Another fabulous book in the Wolves series! Dido is charged with finding Lord Herodsfoot on the distant island of Aratu, among the spice plantations, the witch doctors, and forest people. Lord Herodsfoot is searching for new and ancient games, which he hopes will entertain King James back in England. But the island is a troubled place with political unrest and violence around every turn. The island king's malicious brother is planning a coup, and only Dido and her strange new friends can save the island and restore balance to the people's lives.

Full of adventure and a little magic, this story keeps moving with a quick plot, weird and interesting characters, and of course, the excellent writing that I find in all Joan Aiken's books.

I love love love Dido! She really holds up well as a main character in so many of the Wolves books. I never get tired of her adventures! She's gutsy and thoughtful and wildly wonderful. I love how sensible she is, looking for practical solutions in each crazy situation. When everyone else is wasting time wailing over their misfortune, Dido rolls up her sleeves and gets to work fixing it. Her common sense is invaluable in every story!

There is some woodland "witchcraft" in this one, although it feels more like elemental magic. The forest women can meditate on the weather and cause it to change. They can look into the future too! I liked how innocent and clean the magic feels in this story, like a part of nature that the forest people can tap into just by listening.
They do have some weird beliefs though, like that ghosts will steal away a baby's soul if you don't christen it right away; and that if the population of the island gets too big, the ancestors will instruct about a hundred people to commit mass suicide to make room for the others. ??? Gah! That was creepy! But I liked that it gives this eerie backdrop for the story, and adds to the mystery of the island.

There are snakes in almost every chapter, which freaked me out! I hate snakes! But mostly people just throw rocks at them, or hit them with a stick, and they're dead. Only one guy gets bit, and has to take medicine for the snake poison. Ugh! So gross, and creepy, and yuck!

I just adore all the supporting characters! Lord Herodsfoot is especially important to the story, because we see his proper British self reacting to all the mysteries and enigmas of the island and its people. And he's rather dramatic and emotional as a counterpoint to Dido's "no-nonsense" attitude.
I loved the forest people that Dido meets! They are sweet and kind, but also full of secrecy and strange ways and customs. The structure of their forest society is so imaginative, from the way they eat and drink and build their homes, to their odd pets and mode of travel.

The story is wonderfully entertaining, and an excellent addition to this exciting series!

I am completely in love with the entire Giver quartet so far, and this third book is no exception!
This book follows Matty, whom we met in [b:Gathering Blue|12936|Gathering Blue (The Giver, #2)|Lois Lowry|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388195391s/12936.jpg|2134456], and his journey of self-discovery as he finds a power/gift within himself that he never had before.

Every main character in the books so far has discovered some kind of gift. With Jonas, it was the gift of seeing "Beyond". With Kira, she has the gift of her embroidery, and now Matty is blessed with a mysterious gift as well. I love the supernatural elements in every story, but they are especially evident in this book.

I really wondered about the Forest while I was reading Gathering Blue, since everyone seemed afraid of it, as if the trees were sentient and aware. In this book, the nature of the Forest is explored in more detail. The Forest actually becomes a villain and a character of its own! The writing is really brilliant!

As in the other books, we are introduced to a community where everything seems peaceful and content, but there is a dark secret in this seemingly happy society and there is a mystery for Matty to solve. It's never what I think it's going to be! I'm always surprised at the mystery, and so impressed with the deep social themes that are addressed.

The best thing about the writing is that deep and complex themes, like social injustice and the nature of man, identity and memory and the meaning of love, are all written about in such an exciting way! The moral lessons are so seamlessly included in the action of the story that it never feels preachy, and it's not until the end of the book that you realize... "Oh yeah. That was a moral lesson too!" Simply genius writing!

Matty is such a vibrant and energetic character. He's curious about everything and is very observant of the world around him. Seeing everything through his eyes was perfect! The action and mystery and suspense are all wonderful! I was on the edge of my seat to the very last page!

Spoilers for Gathering Blue:
If you haven't read Gathering Blue yet, then don't read the following...

Spoiler

I loved seeing the relationship between Matty and Seer, Kira's father. They make such a great father/son pair, and I love how patient Seer is with Matty's chatter and his stubbornness. Their mutual trust and familial love was one of the best parts of the book.

