A Fair Barbarian

As, I suspect, with most, my previous exposure to Frances Hodgson Burnett was through [b:The Secret Garden 2998 The Secret Garden Frances Hodgson Burnett http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1327873635s/2998.jpg 3186437], [b:A Little Princess 3008 A Little Princess Frances Hodgson Burnett http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1327868556s/3008.jpg 1313599], and [b:The Lost Prince 646351 The Lost Prince Frances Hodgson Burnett http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1176700431s/646351.jpg 1718667]. Those books are better.A Fair Barbarian is a harmless and mildly entertaining shift from those child-oriented books to more a young adult's realm. It's pleasantly reminiscent of Jane Austen, though less complex.The book's strength is the characters, who are interesting and moderately likeable. However, despite a fair-size crew of young men and women looking to fall in love with each other, there's no strong resolution; the ending comes disappointingly ex machina, and the story simply stops.Recommended for Burnett fans, and pleasant but not compelling for others.