The Pale Assassin

Hello!

I have just finished reading a book called The Pale Assassin by Patricia Elliot. I thought it was a fairly interesting plot with good characters, although I thought that at parts, I felt that the character reactions were unrealistic. However, I still really liked the main characters, and I think that it was a different view on historical fiction than I am used to. Usually, the main character is clearly on a side of whatever revolution is going on at the time. In this book, the French Revolution is occurring, and the main character, Eugenie de Boncoeur, does not know what side she is on, or if she is on a side at all.

The book has a main focus on the French Revolution, and while that gave me a very good understanding of the time during the book, I wish I had known Eugenie better and have experienced more of her life and her personal experience.

Summary: Eugenie is a fourteen year old, wealthy aristocrat, who has been orphaned. She and her brother are cared for by their guardian whom they don't know very well. This guardian makes a marriage contract for Eugenie with an extremely wealthy revolutionary who has a long term grudge against her family. Her brother, Armand, originally wants the revolution, so that everyone will be equal, however, he doesn't want the death of the royal family. Armand gets caught up in plans and instead of escaping the country with his sister, he sends someone else in his stead... Eugenie and her companion run for their lives, hoping that they will reach England, and that they will be safe when they get their. Can they outrun the Pale Assassin?

I give this book overall two point seven five stars. I liked the story a lot, and understood the plot, and was occasionally surprised by a twist in it, however I felt that some of their reactions were unrealistic and that some of the side characters that they met along the way were shallow and again, unrealistic. The story itself was a little shallow, I felt I only got to scratch the surface of what was underneath, I missed a lot of the emotional parts that could have made the story deeper. I would recommend this book to friends, although I would tell them my opinion before they read it to caution them.

Favorite Quote: "My intention is to remain at your side wherever you are."

xoxo.

Miss Liz