Published By: Firefly
Pages: 288
Released On: 12/09/2024
Age Range: 11+
Paranormal students Delores and Prudence are being hounded by inquisitors after they broke the rules and helped rescue fellow student Maud from death at the hands of an evil spirit.
Cruel inquisitor Magoria Jepp is searching for secrets at their home in Edinburgh’s Tolbooth Bookstore, but does she have an uncanny history of her own to hide? As Delores tries save them both, she attracts the unwelcome attention of a murderous Boçan, or evil spirit, intent on stealing her paranormal gifts. Can she defeat her enemies, and maybe her own family too, to save everyone she loves at the Tolbooth?
*****
Thanks to NetGalley and Firefly for the advanced copy of this title in return for an honest review.
I may be a good two decades older than the recommended age range for this series but I don’t care. I absolutely loved the first one, it was so original, so witty, and just had some brilliant characters and brilliant storytelling.
It’s quick and easy to read at 288 pages; I read it in less than a day, and I think most people, especially children, will be able to read it just as quickly as it just flies by. It is a really fun book to read, for all ages.
This is a series I definitely recommend you read from the start, otherwise you may be lost by all the characters and the things mentioned that hark back to book one. It gives you all that was magical from the first book and builds on it. The sequel has given Yvonne more scope to develop everything we loved about the first one. She has further explored the characters, introduced new ones, and given us everything we expect, and most certainly does not dial down on the magic.
I did feel it lacked a little of the excitement the first one had from the get-go. That’s not necessarily a negative, just an observation. Whereas I felt the first one had more get-go from the get-go, this one is more conversation, more secrets etc. which is good in its own way.
I definitely think they’ve got the age rating spot on – I think any younger and it might scare readers. I will definitely be recommending this series to the children in my family, but also to older children and adults. They’re great fun, full of mischief and magic, fantasy and adventure, but there is a warm heart about everything that makes it captivating for older readers.
It does exactly what I wanted it to do, which is sew the seeds for a third book, and I for one am hoping this will be a long series, a I can’t see myself ever getting bored of them. Yvonne has created something that is entertaining and appropriate for younger readers, but gives adults an excuse to relive their magical childhoods.
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