I really enjoyed Shannon Hale's "The Book of a Thousand Days", which I read a couple of years ago, so I think my expectations were much too high here. It's a fluffy retelling of "Pride and Prejudice" and as such inherently predictable. Fortunately the book did improve somewhat once Jane settled down and became less mental, but I still don't think I'll bother with the sequel.I did like Mr. Nobly though :) And now I feel like a reread of P&P is past due :)