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luz_vergara13's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
alyshadeshae's review against another edition
5.0
Okay, not too much of a spoiler, but I love me a good Arthurian tie-in! It was a genuinely nice surprise (I thought the title was a coincidence, but clearly not!) while reading and just added more depth (for me) to everything that was happening! Starting the next one right now because I can't wait!!
thelilbulldozer's review against another edition
1.0
My Rating: 1 Star
Granny's Rating: 1 Star
So upsetting to see what was once a five star series go so low, crazy, and ridiculously off the brain. Ray and Gee's nicknames came out of nowhere. The entire Damien storyline is frustrating because he was defeated by a tap of a sword--which, this book also includes the worst rendition of Excalibur.
Granny's Rating: 1 Star
So upsetting to see what was once a five star series go so low, crazy, and ridiculously off the brain. Ray and Gee's nicknames came out of nowhere. The entire Damien storyline is frustrating because he was defeated by a tap of a sword--which, this book also includes the worst rendition of Excalibur.
sophie__thibert's review
adventurous
challenging
funny
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
theredpanda17's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed this one, but not quite as much as the last one. I think it's because about 1/3 of the dialog, people "shout" at each other even when they're in situations where they clearly wouldn't be shouting. It's a minor thing, but it happened so many times that it pulled me out of the story a few times.
yapha's review against another edition
4.0
Excellent continuation of the Revenge of Magic series, with a nice tie in to the Legends of King Arthur. Highly recommended for fans of the series, grades 5 & up. Must read in order!
eARC provided by publisher via Edelweiss
eARC provided by publisher via Edelweiss
phyrre's review against another edition
4.0
You can read my full review on my blog, The Writerly Way, here.
Many thanks to RockStar Book Tour and Aladdin for a finished copy in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.
This series has been a breath of fresh air. I mean, sure, I love all the dark, stabby books I read, but this? This is a throwback to my childhood, in all the best ways. Teen me lived for these sorts of series. Adult me certainly isn’t complaining any about them, either.
The Future King is packed full of action, as magic threatens to destroy the world (you know, like you do) and our hero(in)es journey to a legendary city.
What I particularly like about this series is that I never know what’s in store for these characters, so I’m always pleasantly surprised. But it never feels out of left field, either. There’s always some new thing to discover or world to visit, and I wasn’t sure where this would go after book two, but it definitely delivered on the new aspects of magic.
This review will include spoilers for the first two books in the series.
My Thoughts:
- This book introduces time magic, and yes, it’s every bit as awesome as you imagine. Oh, sure, there’s the normal things you’d expect from the earlier books like seeing into the future and such. But there’s so much more you can do with time magic! There’s still so much more to learn about time magic, which makes me all the more curious for the next book! There’s also another book of magic we encounter in this, and I can tell you absolutely nothing about it except, phew, is it a doozy. Yes, I’m well aware of exactly how old that makes me sound, but I’m fine with that, because it was that terrifying and awesome.
- Soooo … the world’s kind of a mess, and we’re back with our favorite heroes to set everything right. Gosh, I love these kids so much, and it was great to see them back together and teaming up. They’ve all got so much personality. What’s a third book without a few new faces, though? The time students didn’t make much of an impact on me either way, personally, but Cyrus? Well, Cyrus is just even more of an enigma, which I didn’t even think was possible. Plus, there’s the introduction of a mysterious old man, and I have no idea what role he’s going to play, but I for sure will be tuning in to book four in order to find out.
- The motto of this book is: if something can go wrong … it will. To be fair, that’s also sort of been the motto of the other books, too? I loved the unpredictability of everything. Just when I thought I knew for sure what was going to happen, something would change and catch me off-guard.
- This book takes us to some legendary new places. This book takes an old legend and turns it on its head, and I loved it! Didn’t see it coming, so I don’t want to say too much, because you shouldn’t see it coming, either. But boy did I enjoy this little detour. Not to mention that there’s clearly more to come from that world in the next book, which I really look forward to!
- There’s this really powerful theme of children vs. adults in this, and I think it’s great that it gets called out in a mid-grade book like this. Truth is, most adults underestimate kids. It happens time and time again in this series, but in this book, in particular, it’s really highlighted. This had a bit of a double-edged sword, though, because it was a tad bit disappointing that there were virtually no good adults in this. This is definitely more of an adult perspective problem rather than something for the target audience, but I wish there had been even just one adult that the children could turn to, rather than feeling like every adult was out to get them.
Sticking Point:
- I was kind of disappointed in how little Fort learned from the second book in this series in his quest for his father. Fort’s self-centered determination really annoyed me in the second book, but I saw where the arc was going early on, where he sort of learned his lesson and had to really consider what was worth sacrificing and what the consequences of his selfishness would be. In this one, though, he goes back to being the same self-centered kid willing to do anything for his father, and I just wanted to shake him. Will kids in the target age range care, though? Probably not.
- Remember that dragon egg at the end of book two? Well, it plays no part in this book. Which was a little disappointing, because as everything was going on, I was kind of like … did we all forget the unhatched dragon? How can you forget something like that?! It was sort of a pretty big plot point. Yet, there’s only maybe one thought even given to it until the very end, which was unfortunate, because it felt like a loose thread. Now, on the flip side, based on the ending, this will obviously play a big role in book four, and can I just say … yes, please? So it’s not completely dropped or anything. Just … postponed.
Many thanks to RockStar Book Tour and Aladdin for a finished copy in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.
This series has been a breath of fresh air. I mean, sure, I love all the dark, stabby books I read, but this? This is a throwback to my childhood, in all the best ways. Teen me lived for these sorts of series. Adult me certainly isn’t complaining any about them, either.
The Future King is packed full of action, as magic threatens to destroy the world (you know, like you do) and our hero(in)es journey to a legendary city.
