I can generally count on Eva Ibbotson for a comfort read that also has wit and humor, and best of all, an artistic-musical sensibility. She plays with the tropes of romantic literature with tongue in cheek, yet somehow makes you believe in and root for her characters. The details of life in prewar Europe are just perfect, and the eccentric opera company delightful, though it's sad to think of what will soon happen to them. A running gag is the twelve-tone opera the company's conductor is writing, which turns out to be terrible. As for the hero and heroine, they are too ideal to be exactly real, but I adore them anyway and wish them all the best in their fairy-tale life.