Ash and Quill (The Great Library #3), by Rachel Caine – 4.5 Stars

Tags

Adventure, Alternate History, Fantasy, LGBT Relationships, YA Fiction

Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Available Now

368 Pages

Synopsis: Hoarding all the knowledge in the world, the Great Library jealously guards its secrets. But now a group of rebels poses a dangerous threat to its tyranny…

Jess Brightwell and his band of exiles have fled London, only to find themselves imprisoned in Philadelphia, a city led by those who would rather burn books than submit. But Jess and his friends have a bargaining chip: the knowledge to build a machine that will break the Library’s rule.

Their time is running out. To survive, they’ll have to choose to live or die as one, to take the fight to their enemies–and to save the very soul of the Great Library…

The third installment in the Great Library series, Ash And Quill picks up immediately where Paper And Fire left off. To quickly sum up the mythology of the series: The Great Library of Alexandria exists in this alternate reality. Sadly, this isn’t a good thing. You see, they insist they’re there “to contain the knowledge of the world in the name of the greater good.” What this really means is no one outside of The Library is allowed to possess actual print books. If they want to read they’re given “blanks”, into which stories can be temporarily downloaded. There are all sorts of other rules and restrictions, but the biggest and most serious offense is possession of a real book. It’s not only a serious crime, it’s one that may cost you your life.

This is shaping up to be one of my favorite YA series, which isn’t a huge surprise as I’m a huge fan of Rachel Caine’s previous books. While I found the last book a little slower paced, here the action began on the very first page and never stopped. And what I really liked was that everything that unfolds in this book is obviously setting things up for the last two. 

What truly stands out though are the characters. In the previous two books there were times where I felt somewhat disconnected from Jess and his friends. Here, they literally spring to life. The dynamic between them is wonderful and they each contribute something vitally important to their mission. Although romance understandably takes a backseat in this eventful story, what is there is lovely, whether it’s between Jess and Morgan; Wolfe and Santi; or Dario and Khalila. And best of all, there is no angst and no annoying love triangles!’

The world-building continues to be spectacular and with Jess and his fellow rebels spending a majority of the story with book “Burners” in Philadelphia, you get to see what The Great Library has done in a different light. The ending is a heart-rending cliffhanger and I can’t believe we have to wait an entire year for the next book! I swear this series is going to kill me before it comes to a close! 

Ash And Quill is definitely my favorite of this series thus far. Full of magic, adventure, friendship, and of course–BOOKS!–this is a series not only for teens, but adult book lovers as well, and I really can’t recommend it highly enough! 

 

 

 

True North (True Born Trilogy), by L.E. Sterling – 3.5 Stars

Tags

Adventure, Dystopian Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery, Science Fiction, YA Fiction

Thanks to NetGalley and Entangled Teen for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: Available Now

400 Pages

Synopsis: Abandoned by her family in Plague-ridden Dominion City, eighteen-year-old Lucy Fox has no choice but to rely on the kindness of the True Borns, a renegade group of genetically enhanced humans, to save her twin sister, Marot. But Nolan Storm, their mysterious leader, has his own agenda. When Storm backtracks on his promise to rescue Margot, Lucy takes her fate into her own hands and sets off for Russia with her True Born bodyguard and maybe-something-more, the lethal yet beautiful Jared Price. In Russia, there’s been whispered rumors of a Plague Cure.

While Lucy fights her magnetic attraction to Jared, anxious that his loyalty to Storm will hurt her chances of finding her sister, they quickly discover that not all is as it appears…and discovering the secrets contained in the Fox sisters’ blood before they wind up dead is just the beginning.

As they say in Dominion, sometimes it’s not you…it’s your DNA.

