Yes, yes, this is very well written and original and amusing, as everybody has noted but, in my school library at least, it's going to be like passing out a toothache to get it borrowed, and I couldn't commend it to any but the most high level readers I know. The trouble is that it is an erudite little book, with lots of references to general knowledge, british tradition and upper classiness that only a snob or an adult would understand, and the humour is based on a lot of such cultural capital, which limits it extremely.
Awfully, almost suspiciously similar in style and Heroine to Alan Bradbury's Flavia De Luce's detective novels for adults (which I very much enjoyed - at least at first), I can't help but think that this novel is badly pitched.
The subject matter of the plot is only going to be very interesting to the up to and including 13 year old age group of that that tiny subset I have described of frighteningly culturally and literarily literate types, and how many of those can we boast?

This took me weeks to get through because I stopped listening to it for a period of time. I didn't like the narration, in particular certain voices of hers. It drove me nuts that Udo, no matter how sincere he was being, always sounded extremely condescending. A lot of the writing was straight up AWFUL. Someone else said that the shortenings of words like "sandwich" into "sanwies" (?? I can't remember it that was it exactly, since I didn't have the text in front of me) drove them insane. I hated that so much, as well as Flora calling the loo the "potty", like she's a two-year-old. Every time Udo said "pigface", I actually rolled my eyes. Ridiculous, made up cuss words are among one of my many fantasy book pet peeves.

I found most of the characters pretty unlikeable, including at times Flora. Were we supposed to become sympathetic toward Valefor? I found him pretty underhanded and awful throughout the entire thing, no excuses. The book was awfully drawn out on the whole Valefor-Flora storyline, particularly as the reader could sense that whole thing imploding in Flora's face from the very beginning.

I would have preferred if the book had focused more on Flora's parents. All the stuff with her father I found pretty interesting, but I also wanted to know more about her mother and the whole thing around the first Flora. I suspect that'll come up in the other two books, which I'm pretty sure I will not be reading or listening to.

There were aspects of the world that I appreciated -- Flora is a strong young heroine. There was no romance. Her mother is the general of Califa. There were many very dark elements to the story, and that was pretty cool in a children's book. But the book was also longwinded. I spent a long time wishing that I could just get to the end already. I can certainly see why children would like this story -- it has magic and pirates and soldiers (a little too much military stuff for me), but perhaps as an adult, I just had no patience for this.

It started off seeming to be a lot more dark and grim than is typical for a YA book, but toned itself down by the end. Still it was a cut above the standard for its type. The world building was particularly interesting and I very much liked the character of Flora.

This book started out not being very interesting but then it got really good.
My favourite character was Paimon the denizen of Bilksnir house.
My favourite chapter was AFTER.

More like 3.5 stars or 3.75 stars. I’ve been struggling on what to rate Flora Segunda. I thoroughly enjoyed Ysabeau S. Wilce’s creation of her imaginative, quirky world. There are some very memorable characters. I absolutely adore Poppy (Flora’s dad) and Paimon (quite the butler). I fell in love with them for their purity, authenticity, and madness. I like Flora’s inadequacies and sometimes terrible judgement calls. Her “humanity” makes her endearing, although she can be quite annoying. Flora’s interactions with her mother pull on my heart strings. However, I do find Flora and Udo (Flora’s BFF) rather flat in growth, despite their interesting characteristics. The plot also felt somewhat weak, choppy, and somewhat scatter-brained. With that all said, I’m still looking forward to reading the second installment because the end did leave me wanting more. Flora just might get that “growth” I’ve been craving to see happen throughout the 400 pages (it was starting to show toward the end) and I want to see more Poppy and Paimon!

Fantastic! I can't remember ever reading such a wholly unique and imaginative book. Ysabeau S. Wilce created a stunning and vast world that you can't help but get lost in. I loved everything from the fun way the characters spoke to the magical world they lived in.

There were times though when things got confusing and it made me wish that there was some kind of guide book that explained everything in detail, but either way it was an excellent read.

If you're looking to read a book of pure fantasy, set in a alternate world that is nothing like our own, then I highly recommend picking this up. The characters have depth, the story is fantastic and you learn something new and different on every page - just what everyone wants in a story.

Was it perfect? Not quite, but it's a five star all the way for sheer enjoyment! The main character is sassy and well realized, the world is insteresing and feels very natural, and I think this is one of the first times where I've read a YA book with lots of slang where it didn't feel at all contrived. I can't wait to read the next one!

What stands out about this book is that it has strong female characters without being too pointed about it. Flora isn't a ninja, or an excellent archer, or anything like that. She's just smart, brave, loyal to her friends, and learns lessons from her mistakes. No one in the book including the males act surprised or make comments about how women are strong or the leaders, they just are; it's normal. So is it normal for the men to be strong and leaders. That's refreshing. I also really liked the magic in these books. It's also not the point of the plot or story, it's interspersed in a fun and interesting way. The fact that a lot of things are merely left unexplained or only explained a bit is either great or annoying depending on the type of reader you are. I myself enjoyed it. And the setting was unique and fun: some sort of archaic/military/Spanish world, with multiple uses of 'pigface,' 'snapperhead' etc. It was fun. Udo her best friend was also awesome; a dandy, a future hero.

This was my introduction to Ysabeau S. Wilce and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It is well written and left me wanting to read the next one as soon as I can get my hands on it.

The world and magic system are well developed through an economy of words. Crackpot Hall is delightfully amazing and run down at the same time. There is a wonderful lack of gender specific roles. Strength, wisdom and emotion are not dependent on the character's gender, likewise with clothing and occupation.

The characters have depth and are not mere stereotypes. Flora and Udo are likeable and believable. The supporting cast is equally complex, not necessarily responding the way you expect. Clearly everyone has her/his own motivation.

The plot has twists and turns, some of which are unexpected at the time. These all fit logically into the story and aren't merely tricks to engage or jolt the reader.

The language is engaging and fun, without being simplified. The world-specific and foreign language terms and phrases all fit nicely and are sufficiently defined by context.

I picked this up because I found the title on a list of books with strong female characters, and while Wilce has built a world in which women in general are powerful, I found Flora more frustrating than strong for the most part. There were other aspects of the world, aside from the gender equality, that I found intriguing, but many of the linguistic choices were a little too twee and therefore distracting. Pacing, or maybe editing, seemed a bit off, too. Good pieces, but I didn't love the overall execution.