Not sure how I mixed up the order but I accidentally read this one 2nd and was a little confused - therefore I'm not rating it!

What I Thought: Oh Philippa Gregory, you have done it again. I am in love with Luca as much as I love all the other characters, I must admit. Fools' Gold is set in the beautiful town of Venice, during Carnival, and the city is full of sin. This of course, makes things between Luca and Isolde even more intense, as they are surrounding by young lovers sneaking away in gondolas. They have come to the city seeking gold coin forgeries and find much more than they anticipated.

Without giving too much away, things certainly heat up in all aspects of this story. We see new, more fiery sides to Isolde. Luca and Ishraq share there passion for learning and seeking knowledge. Brother Peter has his own hilarious part, which kept me giggling, and good old Freize is trying to keep everyone afloat.

If you have read the previous two, then I highly suggest you grab hold of Fools' Gold and read it as soon as possible - I promise you won't regret it!

The Good: Considering this is the third book in the series, with more to come, it still kept my attention. Gregory manages to give us readers just enough action, and romance, in different ways so as to not feel repetitive.

The Bad: Gregory has this knack for ending her stories in such a way that leave you with more questions than what you started with! So it isn't a "killer cliffhanger" per se, but you can't help want more to answer all those questions and confirm all your doubts about where the story is headed!

Rating: 5 stars

I don’t have a whole lot to say on this book, none of the characters were all that great and even though I thought the mystery was interesting at first it became very predictable. Not one that I’d recommend.

I am loving this series more and more. After another (mis)adventure, this time in Venice, the gang is finally starting to ask the right questions and question the orders instead of following them blindly (except Brother Peter; he is not quite there yet, poor soul). I really want to know what exactly is Milord's agenda. I already have my suspicions about his identity, but what exactly is he trying to accomplish, is still beyond me. Can't wait for the next one. According to Gregory, it should have been published in 2014, but there is no indication of a title as of yet, much less a publication date, on her page.

Philippa Gregory's third novel in the young adult Order of Darkness series is Fool's Gold. I thoroughly enjoyed this read. The story follows five characters during the time of inquisition in 1454 Venice, Italy. Full of historical detail, mystery, comedy, and romance, Gregory offers readers another page turning piece of historical fiction with a look into the attitudes of lusty and greedy Venetians during Carnevale. As Luca, Frieze, Brother Peter, Isolde and Ishraq continue on their journey through Christendom, the men work toward their mission of Inquiry for the Church and the women's goal is of reaching Isolde's godfather's son. Their mission in this book has Luca and his friends looking for counterfeiters and the source behind the fools gold circulating in Italy. Luca also comes closer to finding his parents, especially his father, who he believes have been sold into slavery.

Gregory promises more characters and more detail into the Order of Darkness series. I'm thrilled to see that she is working on book four of the series. Readers should be reminded that this is a Young Adult series and not geared toward the heavy historical/romance books that most readers are expecting

The romance storyline isn’t believable. The characters quickly become unrealistic in this one. The mystery is what saves the story.

Silly, but I’m invested. At least Isolde is finally a little more interesting. Luca is a moody boi. This is all.