Scan barcode
_aoibheann_'s review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
alexandergrantwriter's review against another edition
5.0
~ Heart-Stopping, Perfect End To A Perfect Series ~
Okay everyone, buckle up cause this is going to be extremely longggg and emotional
Okay everyone, buckle up cause this is going to be extremely longggg and emotional
lydiastorytime's review against another edition
4.0
Positives: beautiful magical world with unique magical creatures. Loving found family. Mischievous twin girls with strong unruly magical abilities.
*fifer and dev ☺️. Basically demi sexual fifer.
"This is for the Alex"
Lots of closure and a look into an afterlife.
Negatives: Implied that the negative events bring out the best in people. Lack of parental guidance or appropriate adult child relationships. Inappropriately heavy leadership decisions laid on children. Idiotic adults and immature child leaders.
*Arron being a hypocrite
Triggers for sensitive minds
Physically violence: inhuman treatment of prisoners human and animal, cruel tyranny, slavery (work based), illness from hunger and dehydration, civil war, description of wounds, forced drinking of magical broth that causes physical changes, isolation, various forms of coercion, fighting to escape and to rescue with some lethal force used, mind control via magical animal instincts, weaponized fire, smoke inhalation, description of swallowing throwing star.
Death of magical statue who is revived, death of a mother, death of a father.
Emotional pain: loss and grief of loved one, fear of death and imprisonment, abandonment, coercion, inappropriately heavy leadership decisions laid on children, fear of grey morality.
*fifer and dev ☺️. Basically demi sexual fifer.
"This is for the Alex"
Lots of closure and a look into an afterlife.
Negatives: Implied that the negative events bring out the best in people. Lack of parental guidance or appropriate adult child relationships. Inappropriately heavy leadership decisions laid on children. Idiotic adults and immature child leaders.
*Arron being a hypocrite
Triggers for sensitive minds
Physically violence: inhuman treatment of prisoners human and animal, cruel tyranny, slavery (work based), illness from hunger and dehydration, civil war, description of wounds, forced drinking of magical broth that causes physical changes, isolation, various forms of coercion, fighting to escape and to rescue with some lethal force used, mind control via magical animal instincts, weaponized fire, smoke inhalation, description of swallowing throwing star.
Death of magical statue who is revived, death of a mother, death of a father.
Emotional pain: loss and grief of loved one, fear of death and imprisonment, abandonment, coercion, inappropriately heavy leadership decisions laid on children, fear of grey morality.
ccpprrjj's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
The majority of this book is a four star book. It had some good moments, and some moments that dragged. And it just didn't feel quite as satisfying as an end to the Quests series as Island of Dragons was to the Unwanteds series. That epilogue, though. . .that's my favorite chapter in the entire series, including the original books. Five stars for that. What a way to finish the series. Because I am a little mixed on the rest of this book and there weren't multiple major plotlines to analyze, I'm going to do what I did for my review of the first book in the series and make a list of likes/dislikes instead of analyzing the plotlines like I did for the middle books. Here we go.
Things I disliked/found unsatisfying
Things I disliked/found unsatisfying
- Seth's character arc: I enjoy Seth as a character, but I feel like his growth ended up being ignored. I wish he had been given more time to shine and really grow as a character apart from Fifer and Thisbe. He had some nice moments with Drock in this book, but that was it. His character had a lot of wasted potential and I wish the story had gone somewhere different with it.
- The final battle: This battle just didn't feel as high stakes as it should have. It was supposed to be the biggest battle the people of The Seven Islands had ever faced, but it didn't feel like it. It was over too fast, too chaotic, and with too little focus on the combatants for it to work. The battle in Island of Dragons was a much more effective final battle. This one just felt rushed. And the falling action wasn't long enough either. It kind of felt like the battle ended and then the story ended (It was honestly probably cut short to make more room for the epilogue though so. . .I can't complain too much).
- Too many characters: Part of the problem with this book and the series as a whole was that it had too many characters that the audience cared about to give enough time to each of them. That's part of the problem with doing a spinoff series set so soon after the original series: most of the original characters were still alive. That made it hard to give any one side character the time they deserved and is why a lot of the side characters in this book felt so flat.
- The unnecessary romances: The main thing that bothers me about the Unwanteds series as a whole is that everyone is paired off in a couple. And this book managed to introduce one more romance and establish another. Joy.