I’ve been looking forward to True North since I finished its predecessor, True Born, and although I think it suffers a slight case of the dreaded “sequelitis”, there were still parts I enjoyed. I think my biggest problem was that there just didn’t seem to be as much action in this as there was with the first. After the exciting conclusion in True Born, I assumed that in addiction to more action-packed fight scenes, we’d also get a better picture of Russia and how it differs from Dominion. I was also expecting more information regarding the different societal factions, as well as more revelations about the Fox sisters. While there are some more answers given about Lucy and Margot, they don’t come until near the end, and there is nothing new imparted about the Preachers or the True Borns, which left me a bit frustrated. My last complaint is in regards to Lucy and Jared’s romantic relationship, or rather the lack of one. Jared drove me absolutely up the wall with his hot and cold attitude toward her, and even when he finally explained himself, I just didn’t buy it. He reminded me too much of Edward Cullen in Twilight, (which is a whole other topic for another day). But, there were also some positive aspects to balance the negatives. Lucy, who I really liked in the previous book, continued to grow and find herself here. She was more self-confident and willing to rely on her own instincts even if it meant going against what others were telling her. I have a feeling that she’s truly going to be a force to be reckoned with. There was also a new character named Alistair who I thought was intriguing and likable, and I hope there’s much more about him in the next book. Nolan Storm, the enigmatic leader of the True Borns, came across even more interesting here, and left me wondering what his true motivations are toward Lucy and Margot. Thankfully the action did pick up a little in the second half and the ending was a satisfying set-up for the third book. While True North was a little disappointing, I’m still hopeful that the next book will regain all the excitement that True Born was filled with. 

About the Author:

L.E. Sterling had an early obsession with sci-fi, fantasy and romance to which she remained faithful even through an M.A in Creative Writing and a PhD in English Literature–where she completed a thesis on magical representation. She is the author of two previous novels, the cult hit YA novel The Originals (under pen name L.E. Vollick), dubbed “the Catcher in the Rye of a new generation” by one reviewer, and the urban fantasy Pluto’s Gate. Originally hailing from Parry Sound, Ontario, L.E. spent most of her summers roaming across Canada in a van with her father, a hippie musician, her brothers and an occasional stray mutt–inspiring her writing career. She currently lives in Toronto, Ontario.

 

 

 

 

 

Defy The Stars (Defy the Stars #1) ~ By Claudia Gray – 4.5 Stars

Tags

Adventure, Friendship, Science Fiction, Suspense, YA Fiction

Thanks to NetGalley and Little, Brown Books for Young People for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: April 4th, 2017

512 Pages

Synopsis: Noemi Vidal is a teen soldier from the planet Genesis, once a colony of Earth that’s now at war for its independence. The humans of Genesis have fought Earth’s robotic “mech” armies for decades with no end in sight.

After a surprise attack, Noemi finds herself stranded in space on an abandoned ship where she meets Abel, the most sophisticated mech prototype ever made. One who should be her enemy. But Abel’s programming forces him to obey Noemi as his commander, which means he has to save Genesis–even though her plan to win the war will kill him.

Together they embark on a daring voyage through the galaxy. Before long, Noemi begins to realize Abel may be more than machine, and for his part, Abel’s devotion to Noemi is no longer just a matter of programming.

I was a big fan of Claudia Gray’s YA paranormal Evernight series and Defy the Stars, which is set in the year 2295, is about as different a departure as you can get, but it is every bit good, if not even better! To be honest, the first few chapters were a little slow for me and I was thinking “Oh God! How am I going to get through over 500 pages of this?” There’s a lot  of sci-fi technology being introduced, and while I think fans of this genre wouldn’t give it a second thought, for someone like me it slowed the pace down a bit. But then I started getting completely falling for the two main characters Abel and Noemi and from then on, I was completely entranced. Noemi at first comes off as prickly, but she winds up being everything you could want in a heroine. She’s courageous, feisty, loyal, and more than willing to sacrifice herself to save her planet. Abel, definitely starts off as more machine than human and in some ways he appeared to me a sort of space age Pinocchio, but it’s soon apparent that there’s much more to him than meets the eye. He not only develops human emotions, but he displays such a witty sense of humor, that there were several instances that he had me laughing out loud. The relationship between these two go from distrustful enemies, to friends, to the beginnings of a lovely romance. The world-building is breathtaking and combines with very real questions of faith and religion, terrorism, the effects of climate change, colonialism, and the ethics of artificial intelligence and robotic. The ending is a perfect set up for the next book, but it left me wishing that the sequel was coming out now! Defy the Stars is a highly original and beautifully told story that definitely lives up to the hype surrounding it. It will take you on a breathtaking journey across the galaxy, where you’ll discover dark conspiracies, sinister and powerful enemies, and unexpected friends and allies. I highly recommend it for both teens and adults who enjoy an exciting science fiction tale filled with characters you can’t help but fall in love with.  

