I read and reviewed all three books in this trilogy separately, so this is really just for my own records. Both Sabriel and Abhorsen I rated as three stars, and for much the same reason. I liked the world building - I found the whole thing with the bells particularly interesting - but I couldn't seem to connect emotionally with either book, and that was largely because of the characters, I think. Sabriel, Touchstone, and their children do nothing for me.

As far as I'm concerned, book number two, Lirael, was the absolute stand-out of the series. I really enjoyed it, and it earned four stars from me. I love Lirael, I love the Disresputable Dog, and I especially loved the Clayr library (I could read a whole book about that library! was sorry when she left it). I did not love Sam, not one bit, but even his presence didn't drag down everything that made the book so much fun.

Averaging out, it's three stars for the series.