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A review by myleejmiller
Never and Forever by Cressida Cowell
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
In the final installment of The Wizards of Once quadrilogy, Never And Forever follows Xar and Wish as they go on one last adventure in order to destroy the Kingwitch and the Droods who have aligned with him. Trained by Perdita and attempting to infiltrate the Mine of Happiness, they will face their deepest fears to succeed: whether that be a witch-stain or a lack of control over some magnificent power.
I was excited to get into the final book of The Wizards Of Once by Cressida Cowell after reading the fourth. However, I will admit, the novel was less exciting than I expected based on its predecessor. There were some good bits, and those are what I will start with noting, but I found the fantastic pieces too evenly matched with the lower spectrum-writing to give it more than three stars.
The first thing I will say is that Cressida Cowell is a phenomenal author in terms of word-choice. She has a distinct, eloquent voice and any reader could easily tell when they picked up one of her books by writing style alone. She is phenomenal at creating unique worlds and unique plots. Too often, we see vampires or mermaids or elven versus human rivalries in everyday fiction, but the Wizards VS Warriors conflict is an original twist on the mundane. Other things I enjoyed thoroughly in this story was how easy it is to read the book. Where Cowell's words flow, readers will want to follow.
As for the things I disliked about the novel, I would start with the finale. I don't mean the climax, but rather the denouement. It went on for a long time after the climax happened (approx. 60 pages) to the point that I found myself rolling my eyes. The moral themes of the story were also explicitly stated throughout the end of the narrative, which left much less room for reader interpretation. I found that the transition from this story into hints of another were crudely done and it made the original premise of The Wizards Of Once feel much less original. There were other things, as well, but this list stood out most to me.
Overall, this book is a three-star for my overall experience.
I was excited to get into the final book of The Wizards Of Once by Cressida Cowell after reading the fourth. However, I will admit, the novel was less exciting than I expected based on its predecessor. There were some good bits, and those are what I will start with noting, but I found the fantastic pieces too evenly matched with the lower spectrum-writing to give it more than three stars.
The first thing I will say is that Cressida Cowell is a phenomenal author in terms of word-choice. She has a distinct, eloquent voice and any reader could easily tell when they picked up one of her books by writing style alone. She is phenomenal at creating unique worlds and unique plots. Too often, we see vampires or mermaids or elven versus human rivalries in everyday fiction, but the Wizards VS Warriors conflict is an original twist on the mundane. Other things I enjoyed thoroughly in this story was how easy it is to read the book. Where Cowell's words flow, readers will want to follow.
As for the things I disliked about the novel, I would start with the finale. I don't mean the climax, but rather the denouement. It went on for a long time after the climax happened (approx. 60 pages) to the point that I found myself rolling my eyes. The moral themes of the story were also explicitly stated throughout the end of the narrative, which left much less room for reader interpretation. I found that the transition from this story into hints of another were crudely done and it made the original premise of The Wizards Of Once feel much less original. There were other things, as well, but this list stood out most to me.
Overall, this book is a three-star for my overall experience.