 

Tricked (Fairy Tale Reform School #3) ~ By Jen Calonita – 4.5 Stars

Tags

Adventure, Fantasy, Friendship, Juvenile Fiction

Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Jabberwocky for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

256 Pages

Synopsis: Things are changing at Fairy Tale Reform School.

At least, that’s what Gilly’s heard through the Enchantasia rumor mill. Word is, notorious trickster Rumplestiltskin has taken over management from headmistress Flora, and he’s locked down the school tighter than the Pied Piper’s pants. Not that this news concerns Gilly. She’s been released from the FTRS and is now suffering through attending Jack of All Trades School, where she gets to learn about different kinds of shoe leather and ways to measure feet.mTruly riveting stuff.

But when Gilly’s little sister Anna gets whisked off to FTRS thanks to her troublemaking new friends, Hansen and Gretel, Gilly knows she’s got to get Anna out of there. There’s only one thing to do; make some serious trouble and get thrown back into FTRS.

It’s time to out-trick a trickster.

Tricked is the third book in the Fairy Tale Reform series, and once again Jen Calonita has created a fantastical tale filled with action, humor, and wonderful worldbuilding. Gilly and her friends continue to evolve, making them completely relatable to tween readers. Just as in the previous two books, blended into the story are real life themes such as: standing up for yourself, making the right choices even though they may be the most difficult ones, and the value of friendship and teamwork. The storyline itself enhances the world of Enchantasia and introduces new, yet familiar faces both friend and foe. While I thought this particular quest came to an end a little too quickly, the ending is a perfect setup for the next book. I highly recommend Tricked and its predecessors: Flunked and Charmed for 9-12 year olds who enjoy action-filled fantasy.

Guardian of Secrets (Library Jumpers #2) ~ By Brenda Drake – 4.5 Stars

Tags

Adventure, Friendship, Romance, YA Fiction

Today I’m participating in themblog tour courtesy of Chapter by Chapter and Entangled Teen for a book I’ve been frothing at the mouth for since I read the first book in The Library Jumpers series. So without further ado let me present Guardian of Secrets!

Release Date: February 7th, 2017

400 Pages

Synopsis: Being a Sentinel isn’t all fairytales and secret gardens.

Sure, jumping through books into the world’s most beautiful libraries to protect humans from mystical creatures is awesome. No one knows that better than Gia Kearns, but she could without the part where people are always trying to kill her. Oh, and the fact that Pop and her had to move away from her friends and life as she knew it.

And if that isn’t enough, her boyfriend Arik, is acting strangely. Like, maybe she should be calling him “ex,” since he’s so into another girl. But she doesn’t have time to be mad or even jealous, because someone has to save the world from the upcoming apocalypse, and it looks like that’s going to be Gia.

Maybe. If she survives.

Guardian of Secrets is the second installment in the Library Jumpers series, and I’m happy to say it retains all the originality, magic, thrills, action, romance, and of course library jumping of the previous book, Thief of Lies. The only reason why I didn’t give this 5 stars is because the love triangle (which is a particular pet peeve of mine) between Gia, Arik, and Bastien threatened to overtake the narrative a few times. But even these relationships so well written, that I wound up satisfied with even that aspect of it, especially since Gia chooses the right guy in my humble opinion. Gia’s character has grown so much since the last book. Balancing school, a secret assignment given to her and her best friend, Nick by her uncle, her duties as a Sentinel, and trying to help Nick with his new Wizard powers, Gia perseveres and assists in saving the world…again! Of course none of this is possible without the support of her friends, family, and fellow Sentinels, who are all as fully fleshed out as the MCs. Girl power is very much on display throughout the story, with Gia surrounded by equally strong and supportive female friends. As is often the case with battles between good and evil, there are a couple of tragedies here involving well-loved characters, which puts fans on notice that no one is safe. Brenda Drake further builds upon the marvelous worlds she’s created through her beautifully descriptive style of writing. There wasn’t a moment where I felt lost or disconnected, because there’s just so much depth to her writing. I felt as though I had jumped into the book and become part of the story. In the end, Guardian of Secrets is a phenomenal follow-up to Thief of Lies and it’s left me eagerly anticipating the next book. I cannot recommend this addictive series highly enough to both teens and adults who love libraries and books!

