, mean-spirited and almost a different person in this book.

The historical background of this book (ie, the fight between the House of Orange and James Stuart the Pretender for control of the English throne) was dumbed-down almost to the point of absurdity. Although this book was well-written, the major flaws show through. Koen has set the stage in this book for a sequel, but here's just not enough fictional material for it. ( )

This sequel to Through a Glass Darkly was a very enjoyable book, althought not as good as TAGD. Part of this novel takes place in colonial Virginia as Barbara checks out the tobacco plantation that Grandmama owns but has never seen. Later Barbara returns to England where she is caught up in the intrigues of a Jacobite plot to oust George I and put James III on the throne.

Where this book really "let me down" was the ending. The final scene was not even about Barbara, but one of the secondary characters, with something of an "oh, by the way, Barbara is in France now." There are several unanswered questions about some of the secondary characters that were introduced in America.

Perhaps there will be another sequel to further explore Hyacinthe's story, to follow up Therese's adventures, what about Gussy and his family in Virginia, and Barbara's new little brother??? ( )

Book Synopsis:

A bride at fifteen, widowed at the tender age of twenty, Barbara, Countess Devane, embarks for colonial Virginia financially ruined by the death of her husband in scandalous circumstances. Dressed in mourning as is proper for a woman, she is patronizingly described as a “fragile black butterfly,” but the fragility is deceiving. She makes a place for herself in the new world, takes lovers and friends across political divides, and questions the established traditions of slavery. Facing enemies she never suspected, she must return to England and deal face to face with the problems created by her husband, who haunts her even in death. Back in London, she quickly finds herself pulled into Jacobite plotting, and the treachery of powerful men suddenly threatens her family, her friends—and a new love.

Now Face to Face sweeps readers from eighteenth-century America to London and brings both worlds to vivid life. It is a magnificent evocation of an era, from the plantations of Virginia to Hanoverian England.

For me, with movies, the sequels are never better than the original. In my opinion, the same can be said for Now Face to Face, which is the sequel for Through a Glass Darkly. Not to say that I did not enjoy it and am not happy that I read it, but it wasn’t quite up there with the TAGD.

After the death of her husband, Barbara is beside herself with grief. Her grandmother, the Duchess of Tamworth, offers her the chance to go to Colonial Virginia to check out her newly acquired tobacco plantation. We follow Barbara to the new world where she learns all she can about the tobacco farming and we get to meet some new and interesting characters, my favorite being Colonel Perry. Barbara eventually returns to England after receiving some letters from back home that there are new adventures afoot. She returns to England and finds herself in the midst of Jacobite investigations.

I think I would have liked this book more had it not been for the ending. The end scene was about one of supporting characters, not Barbara. In turn, I did not have that sense of “closure” so to say. I always like how a book wraps up everything nice and neat for you at the end. And after finishing the book, you walk away content, knowing your new friend will be well. I didn’t have that with this and it was a little disappointing.

Another thing that bothered me was that there were a lot of things not followed up on or worked out…a lot of open issues…which leads me to believe that that there may be another sequel?!

Overall: 4/5

Song: Alive by Pearl Jam

More wisdom from the Duchess of Tamworth: “Keep one’s eyes upon the goal desired, not upon the delays and impediments” ( )

Not as good as Through A Glass Darkly. Barbara seems to have lost a dimension or two. Also, it felt like absolutely nothing happened for about 300 pages, and then all the loose ends were hurriedly tied up. I still loved it, though. I couldn't help it. If you liked the other books in the series, you really need to finish the story. ( )