Even though there was a lot of plot early on, it took awhile for me to be hooked. The irony was once I was (maybe halfway through) the hero didn't have much in the way of true obstacles anymore. In some ways satisfying, in others a little frustrating as it was a hero who could do virtually no wrong. Apparently to satiate the reader's need for bloodlust, she occasionally worked in a random death for minor characters who were otherwise likeable. That said, as always with her writing the world and environment come to life, and unlike straight fiction from the time period, it's mostly about "real people" and not the upper crust of society.