Better than I thought it would be, but still no-where as good as the stravaganza series, perhaps I just prefer a fantasy element, but this just isn't as good to me. Elinor is 13, and due to be marries off to man 30years older than her with grown children; not an enticing prospect. To escape this fate, she dresses as a boy and joins a troop of musicians as they travel around southern france. The next four years sees war beginning to devastate everywhere she's ever known and loved, and she makes friends and loses them equally throughout the story. The last 100 or so pages really do pick up the pace, and I would recommend this to fans of Hoffman's work, but I'd suggest reading the amazing Stravaganza series first. ( )