For a look back at my review for Thief of Lies, please click here.

https://cadburypom.wordpress.com/2015/12/10/thief-of-lies-by-brenda-Drake-5-0-stars/

Brenda Drake is a New York Times bestselling author of Thief of Lies (Library Jumpers #1), Guardian of Secrets (Library Jumpers #2), Touching Fate (Fated Series #1) and Cursing Fate (Fated Series #2). She grew up the youngest of three children, an Air Force brat, and the continual new kid at school. She hosts workshops and contests for writers such as Pitch Wars and Pitch Madness on her blog, and holds Twitter Pitch parties on the hashtag #PitMad. When she’s not writing or hanging out with her family, she haunts libraries, bookstores, and coffee shops, or reads someplace quiet and not at all exotic (much to her disappointment)

Website – http://www.brenda-drake.com/

Twitter – https://twitter.com/brendadrake

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/pages/Brenda-Drake/171424269657164

Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/brendadrakeauthor/

Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7012713.Brenda_Drake

The Dragons Price (Transference #1) ~ By Bethany Wiggins – 2.5 Stars

Tags

Adventure, Fantasy, YA Fiction

Thanks to NetGalley and Crown Books for Young Readers for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review. 

Release Date: February 21st, 2017

304 Pages

Synopsis: When two warring kingdoms unified against a deadly menace laying waste to both their lands, they had to make a choice: vow to marry their heirs to one another, or forfeit their lives to the dragon.

Centuries later, everyone expects the sheltered princess Sorrowlynn to choose the barbarian prince over the fire-breathing beast–everyone, that is, except for Sorrow, who is determined to control her own destiny or die trying.

As she is lowered into the dragon’s chamber, she assumes her life is over until Golmarr, the young prince she just spurned, follows her with the hopes of being a hero and slaying the dragon. But the dragon has a different plan…

If the dragon wins, it will be freed from the spell that has bound it to the cave for centuries. If Sorrow or Golmarr vanquish the dragon, the victor will gain its treasure and escape the cave beneath the mountain. But what exactly is the dragon hiding?

There are no safe havens for Sorrow or Golmarr–not even with each other–and the stakes couldn’t be higher as they risk everything to protect their kingdom.

I have to admit The Dragons Price was an impulse request not because of the cover (which I thought was a bit tacky), but because of the dragon. Yes. I have a fondness for dragons! Unfortunately although the story’s quick pace had me finishing this in one sitting, there were a few flaws that prevented this from being a perfect read for me. I like both Sorrow and Golmarr, but the insta-love between them annoyed me and I thought their characters needed a little more development. On the surface, Sorrow is the kind of heroine I usually love. Intelligent, independent, courageous and a bit impulsive. While she’s a princess, her life has definitely been no fairytale, hence her willingness to sacrifice herself to a dragon, rather than marry an unknown prince. Plus she has a prophecy hanging over her. Golmarr is also likable. He may be a barbarian prince, but he’s a complete gentleman who’s also brave and filled with compassion. The problem was that maybe because their relationship happened so instantaneously, there just seemed to be something missing and they came across as one-dimensional. I also thought some of the dialogue was a bit stilted which didn’t help matters any. The actual storyline was fun, but overall, I found it a tad predictable. In the end I have to admit this was a disappointment for me. Because of the author’s writing style, the characters read more for middle-school children, while the situations are more for YA readers, which makes me unsure as to what age group I’d recommend this to. The Dragons Price is the first book in a planned trilogy and there were some parts of it that I enjoyed. While I wouldn’t buy the second book, I will perhaps borrow it from my library. There are plenty of plenty of positive reviews though on Goodreads, so as always don’t rely strictly on my opinion. 

 

 

 

 

Rest In Piece ~ By B.W. Ginsburg – 3.5 Stars

Tags

Adventure, Juvenile Fiction, Mystery, Paranormal Fiction, Suspense

166 Pages

Synopsis: Though decades apart, two young girls are connected in a way that is both fantastical and surreal. When twelve year old Louise Erickson finds out that she holds the key to saving a nine year old who disappeared twenty years earlier, she decides to accept the challenge. Will Louise be able to rescue the girl and the others locked away with her before it’s too late?