Major Spoilers for Messenger:
If you haven't read Messenger, then don't read the following...

Spoiler

I was glad to see Jonas again as the Leader! It wasn't until they mentioned the sled, that I put it together, but then of course it was obvious! I'm so proud of him and happy to see him all grown up, and in a place where his talents and insight are appreciated and respected. I hope he and Kira fall in love. I think it was hinted at, since they had that mental connection.

So the death scene at the end... I cried my eyes out. It was so beautiful and poignant, and I kept thinking, "I'm glad that Jean kissed him before he left. At least he had that." * crying* So sweet! And how amazing that everyone was healed, and the Forest was healed! Brilliant story-telling! I was on the edge of my seat till the very last page.
Sigh. Poor sweet Matty. And it's worse because he was such a vibrant character, so energetic and full of life and fun!

I was absolutely enchanted by this story of a young boy searching for his lost sister. Gwyn discovers that he is a magician, and he can use his magical abilities to call his sister, Bethan, back home. She has been missing for four years, and Gwyn's family is broken by her loss. Through a series of magical encounters, Gwyn searches for his sister and discovers his own powers.

The setting is in the Welsh countryside, which immediately gives a sense of legend and myth to the story. The magic system that Gwyn learns is very wild and mysterious. The magic seems to work more on instinct than by any rules or definite actions. If Gwyn wishes for something and focuses on what he wants, his magic will go out into the world and bring something back to him that will help him accomplish his goals. That is how Gwyn first releases the Snow Spider, and gains her help in his quest for his lost sister.

I loved Gwyn's character! He is so plucky and brave, but he also has a moral courage and an optimism in the face of darkness that really impressed me in so young a child. Seeing his relationship with his father was upsetting at first, but gratifying in the end. Their relationship is one of the main developments in the story, and it's beautifully written.

As always, Jenny Nimmo's writing is charming and delightful. It pulls you into the story with such original and imaginative details. I just love her books! I can't wait to read the rest of this trilogy!

Three apprentice mages are sent on a routine trip to deliver medicinal potions to a neighboring city, but the townspeople are in trouble and only these three uniquely talented magicians can save the people. Saving them without starting another war with the machines might be difficult though.

I liked all three of the girl mages in this book! They have secrets and hidden talents, and a whole lot of snark and conflict in their group, but eventually they learn to trust and respect each other through their perilous journey.

I enjoyed the colorful artwork and interesting plot! I want to keep reading this graphic novel series!

Is Twite and her cousin Arun go on a wild search for Arun's mother, Ruth Twite, while the Merry Gentry smugglers terrorize every village on the coast. Arun and Is turn to Admiral Fishkin for help and advice on how to find their missing relative, but the duplicitous Admiral is not as kind as he seems. Is and Arun search through the mysterious Silent Sect, explore a dark cave, find shelter in unlikely places, and ultimately find a way to restore peace to the coast and strip the Merry Gentry of their power.

I was a little disappointed in the "lucky" coincidences of the plot, especially since I have come to expect so much from Joan Aiken's writing. The plot felt really contrived as time after time the heroes are saved from disaster by some random happenstance. The main characters seem to float around from place to place, making a half-formed plan that doesn't really accomplish anything, and then they are miraculously saved! AGAIN! by some incredibly lucky accident. And the ending was especially contrived and unsatisfactory.

Other than that, the writing is great! Joan Aiken has such a beautiful writing style that pulls you into the story, creates emotional connections to the characters, and describes a vivid setting. Her writing and characters are imaginative and interesting and weird!

Still well worth the read, but not her best in this series.

In this second volume, the trio of apprentice mages are off on another adventure, but this time they are unsure which other mages they can trust in a world of secrets and lies. Ursa's past becomes an issue between the friends as her true family history is revealed. Trinh receives some extra training in combat, and Charris picks a fight with a much more experienced mage.

I liked this story for the interesting plot and good characters. There's a lot of action and imaginative scenes, but some of the characters are fairly one-dimensional. I look forward to seeing more development for them in future volumes.
There are also far too many secondary characters and side characters to keep track of. Especially the ones that are not actually in any of the scenes. Some mage runs off and they are all talking about him, and I can't remember who the hay he is because he's not in the actual scene.

