Well I didn't love it.

I have all kinds of respect for Frances Hodgson Burnett, but this is miles behind Secret Garden and Little Princess.

If you love this book I have no wish to take that away from you, but I'm going to indulge in some ranting that you're not obligated to read.

There's a reason kid protagonists are frequently orphans. It allows them to go on dangerous adventures without the parents being neglectful. In this story, the dad literally sends two thirteen year-old kids (who worship him) to travel across Europe on their own, begging for their livelihood and delivering secret messages while dangerous spies who are willing to harm them are on their trail. Every adult who discovers this arrangement is a little shocked, but then decides it must be okay because the dad "Mr. Perfect" said so.

And yet for all the spies and intrigues this story is actually quite dull (and repetitive). This may be because the author's priority is to present her belief system rather that make it exciting.
When I read stories that are this didactic about messages I actually believe, I feel a little second-hand embarrassment at the lack of subtlety. I didn't feel so much embarrassed with this book because I don't believe in the saving power of self-will or the "god within" but I eye-rolled a bit at how awkwardly these messages were inserted into the story.

The Rat could have been an interesting character. He's got flaws, a tragic backstory/situation, cleverness and great leadership instincts, but after meeting our main characters he very quickly loses every shred of his dignity and actually begs to clean Loristan's boots. I'm not sorry that the Rat becomes less resentful and less inclined to approve of torture, but if he could also retain a shred of self-respect I would have appreciated that.


Additional observations:

Seeing how easy it was to save Somavia in the end, I feel like it shouldn't have waited hundreds of years to do it.

The Dad letting his kid frequently go without food because he was too proud to accept the money his supporters offered him is bad parenting.

There's a lot of hero worship/monarch worship that frequently made me cringe (and I'm a monarchist).

If you're going to save your big reveal for the very end of the book maybe don't make it obvious in the first chapter and repeatedly hint at it nearly every page? It makes the characters seem severely stupid and their supposed to be unusually clever.

Lazarus (and others) are super mean to the land lady. She's just concerned about getting her rent okay? Just because you're secretly royalty doesn't give you the right to be offended and aggressive to the extent of actually scaring her!