The romance between Seth and Prindi was completely undeveloped and unneccessary. There was no point to it and, since we have no idea who Prindi is, it felt forced. And then there was Fifer and Dev. I really wish they had just stayed friends. Fifer did not need a romance.
That might seem like a lot I didn't like about this book, but it's also a review of some of the issues with the series as a whole. It was actually a good book that I genuinely enjoyed. So here's what I liked about it:
Things I enjoyed/Found satisfying
- Thisbe's arc: Compared to many of the other characters in the Quests series, Thisbe stands out as having a lot of depth. So many of the characters (including Fifer) are pretty shallow and don't come anywhere near the depth of Alex and Aaron. But Thisbe did. She's a complex person with conflicting feelings, and that makes her interesting. I feel like her conflict over whether or not
feeling sympathy for the Revinir made her evil was really well explored. She got many different perspectives on it, and I liked the point about creativity that it made. - Aaron's arc: I've said it before and I'll say it again: I love Aaron. He's such a satisfying character to read about. His inclusion in this story (instead of just being on the sidelines) is really what makes Quests worth reading for me. He goes through so much in this series, with all of the major events impacting him personally, but he stays true to who he is. And he has further character development in regards to his feelings on immortality, how he views his place in Artime, and how he can work on forgiving himself. From the very first book of the Unwanteds series to this book, Aaron has the most complete arc out of any character. And it's beautiful to read about.
- THE LAST CHAPTER: This chapter makes me cry. Every time. It comes full circle from the beginning of the series to end in a similar but happier place to where it began: with characters discovering a new world to explore. And it wraps up Aaron's character development beautifully, in a way that any other ending simply couldn't accomplish.
Some of the characters that Aaron felt he needed to apologize to/make amends with were dead, so he would not have been able to get that closure otherwise. Just a fantastic ending. I couldn't have asked for a more satisfying final chapter.
readersareleaders's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
inspiring
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
emperor_e's review against another edition
4.0
Ok so first of all my main complaints are *drumroll* the romance. Shocker. So the overall story of this one is pretty good. I still do love The Unwanteds, and Unwanteds Quests, and I think was a pretty good ending to the series.
My problems are that Lisa McMann doesn’t seem to know how to write characters without them ending up with someone. For example Alex and Sky, Aaron and Kaylee, Fifer and Dev, Thisbe and Rohan, etc. I also don’t feel like Seth and Prindi have much development in their relationship ship at all. Also I would’ve enjoyed it if this book focused on the romance aspect a bit less.
I also think that Dev being Ashguard’s grandson was a bit too predictable. It also just kind of feels like everyone has to be descended from the old rulers or something which I don’t love.
My problem with the deaths at the end battle, were that I didn’t even remember that either of those people were alive, much less feel sad about them.
I did like that there is noticeable character development in many of the characters from the beginning of the series. I didn’t expect Spike to be the one to kill the Revinir. I felt like that was a cool thing in the book.
Although no matter how much I critique these books, I still very much enjoy them. The Unwanteds were some of my favorites, and still are, and I enjoy Quests too and love hearing about the adventures of Fifer, Thisbe, Seth, and the other characters of the next generation.
My problems are that Lisa McMann doesn’t seem to know how to write characters without them ending up with someone. For example Alex and Sky, Aaron and Kaylee, Fifer and Dev, Thisbe and Rohan, etc. I also don’t feel like Seth and Prindi have much development in their relationship ship at all. Also I would’ve enjoyed it if this book focused on the romance aspect a bit less.
I also think that Dev being Ashguard’s grandson was a bit too predictable. It also just kind of feels like everyone has to be descended from the old rulers or something which I don’t love.
My problem with the deaths at the end battle, were that I didn’t even remember that either of those people were alive, much less feel sad about them.
I did like that there is noticeable character development in many of the characters from the beginning of the series. I didn’t expect Spike to be the one to kill the Revinir. I felt like that was a cool thing in the book.
Although no matter how much I critique these books, I still very much enjoy them. The Unwanteds were some of my favorites, and still are, and I enjoy Quests too and love hearing about the adventures of Fifer, Thisbe, Seth, and the other characters of the next generation.
kaheinon's review against another edition
4.0
If you haven't read the Unwanteds or Unwanteds Quest series, go do it now!