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3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
I waited a while to finally sit down and read this book because I knew it was the last one. The stakes were raised and as a end to the series, this book managed to tie up issues from the past books in a satisfying way. I'm looking into reading Arnett's Avalon series after the holidays wrap up. Overall, The Arkwell Academy series was fun and interesting, filled with strong characters and unique world building and I'll read these books again in the future.
The Nightmare Charade takes place the summer after Dusty and Eli's separation, which the adults around them had deemed necessary because of the prophecy against romance between dream-seers. Dusty doesn't believe in the so-called prophecy, not when her heart tells her that Eli and her would make the perfect pairing and not after all that the two of them have been through. But there are more pressing matters than her feelings for Eli and the different obstacles that the Senate have placed in their way.
For one, someone has stolen an ancient artifact known as the Animus Mortem, which can raise the dead by stealing the souls of the living. The Department of Intelligence for Magickind Secrecy (D.I.M.S.) has recruited them to find the culprit, hoping to make use of their dream-seer bond. DIMS is worried that whoever masterminded the theft is working with the Red Warlock.
But their investigation takes the backseat when the murder of Titus Kirkwood comes back to haunt them. Someone managed to attack Titus in a protected prison cell and when Dusty's mother is suspected of committing the deed, Dusty knows that she has no choice but to carry out her own investigation to clear her mother's name.
The Nightmare Charade is the final book in the Arkwell Academy series and it's a great conclusion to the series, with all of the old crew coming back again. Dusty and Eli are as charming together as always, with the prospect of forbidden love making their relationship bittersweet. Selene, Dusty's best friend the siren, is as kickass as ever, keen to prove that girls can be equally as capable as boys in all aspects. Lance has also grown up some and it's nice to see Dusty and him finally getting along. But it's Paul that really redeems himself in this book, the boy who's always been keeping secrets finally comes clean about all of them. Paul's always been an anti-hero, a boy who's looked out for himself and who's constantly made use of Dusty's trust in him. It's nice to see some of that pay off in this book.
Not to mention the mysteries that are involved are pretty dang compelling. Titus Kirkwood's death has to be committed by someone whose unaffected by the typical magic barriers and all signs appear to point towards Dusty's mother. And the Animus Mortem is indeed an object of great evil, capable of wrecking havoc on magi-kind. And unlike with my complaints from [b:The Nightmare Dilemma|17910091|The Nightmare Dilemma (The Arkwell Academy, #2)|Mindee Arnett|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1373472905s/17910091.jpg|24235968], the plot strands actually came pretty well together towards the end of the book.
The Nightmare Charade is an excellent conclusion to the series and I'm so pleased to see how far Mindee Arnett has come with the series. I'm going to miss Dusty and Eli but I think this is a great place to end off.
For one, someone has stolen an ancient artifact known as the Animus Mortem, which can raise the dead by stealing the souls of the living. The Department of Intelligence for Magickind Secrecy (D.I.M.S.) has recruited them to find the culprit, hoping to make use of their dream-seer bond. DIMS is worried that whoever masterminded the theft is working with the Red Warlock.
But their investigation takes the backseat when the murder of Titus Kirkwood comes back to haunt them. Someone managed to attack Titus in a protected prison cell and when Dusty's mother is suspected of committing the deed, Dusty knows that she has no choice but to carry out her own investigation to clear her mother's name.
The Nightmare Charade is the final book in the Arkwell Academy series and it's a great conclusion to the series, with all of the old crew coming back again. Dusty and Eli are as charming together as always, with the prospect of forbidden love making their relationship bittersweet. Selene, Dusty's best friend the siren, is as kickass as ever, keen to prove that girls can be equally as capable as boys in all aspects. Lance has also grown up some and it's nice to see Dusty and him finally getting along. But it's Paul that really redeems himself in this book, the boy who's always been keeping secrets finally comes clean about all of them. Paul's always been an anti-hero, a boy who's looked out for himself and who's constantly made use of Dusty's trust in him. It's nice to see some of that pay off in this book.
Not to mention the mysteries that are involved are pretty dang compelling. Titus Kirkwood's death has to be committed by someone whose unaffected by the typical magic barriers and all signs appear to point towards Dusty's mother. And the Animus Mortem is indeed an object of great evil, capable of wrecking havoc on magi-kind. And unlike with my complaints from [b:The Nightmare Dilemma|17910091|The Nightmare Dilemma (The Arkwell Academy, #2)|Mindee Arnett|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1373472905s/17910091.jpg|24235968], the plot strands actually came pretty well together towards the end of the book.
