ofclumsywords's Reviews (486)

“I’d rather die on an adventure than live standing still.”

Grey, for the magic-less city. 

Red, for the healthy empire. 

White, for the starving world.

Black, for the lost city. 

Or, as Lila so elegantly puts it: 

Dull London, 

Kell London, 

Creepy London, 

and Dead London. 

This has been on my TBR for years and I’ve heard so many amazing things about this series. And let me tell you, it lived up to all my expectations. The idea of four different Londons, all existing in different worlds and a man who could visit all of them is exactly what drew me to this book. Kell was such a fun character, who acts as if he doesn’t care about anything and yet has such deep loyalty to not only his adoptive family but for his Red London as well. Meanwhile, Lila was such a badass even from the very first chapter where she kills a man who tries to have his way with her. The reader can instantly understand her need to go on an adventure, to escape the harsh reality that comes for an orphaned girl in 1800’s Grey London. Of course the moment Lila meets Kell and discovers he can use magic and comes from a entirely different London she is hooked, demanding to be taken along on a grand adventure. And naturally these two don’t meet by chance and have to stop an evil power that has escaped from Black London and is threatening all the other London’s. 

When a reader choses a fantasy book, they do so to escape reality. And the author not only appeals to that idea but also makes Lila feel the same way the fantasy reader does. By including our world in this book as one of the realities, the author makes the book feel more alive as we get to discover the other London’s along with Lila, who has the same longing all readers have: adventure. 

A lot of filler, but the last chapter sets up the next volume for the Forger family to go on a cruise trip.

The reader gets to meet more new characters from the agency Twilight works at. Fiona Frost—aka Nightfall—is a woman who Twilight trained and now they have to team up to steal a painting believed to have hidden codes hidden inside it. During this mission we find that Nightfall is secretly in love with Twilight and has plans to convince Twilight to trade his wife Yor for herself. The whole drama was ok as I feel like romance isn’t the point of this series. But it was cute to see Yor and Loid go out and discuss their arrangement and that Loid wants Yor to stay as his pretend wife.

The last section of this volume was by far the most impactful on the overall plot. Loid finally comes into contact with his mark Donovon Desmond, who he needs to get state secrets from to stop the war between East and West. It was great to see that the main plot isn’t going to be overlooked when there seemed to be a lot of side missions happening while Loids fake daughter Anya tries to befriend Desmond’s son. I am eager to start the next volume as the first meeting with Desmond was the cliffhanger. But overall, no matter how long it has taken to get to this point, this series is so fun that you enjoy all the filler missions. 

We get an introduction to two new characters; Daybreak, a rival spy from the opposing agency, and Nightfall, a spy who is in love with Twilight (aka Loid Forger). It was great to see more of the spy part of the plot along with Anya’s continued schooling. I want to bash Loid and Yor’s heads together at how ridiculous they are second guessing themselves about the fake family situation they are in. But if they knew then there would be no plot.

This series continues to be amazing and I am going to be so sad when I catch up on all the volumes and then have to wait for the next volume to come out. Thankfully, I have a while to go before that happens and can continue to enjoy the Forger family hijinks. 

The Forger family got a dog!!! One who just so happens to be a government experiment that can see into the future. Naturally Anya (who can read people’s and animal’s minds) instantly falls in love with the dog and works with him to take down the terrorist cell that wants to assassinate a political leader. This was one of the more action packed volumes, and the entire book has Anya and the dog taking down the terrorist cell after Anya sees through the dogs prediction that Loid Forger will die while trying to take down the same cell. 

The dog was by far my favorite part! He is just so cute and it was so heartwarming to see him get adopted by the Forgers after the bad guys are taken down. He already fits in well with the Forger family and I’m so glad that he got adopted in the end. 

Just when the stakes couldn’t be higher with Anya getting into Eden the author introduces a new character who could ruin everything. Finding out Yor’s brother Yuri is a secret agent for the opposing government that Twilight (aka Loid Forger) is trying to take down. Yuri is an intense character, who will do anything to get information from the bad guys for a safe and secure country for his sister to live in. The reader finds out pretty early on that Yor brought up Yuri on her own after their parents died so even before meeting Yuri, the reader knows their bond is strong. It will be very interesting to see how the story unfolds now that Yuri is in the picture and he wants to single handedly take down Twilight. Funny Yuri has no clue that his new brother in law is the same man. 

This was freaking adorable and I can understand the hype with this series! Loid, Yor, and Anya are great characters and I can’t wait to see how they go from strangers having to pose as a family into an actual family. 

The addition of Anakin making Padme’s necklace was by far my favorite part of this book. But besides that, there seemed to be fewer additions to the stories than the other two journals (Maul & Padme’s). The writing wasn’t my absolute favorite and seemed a little stiff and childish to me. Yes I know this is told in a 9 year olds perspective, but when compared to the other children’s novels in the Star Wars universe, this one seemed to stand out more and make the reader more aware its a children’s book.