Celie, Lilah, Rolf, Pogue, and Queen Celina (and all their griffins) are in Grath to celebrate Lilah and Lulath's engagement, but being away from the castle makes them all out of sorts. When the ship is finally finished - incorporating parts from several different lands and peoples - equilibrium is restored, but then the ship takes them on a journey of its own, through the Well and into another world - to find the unicorns. They discover peoples Lost and Found, and manage to sail home safely, thanks to Queen Celina's wizardry; the series ends when they arrive, finally, home in Sleyne. ( )

Just when I wondered how more adventures with the castle could happen, it develops a mobile representative in the form of a ship -- excellent! and I love the ambiguous wish fulfillment of unicorns that turn out to be super aggressive and mean. Where, o where, will it go from here? I think I can guess, but I'd still really like to read that book. Will the series continue? Hard to say, but I'm hopeful. ( )

3.5 stars.

This was one of my favourite series when I was younger, and I was really looking forward to this last book, and then I just found I didn't care anymore... which is why it's been out for almost a year, and I still hadn't read it until today.

This was a really fun read. It's quick, and easy, and humorous. It tied up the series nicely, and I quite enjoyed it.
It lacked the spark that makes a book amazing for me, but I think this is an amazing series for a younger kid.

(This review is probably going to have slight spoilers for the earlier books in the series. I'm afraid it's sort of unavoidable. None from this book though.)

PLOT

The plot of this was sweet. It was fairly unrelated to the earlier books, but it tied up a few loose ends, as well as allowing them to have a whole new adventure.
As an older reader, I didn't find the plot particularly interesting, mostly because, it being a middle grade book, I sort of knew it would end out all right for everyone. That always makes a plot less interesting. If I'd been a bit younger though, I know I would have been on the edge of my seat, wanting to know what was going to happen.

SETTING

I love the setting in these books! The earlier books take place in this wonderful, magical castle, that's almost like a character itself.
This book takes place on a ship that they've made, partially from things they've found in the castle. This means that, although it's not as wonderful as the castle, it, like the castle, has a will of it's own.

The setting could have been better, because you can imagine that a book taking place mostly on a ship, no matter how magical that ship is, isn't *that* interesting.
Still, I love the setting, even if not as much as the setting in the earlier books.

CHARACTERS

I really like the characters in this. They are so rich, and well developed. And funny. Very very funny. Which is obviously what I really care about.
I'm going to give a quick list of characters I like, because why not?

-Celie. Our MC... she's well developed... I don't really don't know what else to say. She's likeable enough, I just don't *love* her.

-Rolf. I swear Rolf just gets funnier and funnier. He cracks me up, and he's probably my favourite character.

-Lilah. Lilah is ladylike and proper, which doesn't exactly endear her to me, but I actually really like her.

-Lulath. Lulath is great. He's just about the nicest person ever, he has a love for animals, he dresses very fancily, and he likes battle tactics. Yup, that's a pretty strange combination of things.

-Pogue. I really like Pogue. By the end, he's probably one of the characters who's been developed the most, and he's just sort of great.

-Celie's Mom. Whatever her name is. I really love that Celie has a great, supportive family. They aren't perfect, but who is? And her mom really is a great character. She seems calm and queenly, but she's actually pretty badass!

OVER ALL

This is a really sweet book. It's a great read for a younger kid, and still enjoyable enough for me.
I was just too young for it. ( )

The 5th book. DO read them in order, they make much more sense. They are wonderful children's books, well written and fresh new stories. I have both the Kindle and Audible versions of these books. ( )

Delightful if a little less complex or scary than the other four simply because we know there will be a happy ending (but if this is the last book in the series, it leaves SO MUCH unsaid and unexplored!). Overall a wonderful series that I am planning to give to my 8-year-old nibling for a winter holiday gift. ( )