i’m not normally a fan of late additions to series with aged-up characters (the penderwicks, i am Looking at you), but this was genuinely fun to read !! (i picked this up after starting the disney+ adaptation, which is off to a good start.) the fact that there was literally one line about romance between characters (mentioned with disdain!!) and then the plot continued to move forward with the same banter, spunk and twist as before was definitely important to that. while i don’t think this novel is vital to the series as a whole and that the main trilogy is perfect on its own, it doesn’t take away from its predecessors — it brings back what readers loved so much about them in the first place.