Representation: N/A?
Trigger warnings: Near-death experiences, death of a father in the past and another person, building collapse, fire
Score: Six points out of ten.
This review can also be found on The StoryGraph.

Man, I gave this author one last chance and he squandered it. I saw this book hiding on the shelves of one of the two libraries I visit so I picked it up hoping that it would be better than The Wishing Spell and finally read it. When I finished it, I felt that it was at the same level as the preceding instalment and not a step up. Shame. It starts (or continues) with the main characters Alex and Conner Bailey who recently left The Land of Stories when some new characters arrive on what they call the Otherworld (but I call it Earth.) They tell the news that a new villain (you know, the classic big bad one,) the Enchantress has kidnapped Alex and Conner's mother (did I mention that another person, Bob, would be their new stepfather?) Soon enough they return to The Land of Stories but here is where the flaws surface, the author still left all the old and new characters remain underdeveloped which I didn't appreciate, the worldbuilding was off and the writing style, well.

I get that the author would write the book so that it'd be more accessible to a greater amount of readers but I would've enjoyed it more if there were more details instead of telling everything in the narrative. Never have I seen a book abuse italics and capital letters as much as this one which irritated me since half the time I thought all the characters were shouting. If there was an award for a story with the most basic descriptions ever, the instalment I read would get it. As mentioned above, there is no representation. I understand that it's hard to get right (when I consider authors that write books that have Black, Asian, Latino/a, neurodivergent characters, those who have disabilities or different body types who sometimes get it right and other times get it wrong) but a story can be diverse and outstanding. What I read was neither of those. It underwhelmed me.

Alex and Conner build an airship considering The Land of Stories is centuries behind Earth and no one in the former would think of that except them, assemble the Wand of Invincibility to defeat the Enchantress but it wasn't necessary in the final pages. All for nothing save for Alex using compassion to remove the Enchantress' powers and a fairy tale wedding ending the book. Ah well. It's time to move on to the next one I suppose. ( )

Loved this squeal as well! loved the ending of this story; it was sad though. nice to have the author read it to me ( )

Loved this squeal as well! loved the ending of this story; it was sad though. nice to have the author read it to me ( )

I read both in this series all at once (having had them lent to me the same week). I was pleasantly surprised by both story lines and the complexity of the plot and themes presented. Mr. Colfer takes the time to expand and address topics that young adults, and adult, grapple with in everyday life. I also felt that the exploration of the "other side of the story" in terms of character motivation for the villains (and the resulting lesson) to be expertly handled.

If Mr. Colfer continues to write young adult (or any genre) novel with such passion and skill I expect him to have a very long professional writing career.. and I look forward to his future work.

( )

Much like the series' first book, this book is equally amazing. The characters will always remain precious to me, and the story is chef's kiss. ( )