Rest in Piece is the debut novel by one of our fellow WordPress bloggers, B.W. Ginsburg, which made me even more excited to read and review it. After finishing, I’d say this is written for tweens. While I didn’t find it a perfect read, it was still fun and enjoyable. The action begins on the very first page and keeps the story moving forward at a pretty fast pace right up until its exciting ending. The storyline is highly imaginative and intriguing with two girls being connected over decades to each other through a mysterious and sinister puzzle. To be honest, the story is actually much better than the synopsis suggests. There were just two main issues I had reading this. The first concerned the characters’ voices, which I didn’t feel were distinctive enough from each other enough. The second concerned the actual world-building which took on more of a “telling” element rather than “showing”. Because of this I had difficulty feeling as though I was “in” the story. Overall though, I think Rest in Piece is a promising debut and it’s one that if I were still a children’s librarian, I’d be recommending to my young patrons who love a good paranormal mystery/adventure. I want to give kudos to B.W. on her debut and I’m definitely looking forward to seeing what she comes out with next!

*B.W. has two fun and informative blogs that I highly recommend visiting if you haven’t already.

http://restinpieceblog.wordpress.com

http://gettingthroughanxiety.wordpress.com

 

 

Martians Abroad ~ By Carrie Vaughan – 3.0 Stars

Tags

Adventure, Science Fiction, Suspense, YA Fiction

Thanks to NetGalley and Tor Books for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: January 17th, 2017

288 Pages

Synopsis: Polly Newton has one single-minded dream, to be a starship pilot and travel the galaxy. Her mother, the director of the Mars Colony, derails Polly’s plans when she sends Polly and her genius twin brother, Charles, to Galileo Academy on Earth–the one planet Polly has no desire to visit. Ever.

Homesick and cutoff from her desired future, Polly cannot seem to fit into the constraints on Earth, unlike Charles, who deftly maneuvers around people and sees through their behavior to their true motives. Strange, unexplained, dangerous coincidences centered on their high-profile classmates begin piling up. Charles may be right–there’s more going on than would appear, and the stakes are high. With the help of Charles, Polly is determined to find the truth, no matter the cost. 

I absolutely loved Carrie Vaughn’s urban fantasy Kitty Norville series so I was excited when I heard she was trying her hand at a YA science fiction series. Martians Abroad has some issues, but it was still a fairly fun read. The first problem I ran into was with the characters. Polly is likable enough, but compared to Kitty she makes for a somewhat bland heroine. There’s just not anything that makes her stand out. Her enigmatic twin, Charles, is much more intriguing, but he doesn’t get all that much page time as most of the focus is on Polly. The secondary characters are straight out of central casting from your typical high school cliques. And finally, the boarding school, while set on a future Earth has nothing to distinguish it from what’s become a ubiquitous trope. Carrie Vaughn in some instances displays her talent for fantastic world building here. I really enjoyed the comparisons between Polly and Charles’s lives on Mars and the difficulties they encounter on Earth because of the differences in not only gravity but culture. There’s a lot of fascinating details such as: how the difference in gravity effects both the body and mind, and what life in space is like. Everything is included from the management of space colonies, to piloting a spaceship, to fashion choices. Thanks to this, I felt as though I were part of the story. The mystery behind who is orchestrating the dangerous circumstances Polly, Charles and their classmates is intriguing but is a bit spoiled by an anticlimactic ending. It’s also unclear whether this is standalone. I’m hoping it’s not because I think the story and its characters show promise. I know this sounds like I really didn’t care for Martians Abroad, but there were some enjoyable aspects to it and it was a quick read. It’s also receiving many 4 and 5 star reviews on Goodreads, so maybe I’m being overly fussy. I think this is one of those books you need to try for yourself, especially if you like YA science fiction or you’re a fan of Carrie Vaughn.

Fate Of Flames (Effigies #1) ~ By Sarah Raughley – 3.5 Stars

Tags

Adventure, Fantasy, Paranormal, Science Fiction, YA Fiction

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon Pulse for providing an eARC  in exchange for an honest review.

368 Pages

Synopsis: When Phantoms–massive beasts made from nightmares and darkness–suddenly appeared and began terrorizing the world, four girls, the Effigies, each gained a unique power to control one of the classical elements: earth, air, fire, and water. Since then, four girls across the world have continually fought against the Phantoms, fulfilling their cosmic duty. And when one Effigy dies, another girl gains her power as a replacement. 

