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| Cybele's Secret | 
 enlarge | Author: Juliet Marillier
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Category: Book
List Price: $16.99
Buy New: $7.50
You Save: $9.49 (56%)
New (30) Used (6) from $7.50
Avg. Customer Rating:  10 reviews
Sales Rank: 14134
Media: Hardcover
Reading Level: Young Adult
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 448
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 8.6 x 5.8 x 1.5
ISBN: 037583365X
EAN: 9780375833656
ASIN: 037583365X
Publication Date: September 9, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: P A P E R B A C K. Reviewer copy. Unread, no marks or shelfwear. We ship daily.
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Product Description
FOR PAULA, ACCOMPANYING her merchant father on a trading voyage to Istanbul is a dream come true. They have come to this city of trade on a special mission to purchase a most rare artifact—a gift from the ancient goddess, Cybele, to her followers. It’s the only remnant of a lost, pagan cult.
But no sooner have they arrived when it becomes clear they may be playing at a dangerous game. A colleague and friend of Paula’s father is found murdered. There are rumors of Cybele’s cult reviving within the very walls of Istanbul. And most telling of all, signs have begun to appear to Paula, urging her to unlock Cybele’s secret.
Meanwhile, Paula doesn’t know who she can trust in Istanbul, and finds herself drawn to two very different men. As time begins to run out, Paula realizes they may all be tied up in the destiny of Cybele’s Gift, and she must solve the puzzle before unknown but deadly enemies catch up to her. . . .
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| Customer Reviews: Read 5 more reviews...
 Cybele's Secret September 12, 2008
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
I loved "Wildwood Dancing", so I was thrilled when I saw that Juliet Marillier was writing a sequel (or companion) to it. The main character this time is Paula. We don't see too much of the other sisters (Jena, Iulia, or Stela), as Paula leaves them behind to travel with their merchant father to Istanbul as his assistant.
Paula and her father, Teodor, are hoping to purchase a legendary artifact related to the ancient cult of Cybele. The artifact has an air of The Holy Grail to it: nobody is exactly sure what it is, but everybody wants it. They aren't the only merchants in the running, however, and some are not above violence and murder.
Paula, ever the scholar, tries to learn more about Cybele and the mysterious artifact. In Istanbul, where women are hardly allowed out in public, to say nothing of their educations, Paula finds an intellectual sanctuary in the home of Irene of Volos, an influential as well as a respected woman of intellect. It is in Irene's library that Paula receives clues to discovering Cybele's Secret, and the quest she needs to embark upon in order to succeed in her search. Paula finds herself back in the Other Kingdom, where she thought never to return, in a quest filled with eerie dangers and hairbreadth escapes.
As a whole, I really enjoyed "Cybele's Secret". The characters are well-developed, and Paula particularly, is marvelously written. I liked the fact that she wasn't perfect, and didn't try to convince the reader otherwise.
BUT, there is an extremely fine line between brilliant and ridiculous, and Juliet Marillier definitely wavered along it in some parts of this book. Towards the end, things started feeling a little rushed and haphazard. I felt that "Cybele's Secret" lacked some of the quality of Juliet Marillier's previous works (all of which I have read and loved). There are some important parts that lack a good explanation. The plot was also a trifle predictable.
Despite the various "buts", I have no regrets in purchasing "Cybele's Secret". Juliet Marillier has a knack for characterization and relationships: familial and romantic. And who can help but fall in love with the gorgeous Kinuko Y. Craft cover? "Cybele's Secret" gets a hearty recommendation from me. There is originality and better-than-your-average-fantasy-novel here.
 Angieville: CYBELE'S SECRET November 1, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
CYBELE'S SECRET is the sequel to Wildwood Dancing--Juliet Marillier's first young adult novel. I have been a huge Marillier fan ever since picking up her first novel, Daughter of the Forest (The Sevenwaters Trilogy, Book 1), to take with me on a trip to Italy. The wonderful thing about Marillier is that her sequels are always as good as, if not better than, her first books. So even though I liked Wildwood Dancing well enough (it didn't wow me), I was really looking forward to CYBELE'S SECRET to see where she took her characters and what peril they got themselves into.
The story follows Paula, the next to youngest of the five Brasov girls, and the one most noted for her scholarly bent and lack of interest in pretty much all things mundane. Fluent in both Greek and Latin, Paula accompanies her merchant father on a trip to Istanbul to serve as his assistant in his attempt to acquire a most unusual, legendary artifact known as Cybele's Gift. The artifact is a remnant of a long dead pagan cult and is said to bestow upon its owner fortune and blessings untold. Once in Istanbul, Paula's father finds he is just one of several merchants set on purchasing Cybele's Gift. Shadowed closely by her Bulgar bodyguard Stoyan, Paula puts her wits to work ferreting out the history behind the artifact and just why potential buyers keep turning up dead or fleeing town without explanation. Oh, and there's also a dashing pirate and adventure on the high seas.
