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3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
Very underwhelming, the series should have absolutely ended with the previous book.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Satisfying feel good ending. Pleased to have explored this magic world. Well written for the target demographic. Nothing crazy happens for the ending and its very predictable how its going to end from early on. No difficult battle or important person dying. It's a book for kids and it's just how it goes.
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
funny
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:
Yes
Stars (Out of 10): 3/10 Stars
I had such high hopes for this book after the redeeming of the series (for me) in book 4. Just in general, there was so much potential for this series, and I had such expectations both from books 1 and 2 and from Clare’s and Black’s prior works.
Now, I get this is a middle grade series. It won’t be as deep as Black’s The Cruel Prince/Tithe/etc. or Clare’s The Infernal Devices/The Dark Artifices/etc. I also get that these books are not necessarily aimed towards me, and both the humor and plot are aimed for those younger than I. However, this series, this book, being a part of a younger genre does not excuse some of the issues this series had, especially in terms of pacing, plot, and characters. It does not excuse the illogical nature of some of the decisions in this book, or the lack of effort (it seems) in the planning of this book, and series as a whole. I was honestly surprised when it seemed as if this book left things purposely open for a sequel series, as it honestly felt, while reading, that the author duo seemed to be less and less interested in these books.
You can possibly blame my earlier love for the series on my younger age, but I’d argue that those books were just overall better, in terms of character dynamics, plot, and pacing (oh god, especially the pacing). Yes the trio and world heavily mimicked Harry Potter, and the series definitely needed to move away from that, but that doesn’t mean that the series needed to lose the normal pacing it had in books 1 and 2. And yes, the plot was not complex at all in the earlier books, but it doesn’t need to be, as that’s not necessarily what I expect from a middle grade book.
Let’s just get the worst over with and discuss pacing. In books 1 and 2 this was fairly well done, with the books spanning an entire school year, and sometimes a bit of the summer beforehand. A standard pacing style for a school based series. Book 3 already broke this pattern by ending about half way through the year (if I remember correctly, it’s been a few years now), and that sharp contrast in time period definitely left the book feeling unfinished. The time period of book 4 is honestly a mystery to me, but at the start of book 5, 4 years of schooling have supposedly passed (I don’t know how). Book 5, while when looked at logically, takes place over a few months or something, reads like it all takes place within the first week of school or something. There is almost no build up or problem solving in this book. Nothing stalls the constant moving plot, and this constant action, combined with weird time jumps/lack of focus on anything but events that directly solve the plot, makes the book read really quickly, as well as feel weirdly timed. I’d have to actually study this book to figure out how the timeline all works together, and even then I can’t promise I’d find an answer. Additionally, the allocation of pages to different periods of time didn’t add up at all. There are a few moments of travelling and driving in this book, but the pacing and logistics of them is so ridiculous that I couldn’t even fully take those seriously and as a part of the actual plot/story. It honestly just felt like badly written filler, even when it contributed directly to the plot.
As I’m already on the subject, let’s talk about the plot. Arguably, the second worst part of this book next to the pacing. There is no true conflict in this book. Nothing goes wrong, nothing is lost, and anytime something gets in the way of Call/Tamara/Aaron, even the main evil of the book, almost no effort goes to actually solving the problem, as a solution is almost always presented immediately. Additionally, this lack of struggle means the entire book reads at the exact same amount of tension. There are no highs and lows. It is all action, and since there are no dull moments to make that action exciting by comparison, the action itself becomes boring. Additionally, there is almost no build up to this installment. Book 4 seemed to neatly wrap up everything in a bow for our duo/trio, so this book definitely needed something to bring that evil back to the forefront, some whispers of dark magic or evil returning rather than just a single hint and then sudden entrance of the big bad.
The characters themselves were also just weaker than in past installments. Call’s main focus was staring at Tamara and worrying about college, admittedly mundane worries for someone with an evil soul who also happens to be harboring the spirit of his dead best friend inside of him. Call ended up being such a let down that I won’t even spend more words on him. Additionally, what the heck was this villain? He was ridiculous to the point of absurdity, and nothing close to the level of evil the past books seemed to contain. I mean, Alex freaking killed someone for their powers, and you can’t even meet that level for your finale? Come on guys.
