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aisleyreads's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
jsorv28's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
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? No
4.0
caroline_slaughter's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
aldean's review against another edition
4.0
We are really getting on a Charlie Bone roll at our house, and this installment did not disappoint. The stakes are higher, and the action, though sporadic, was engaging.
One thing that has been present throughout the series, but was particularly glaring in this book, was the incongruity of the children, locked in life-and-death struggles against nefarious supernatural opponents on the weekends, still have to get up on Monday morning and go back to school, the very school run by their foes, no less. It just seemed silly at times, but it also lends a certain bizarre charm to the proceedings.
All in all, a satisfying yarn, excellently read as always by Simon Russell Beale (who is, in my opinion, every bit as impressive as the much-vaunted Jim Dale), and I look forward to the next book.
One thing that has been present throughout the series, but was particularly glaring in this book, was the incongruity of the children, locked in life-and-death struggles against nefarious supernatural opponents on the weekends, still have to get up on Monday morning and go back to school, the very school run by their foes, no less. It just seemed silly at times, but it also lends a certain bizarre charm to the proceedings.
All in all, a satisfying yarn, excellently read as always by Simon Russell Beale (who is, in my opinion, every bit as impressive as the much-vaunted Jim Dale), and I look forward to the next book.
wildflowerz76's review against another edition
3.0
I find myself simultaneously liking and not liking these books. The last two have gotten boring toward the end for me and I just wanted them to end. The people make such stupid decisions! My grandmother's frozen, but other than mentioning ever other page how worried they are, they don't do a damn thing to try and help her. The mother's enchanted and the same thing happens. Ms. Ingledew comes up with a farfetched explanation that she pulls out of her ass and suddenly it's taken as gospel. Yeah. We own the whole series and I have a feeling my 8yo will love them if she ever gets around to reading them. As for me, I'm not sure I'll read any more.
alexk02's review against another edition
4.0
I have found that these books are more enjoyable to read when I’m listening to them on audiobook but this one was a whole bunch of what the heck is going on 😂
kmdegarmo's review against another edition
4.0
I’m so happy that Charlie found his father and that he woke up! Somewhere in the back of my mind I knew that Mr. Pilgrim was Charlie’s Dad! Crazy that the Bloors let Charlie see him though. I was surprised about Asa though. Why did he help out Charlie and co? Does this mean he has defected from the bad side? Or was it he didn’t like the enchanter so he helped them to get rid of him? I’d be interested to know! I’m excited for the next book since I have no idea what’s going to happen since Charlie’s Dad has been found and I feel like that was the main point of the story. There are still three more books after this!
msjoanna's review against another edition
3.0
My son and I have been tearing through this series. For the first time, we listened to part of this one as an audiobook during a long drive we took together. The narrator did a great job bringing the story to life. That said, the narrator has a bit of a British accent, which I think my son found slightly hard to understand at times.
This book is my favorite of the series so far. The adults here continue to be completely useless and generally clueless, but its forgivable given the target audience of kids around age 10. One part of the plot here involves the disappearance of all of the animals from the city. The author could have done much more with the description of what this would mean, but it was only addressed in passing (e.g., someone saying that it sure is quiet without the birds).
The new characters introduced in this book and the additional endowments made sense in the context of the story and moved the plot forward rather than feeling like random ideas the author had.
We will definitely read the rest of this series. We've already checked Book 6 out of the library.
This book is my favorite of the series so far. The adults here continue to be completely useless and generally clueless, but its forgivable given the target audience of kids around age 10. One part of the plot here involves the disappearance of all of the animals from the city. The author could have done much more with the description of what this would mean, but it was only addressed in passing (e.g., someone saying that it sure is quiet without the birds).
The new characters introduced in this book and the additional endowments made sense in the context of the story and moved the plot forward rather than feeling like random ideas the author had.
We will definitely read the rest of this series. We've already checked Book 6 out of the library.
teenytinylibrary's review against another edition
3.0
I still just love this series. I was hoping for a little more character development, but alas, I will take what I can get. Which is good storytelling and an intriguing world.