But now, with technologies in place to protect the world’s major cities from Phantom attacks, the Effigies have stopped defending humanity and instead have become international celebrities, with their heroic feats ranked, televised, and talked about in online fandoms.

Until the day that New York City’s protection against the Phantoms fails, a man seems to be able to control them by sheer force of will, and Maia, a high school student, unexpectedly becomes the Fire Effigy.

Now Maia has been thrown into battle with three girls who want nothing to do with one another. But what the first human villain that the girls have ever faced, and an army of Phantoms preparing for attack, there isn’t much time for the Effigies to learn how to work together

Can the girls take control of their destinies before the world is destroyed forever?

Fate Of Flames is a a little rough around the edges, but I think it’s a promising start to this new YA series. I’m going to get the negatives out of the way first. I found the characters for most of the book extremely annoying, although they did start to grow on me in the latter half of the book. Maia is likable but she comes across as being immature even for sixteen-years-old. She makes some questionable decisions that left me a tad frustrated. The other Effigies are, well, there’s really no other way to put this, brats. I understand that they’re forced into this dangerous life of battling the Phantoms, and that the life-expectancy for Effigies isn’t very long, but honestly! They spend so much time sniping and fighting each other, that they lose sight of who the real enemy is. Towards the end of the story though, they begin to work as a team, which gives me hope for the sequel. There are two male characters, Rhys and Saul who are actually much more interesting than the girls. At the beginning of the book, one is a hero and one a villain, but as the story unfolds, things get complicated and they may not be what they seem. There’s the beginnings of a romance between Maia and Rhys, but with all the action going on it stays mainly in the background. What saved this story for me was the unique storyline and fabulous world-building. It’s sort of a cross between Sailor Moon and Pacific Rim with maybe a little of The Avengers thrown in. It starts off with a bang, and the pace never slows down, which had me finishing this in two sittings. Despite my issues with the characters, I believe Fate Of Flames will have wide appeal for fans of YA fiction filled with action, paranormal, science fiction and fantasy. I’m hoping that the wrinkles with the characters are ironed out in the next book, because I think Effigies could truly be a great series. 

The Lost Property Office (Section 13 #1) ~ By James R. Hannibal – 4.0 Stars

Tags

Adventure, England, Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Juvenile Fiction, Mystery, Steampunk

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: November 8th, 2016

400 Pages

Synopsis: Thirteen-year-old Jack Buckles is great at finding things. Not just a missing glove or the other sock, but things normal people have long since given up ever seeing again. If only he could find his father, who has disappeared in London without a trace. 

But Jack’s father was not who he claimed to be. It turns out that he was a member of a secret society of detectives that has served the Crown for centuries–and membership into the Lost Property Office is Jack’s inheritance. 

Now the only way Jack will ever see his father again is if he finds what the nefarious Clockmaker is after: the Ember, which holds a secret that has been kept since the Great Fire of London. Will Jack be able to find the Ember and save his father, or will his talent for finding things fall short?

The Lost Property Office is an intriguing mash-up of fantasy, steampunk, and history with even a little Sherlock and Watson thrown in, and for the most part it’s a winning formula. 13- year-old Jack is an ordinary teen thrust into extraordinary circumstances. He’s a reluctant hero who is dragged into this quest by the overly enthusiastic Gwen and the villainous Clockmaker. All Jack really wants is his dad back. Instead he finds himself over his head with family secrets, a mysterious society of detectives and a gift that he neither understands nor wants. But following in the footsteps of other reluctant heroes, Jack rises to the occasion with help from the persistent Gwen. They’re such an appealing team and the dialogue between is clever and humorous. I wish some of the secondary characters had been developed a bit more, in particular Jack’s younger sister, Sally, who seems to have a mysterious gift of her own. I have a feeling though she’ll be playing a larger part in subsequent books. There’s a lot of history mixed in here about the Great Fire of London which I found fascinating, but I think it might slow the pace down a little for younger readers. The world-building though is wonderfully written especially in regards to the Buckle family’s history with the Lost Property Office. Overall, this is a solid middle-grade adventure that I think will appeal to a wide audience. I’m definitely looking forward to seeing the author takes this series next.