I enjoyed this sequel quite a bit more than its predecessor. That may have been because I related more to Paula and her struggle to stretch beyond the comfortable boundaries of her introverted nature. I also loved the setting in Istanbul. Marillier's research and immersion in her chosen locale is always evident in her stories and it particularly shone in this one. The twisty markets, the call to prayer, the artfully layered clothing swept me up along with Paula, Duarte, and Stoyan. Though some outcomes were fairly predictable, I always appreciate the loyalty Marillier's characters show one another. Even in the face of extreme doubt and fear. The good, the bad, the gray in between characters are each depicted with their individual virtues and vices and forced to move outside their accustomed circles. No one is perfect and everyone has their less-than-admirable moments as well as their moments when they prove themselves more than they seem. In short, they are all so human. And that's what brings me back to her books over and over again.
 Courtesy of Teens Read Too October 2, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Paula couldn't be more excited to be arriving in Istanbul with her merchant father, where she'll be assisting him in obtaining a valuable and mysterious artifact of the ancient goddess Cybele. If all goes well, she may finally be able to pursue her dream of starting a book-trading enterprise.
To her dismay, trouble awaits them the moment they disembark. Her father's trusted trading adviser has been murdered, and the secrecy surrounding the artifact has grown even more difficult to penetrate. If Paula's suspicions are correct, the glimpses she's caught of her sister, who vanished into the Other Kingdom several years ago, mean the folk of magic and myth have their own stake in the unfolding events.
Complicating matters are a dashing ex-pirate with an intense interest in Paula, who may or may not be as ruthless as he is charming, and the powerful yet gentle bodyguard Paula's father hires to watch over her, whom Paula cannot help feeling drawn to despite knowing they are worlds apart. As Paula struggles to make sense of the signs her sister sends her and to help her father obtain Cybele's Gift, the three are pulled into a quest more dangerous than any of them could have imagined.
Not all friends can be trusted; not all enemies are what they seem; and the folk of the Other Kingdom don't often give second chances. It's up to Paula to get her companions through this adventure alive, and to find the right path for her own heart.
Fans of Marillier's WILDWOOD DANCING will enjoy catching up with the family via Jena's younger sister, and happily devour this new tale of the Other Kingdom. Though somewhat slower-paced than WILDWOOD DANCING, CYBELE'S SECRET doesn't skimp on adventure or romance. Paula is a strong and resourceful heroine, who admits her mistakes when she makes them and doesn't let her fears stand in her way. The settings are so vivid readers will feel as if they're traveling through Istanbul and the Other Kingdom with them.
If you loved WILDWOOD DANCING, don't hesitate to snatch this one up!
Reviewed by: Lynn Crow
Phenomenal! October 3, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I just finished reading this amazing book and I have chills on my arms, it is so good. Run and buy this book for you are a woman of any age- Mom or daughter you will love it.
The cast of characters- Paula, Duarte and Stoyan are amazing. I had not previously read Wildwood Dancing, but I had no trouble getting immersed in this story.
Action, adventure, fantasy and most of all a wonderful romance, this book has it all. Paula grows and mature through the course of the story and she has to choose between two very different men. The dashing, erudite and handsome pirate, and the scarred, illiterate farmboy/bodyguard.
OMG, this book defines romance- the growing together of two people through love and trust and of course physical attraction. Straight romance novels focus so much on the physical aspect that true love gets lost by the wayside. This book was so romantic and tender, and set in a wonderfully exotic location of Istanbul.
Please buy it, I promise you won't regret it, even if you are way beyond the YA age group, as I am! I hope we get more books set in this world by this wonderful author.
Very enjoyable reading October 16, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I liked reading this book. I am an adult reader rather than a young adult reader, but it works for adults as well. I would describe this novel as fantasy-romance-adventure set in a historical backdrop.
Paula, the lead character behaves like a young lady of her age, albeit very well educated and from a trading family where the women of the house worked in the family business. A good many stories of this genre concentrate on ladies from very wealthy households, setting this one apart. The heroine works and has business aspirations.
It was predictable and yet un-predictable in terms of the romance aspect of the story. The fantasy was original and the adventure part of it was good. The story moves. It is not action packed but it really moves, like an intellectual thriller. Paula could be described as nerdy, she's certainly very academic, but this is something I liked about the character. Why shouldn't smart, semi-nerdy girls have romantic adventures in exotic far-away places?
The cover art on this book is exquisitely beautiful and really suits the story. It is also an extremely good reflection of the contents of the book. I would read a chapter and then match the figure on the cover to what I just read.
Cybele's Secret can be read as a stand-alone book. It is not a sequel to Wildwood Dancing. There are a few passages in the book that give you the background to the events in Wildwood Dancing and how it ties in with the story in Cybele's Secret, but you do not need to read the earlier book to gain an understanding of the characters or plot of Cybele's Secret. This is a new story, but with some of the same characters in it.
The one small negative I would comment on would be the contrived romance scene when Paula was on the "name of ship" in rough seas.
The villain of the story was also kind of obvious. This did not detract from the story for me but some readers might have a lot to say about this.
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