I almost never say this, but this but this series should have been shorter. This series would have actually been stronger if things had just ended on book 4. I can’t say much good about this particular book, but at least it was a quick read.
I had such high hopes for this book after the redeeming of the series (for me) in book 4. Just in general, there was so much potential for this series, and I had such expectations both from books 1 and 2 and from Clare’s and Black’s prior works.
Now, I get this is a middle grade series. It won’t be as deep as Black’s The Cruel Prince/Tithe/etc. or Clare’s The Infernal Devices/The Dark Artifices/etc. I also get that these books are not necessarily aimed towards me, and both the humor and plot are aimed for those younger than I. However, this series, this book, being a part of a younger genre does not excuse some of the issues this series had, especially in terms of pacing, plot, and characters. It does not excuse the illogical nature of some of the decisions in this book, or the lack of effort (it seems) in the planning of this book, and series as a whole. I was honestly surprised when it seemed as if this book left things purposely open for a sequel series, as it honestly felt, while reading, that the author duo seemed to be less and less interested in these books.
You can possibly blame my earlier love for the series on my younger age, but I’d argue that those books were just overall better, in terms of character dynamics, plot, and pacing (oh god, especially the pacing). Yes the trio and world heavily mimicked Harry Potter, and the series definitely needed to move away from that, but that doesn’t mean that the series needed to lose the normal pacing it had in books 1 and 2. And yes, the plot was not complex at all in the earlier books, but it doesn’t need to be, as that’s not necessarily what I expect from a middle grade book.
Let’s just get the worst over with and discuss pacing. In books 1 and 2 this was fairly well done, with the books spanning an entire school year, and sometimes a bit of the summer beforehand. A standard pacing style for a school based series. Book 3 already broke this pattern by ending about half way through the year (if I remember correctly, it’s been a few years now), and that sharp contrast in time period definitely left the book feeling unfinished. The time period of book 4 is honestly a mystery to me, but at the start of book 5, 4 years of schooling have supposedly passed (I don’t know how). Book 5, while when looked at logically, takes place over a few months or something, reads like it all takes place within the first week of school or something. There is almost no build up or problem solving in this book. Nothing stalls the constant moving plot, and this constant action, combined with weird time jumps/lack of focus on anything but events that directly solve the plot, makes the book read really quickly, as well as feel weirdly timed. I’d have to actually study this book to figure out how the timeline all works together, and even then I can’t promise I’d find an answer. Additionally, the allocation of pages to different periods of time didn’t add up at all. There are a few moments of travelling and driving in this book, but the pacing and logistics of them is so ridiculous that I couldn’t even fully take those seriously and as a part of the actual plot/story. It honestly just felt like badly written filler, even when it contributed directly to the plot.
As I’m already on the subject, let’s talk about the plot. Arguably, the second worst part of this book next to the pacing. There is no true conflict in this book. Nothing goes wrong, nothing is lost, and anytime something gets in the way of Call/Tamara/Aaron, even the main evil of the book, almost no effort goes to actually solving the problem, as a solution is almost always presented immediately. Additionally, this lack of struggle means the entire book reads at the exact same amount of tension. There are no highs and lows. It is all action, and since there are no dull moments to make that action exciting by comparison, the action itself becomes boring. Additionally, there is almost no build up to this installment. Book 4 seemed to neatly wrap up everything in a bow for our duo/trio, so this book definitely needed something to bring that evil back to the forefront, some whispers of dark magic or evil returning rather than just a single hint and then sudden entrance of the big bad.
The characters themselves were also just weaker than in past installments. Call’s main focus was staring at Tamara and worrying about college, admittedly mundane worries for someone with an evil soul who also happens to be harboring the spirit of his dead best friend inside of him. Call ended up being such a let down that I won’t even spend more words on him. Additionally, what the heck was this villain? He was ridiculous to the point of absurdity, and nothing close to the level of evil the past books seemed to contain. I mean, Alex freaking killed someone for their powers, and you can’t even meet that level for your finale? Come on guys.
I almost never say this, but this but this series should have been shorter. This series would have actually been stronger if things had just ended on book 4. I can’t say much good about this particular book, but at least it was a quick read.
Although I like how the book ended, I just felt the book seemed short and a little rushed.