What I particularly like about this series is that I never know what’s in store for these characters, so I’m always pleasantly surprised. But it never feels out of left field, either. There’s always some new thing to discover or world to visit, and I wasn’t sure where this would go after book two, but it definitely delivered on the new aspects of magic.
This review will include spoilers for the first two books in the series.
My Thoughts:
- This book introduces time magic, and yes, it’s every bit as awesome as you imagine. Oh, sure, there’s the normal things you’d expect from the earlier books like seeing into the future and such. But there’s so much more you can do with time magic! There’s still so much more to learn about time magic, which makes me all the more curious for the next book! There’s also another book of magic we encounter in this, and I can tell you absolutely nothing about it except, phew, is it a doozy. Yes, I’m well aware of exactly how old that makes me sound, but I’m fine with that, because it was that terrifying and awesome.
- Soooo … the world’s kind of a mess, and we’re back with our favorite heroes to set everything right. Gosh, I love these kids so much, and it was great to see them back together and teaming up. They’ve all got so much personality. What’s a third book without a few new faces, though? The time students didn’t make much of an impact on me either way, personally, but Cyrus? Well, Cyrus is just even more of an enigma, which I didn’t even think was possible. Plus, there’s the introduction of a mysterious old man, and I have no idea what role he’s going to play, but I for sure will be tuning in to book four in order to find out.
- The motto of this book is: if something can go wrong … it will. To be fair, that’s also sort of been the motto of the other books, too? I loved the unpredictability of everything. Just when I thought I knew for sure what was going to happen, something would change and catch me off-guard.
- This book takes us to some legendary new places. This book takes an old legend and turns it on its head, and I loved it! Didn’t see it coming, so I don’t want to say too much, because you shouldn’t see it coming, either. But boy did I enjoy this little detour. Not to mention that there’s clearly more to come from that world in the next book, which I really look forward to!
- There’s this really powerful theme of children vs. adults in this, and I think it’s great that it gets called out in a mid-grade book like this. Truth is, most adults underestimate kids. It happens time and time again in this series, but in this book, in particular, it’s really highlighted. This had a bit of a double-edged sword, though, because it was a tad bit disappointing that there were virtually no good adults in this. This is definitely more of an adult perspective problem rather than something for the target audience, but I wish there had been even just one adult that the children could turn to, rather than feeling like every adult was out to get them.
Sticking Point:
- I was kind of disappointed in how little Fort learned from the second book in this series in his quest for his father. Fort’s self-centered determination really annoyed me in the second book, but I saw where the arc was going early on, where he sort of learned his lesson and had to really consider what was worth sacrificing and what the consequences of his selfishness would be. In this one, though, he goes back to being the same self-centered kid willing to do anything for his father, and I just wanted to shake him. Will kids in the target age range care, though? Probably not.
- Remember that dragon egg at the end of book two? Well, it plays no part in this book. Which was a little disappointing, because as everything was going on, I was kind of like … did we all forget the unhatched dragon? How can you forget something like that?! It was sort of a pretty big plot point. Yet, there’s only maybe one thought even given to it until the very end, which was unfortunate, because it felt like a loose thread. Now, on the flip side, based on the ending, this will obviously play a big role in book four, and can I just say … yes, please? So it’s not completely dropped or anything. Just … postponed.
the_fabric_of_words's review against another edition
5.0
Fort's got his father back, but he's in an unresponsive coma. Now, all he wants, is to keep his father safe.
So, when students of Time Magic from England's Carmarthen Academy wipe the floor with Oppenheimer School folks and tell Fort he's got one of two options to prevent World War III -- pull his father out of time, permanently, or find and use the Book of Spirit Magic on everybody -- his instincts kick in.
The race to find the Spirit book is on.
Damian's a real pain, thinking he deserves this book, and he follows Rachel and Jia and Fort to Stone Henge, causing a lot of havoc along the way.
I won't reveal who's the "Future King," that would spoil the surprise of who's able to pull Excalibur from a stone. Yeah, this puts a slightly new twist on that old story trope.
This story is full of time twists, with Carmarthen students getting revenge, freezing everybody out of time and the action with a giant dome over London they keep powered by taking turns maintaining it, and presenting Fort and the rest of the crew with multiple visions of future disasters -- but can they trust any of it? More importantly, can Fort? And if he trusts the wrong future, will he set up his father's ultimate demise?
Merlin makes an appearance in this one, wink - wink.
Enjoy the read, knowing there's a fourth on the way!
Visit my blog for more great middle grade book recommendations, free teaching materials and fiction writing tips: http://amb.mystrikingly.com/
So, when students of Time Magic from England's Carmarthen Academy wipe the floor with Oppenheimer School folks and tell Fort he's got one of two options to prevent World War III -- pull his father out of time, permanently, or find and use the Book of Spirit Magic on everybody -- his instincts kick in.
The race to find the Spirit book is on.
Damian's a real pain, thinking he deserves this book, and he follows Rachel and Jia and Fort to Stone Henge, causing a lot of havoc along the way.
I won't reveal who's the "Future King," that would spoil the surprise of who's able to pull Excalibur from a stone. Yeah, this puts a slightly new twist on that old story trope.
This story is full of time twists, with Carmarthen students getting revenge, freezing everybody out of time and the action with a giant dome over London they keep powered by taking turns maintaining it, and presenting Fort and the rest of the crew with multiple visions of future disasters -- but can they trust any of it? More importantly, can Fort? And if he trusts the wrong future, will he set up his father's ultimate demise?
Merlin makes an appearance in this one, wink - wink.
Enjoy the read, knowing there's a fourth on the way!
Visit my blog for more great middle grade book recommendations, free teaching materials and fiction writing tips: http://amb.mystrikingly.com/