The Nightmare Charade is an excellent conclusion to the series and I'm so pleased to see how far Mindee Arnett has come with the series. I'm going to miss Dusty and Eli but I think this is a great place to end off.
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
So here's the deal. This is a nice wrap up for the series. And it was a good book. But I'm docking it for blatant straight-washing and sexism. It just bothered me so much that they said, "Oh well there could have been female guard for him to seduce!" WOW. Like a male couldn't seduce a male guard and gay men don't exist. Like women can't be prison guards. I run into sexism all the time but this just made me SO UPSET. The author's mean Christian bias was showing, and I figured it out when she thanks "God and his Son" every acknowledgement in the first line. And aside from the above mentioned, she also made light references to waiting for marriage in relationships and life after death that stuck out in the wrong ways after the blatant gay people don't exist message.
POINT BEING: in a fantasy world, if you can't even imagine gay people don't exist, how interesting can your world actually be? Not interesting enough, really.
Yes this was a rant but fiction and fantasy should NOT be exclusive in these ways.
POINT BEING: in a fantasy world, if you can't even imagine gay people don't exist, how interesting can your world actually be? Not interesting enough, really.
Yes this was a rant but fiction and fantasy should NOT be exclusive in these ways.
This was a great end to a great series! I love Eli so much and while there are of course some problems with this book, the characters definitely make up for it!
As with the previous books this one isn't so much slow at the beginnings as it is that it picks up speed near the end. There were parts of this book I found really interesting and action packed, in which I read it with much more fervour than I regularly would. A good ending to the saga... I wouldn't mind seeing Arnett try to do one more of the Arkwell books but with a different villain.... they still have one more year left after all.
“I realized the real world had now become the dream. And I wanted to stay in it forever.”
The Nightmare Charade is the third and final installment in the Arkwell Academy series. It follows a nightmare and her dream-seeing partner/love interest in their latest mystery at a school for the paranormal.
This follows The Nightmare Affair and The Nightmare Dilemma. I was semi-disappointed with the second book, but I thought that Mindee did a great job tying up all the loose ends and concluding this trilogy. However, I do think that the ending was a little too perfect for my liking, but I suppose I prefer a little bit more of a twist than a happy ending.
I have said this in all of my reviews of the Arkwell Academy series books, but I feel the need to say it again: this book still feels so similar to me. I can’t really put my finger on it, but it feels like a book I have read before, not to mention the similarities to Harry Potter (i.e. school for magic kind, reoccurring villain that can’t seem to actually die, ending up in the school hospital and recovering from near death, the guilty professors, etc.). I do think that this book dug the deepest out of the three in the series and attempted more complexity, but I think at some points it just became too confusing to keep all the new pieces of info straight.
Read the rest of my review here: http://judgingmorethanjustthecover.blogspot.com
The Nightmare Charade is the third and final installment in the Arkwell Academy series. It follows a nightmare and her dream-seeing partner/love interest in their latest mystery at a school for the paranormal.
This follows The Nightmare Affair and The Nightmare Dilemma. I was semi-disappointed with the second book, but I thought that Mindee did a great job tying up all the loose ends and concluding this trilogy. However, I do think that the ending was a little too perfect for my liking, but I suppose I prefer a little bit more of a twist than a happy ending.
I have said this in all of my reviews of the Arkwell Academy series books, but I feel the need to say it again: this book still feels so similar to me. I can’t really put my finger on it, but it feels like a book I have read before, not to mention the similarities to Harry Potter (i.e. school for magic kind, reoccurring villain that can’t seem to actually die, ending up in the school hospital and recovering from near death, the guilty professors, etc.). I do think that this book dug the deepest out of the three in the series and attempted more complexity, but I think at some points it just became too confusing to keep all the new pieces of info straight.
Read the rest of my review here: http://judgingmorethanjustthecover.blogspot.com
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
So slow getting to the last 80 pages that kept me locked into the book.
I was hesitant with how this book was gonna go. I really liked the first one, and enjoyed the second, but was scared that the third wasn't gonna live up to my expectations. Thankfully I was wrong, I really enjoyed this book. It was a nice end to the trilogy, all my questions were answered, nothing was left open, I am pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed this one. The last 100 pages were fantastic! The beginning was a bit slow and frustrating, but the ending totally made up for it.
All in all I really enjoyed this series and I'm sad to see it ending.
All in all I really enjoyed this series and I'm sad to see it ending.