I love the story setting of the mages vs. the machines, and all the complexity of that history. It was especially interesting to see how regular human without magic react to the mages in different ways, sometimes fearing them, sometimes grateful to them, and often prejudiced against anything different from themselves. I'm really interested to see what happens as these three groups fall back into conflict.

Disclaimer: I received an ecopy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for a free and honest review. All the opinions stated here are my own true thoughts, and are not influenced by anyone.

Within hours of returning to England, Dido is kidnapped and interrogated regarding the whereabouts of the missing King Richard and his successor, Simon, Duke of Battersea. Dido has no idea where they are hiding, but she could never betray the good King and her kind friend Simon, so she turns her attention to escaping the fearful Fogrum Hall and the ghastly werewolf, Baron Magnus.

This plot is a little disjointed with random happenings everywhere, and once again, I was disappointed that all the villains keep accidentally dying all over the place. I wish that the villains were conquered by the heroes, instead of the heroes standing idly by while the villains mistakenly fall off a cliff or something. It's so unsatisfactory that there is no struggling and fighting that ends in triumph! It ruins the suspense and leaves the ending a bit flat.

But Aiken's imaginative writing is electrifying as you are pulled into the story. The characters are wonderfully magnetic and emotional, and I love reading everything about the delicious Dido!

Candide and his friends are thrown into horrible situations, tortured, robbed, conscripted into armies, sold as slaves, shipwrecked, beaten, thrown into prison, etc... for the entire book, all the while discussing the philosophy of optimism, the idea that all is well and good in the world, despite the evidence to the contrary.

The writing is extremely concise and lacking in any detail, so that all the characters are one-dimensional, and the plot is very sparse. Everything moves quickly from one plot point to the next, so that within a few sentences the entire situation has changed. Not much is explained either, leaving a lot of plot holes and gaps in the story.

That being said... it's not really a story; it's a satire, so most of the story structure that one would expect from a novel is missing. The "wit" falls flat and might have been funny back in the day, but I failed to find anything humorous in the entire book.

The writing harps on and on about the same subject of unrealistic optimism without really saying anything new. I wish there were some kind of development (character development, advancement of a theme, or maybe progress of an idea to a logical conclusion), but everything is the same through the whole book. Nothing changes! Every character is fundamentally the same person they were at the beginning.

I was quite disappointed in this book because usually I enjoy classical satire, and find that, despite the gap of years, the jokes are still funny because they appeal to everyone. However, the jokes in this book do NOT include things common to all men, and so their humor has been lost, confined to a particular era of history. Or maybe Voltaire just has a weird sense of humor that doesn't appeal to ME particularly.

A hilarious adventure with deliciously weird characters, impossible plot twists, and delightfully sassy writing! I love every book in this series!

Tamryn is a slave in a circus, along with her aerialist partners, Torin and Patrick. They are beaten and starved, forced to perform for the cheering crowds, until one day Tamryn's situation becomes desperate and Torin risks everything to help her escape. Separated from the only family she knows, Tamryn struggles to find a balance between survival and following her true heart. Torin vows to find a way to escape and be reunited with Tamryn, but the circus owner is ruthless and cruel. Escape seems impossible. In the middle of it all, Patrick seeks for comfort in the arms of Jessica, Tamryn's replacement in their aerial act. Four young people searching for freedom, and they will only find it through knowing Christ.

I loved this book!!! I don't know if it was the writing, the characters, or the dramatic plot... but this story pulled me in. There is so much action and running around and drama! Usually I don't even like circus stories, but this one definitely captured my attention.

The characters each go through a lot of development as the story progresses. I especially love Torin's storyline as he begins a dialogue with God and finds a place in God's family. I love that Tamryn is an emotional character; even though her heart has been so damaged, she still feels and cares and has compassion.

I did not enjoy the violence in the book though. Those poor kids are beaten several times by the circus owner and it gets graphic sometimes. I think those parts could have been written with fewer details and still been powerful in the story. I don't need the gory details! It's too upsetting to read about.

One of the great things about this book is how the gospel of Christ is presented as a natural part of the story. It doesn't feel preachy or forced. The characters each react in a different way and different time to the message of God, and it fuels the story and pushes the characters forward, influencing their decisions.
I love it!

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for a free and honest review. All the opinions stated here are my own true thoughts and are not influenced by anyone.