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roshk99's review against another edition
3.0
The final book in the series - finishes it comprehensively, but the ending is a bit disappointing
book_nut's review against another edition
Note to self: don't start with the last book of this (from what I've heard, very good) series.
jlynnelseauthor's review against another edition
3.0
Not a bad book, but certainly not a great one, and one that is an ending to this imaginative and fun series. First of all, what happened to Dybbuk??? The end of book 5 Dybbuk crushes the good half of himself and recovers his djinn powers. And NOTHING??? That was a big cliffhanger! NOTHING??? It made me feel like the previous books were moot. What was the point to “Eye of the Forest,” my favorite one of the series? And what about their mother? Their father? I was hoping for some kind of ending that included their family. Maybe an epilogue or something.
This book felt a little tired. It felt like everyone was rather ho-hum about everything as the plot progressed. There was fun adventure, but there was a missing spark of excitement that the previous books possessed. There were also very few difficulties and hardships the characters faced along the way. I am glad the kidnapping of Groanan did not go on for too long. It was just the right amount to be amusing and then even more fulfilling when he was reunited with his companions.
Also, the motivations and discovery of the villain was really a let down. The villain has no role in the first 4/5 of the book, then becomes this easy to possess and stop character that holds no weight to the storyline. He found the tomb of Genghis Khan! He’s got to have some kind of intelligence. A great book is made partially by its good guy but also largely in part due to its bad guy. This book was lacking a really good and quirky villain character. I kept HOPING it would turn out that Dybbuk was pulling the chocolatier’s strings. Very disappointed in the last few chapters. Give us an ending worthy of all the other books in the series. What happened to the evil tribe of djinn? They didn’t want to try to help the villain with his quest? And to be honest, the motivation of the villain was lame. Again, this seems like a product resulting from the tiredness this book felt weighed down with.
It was fun that P.B. Kerr added a bit about the development of this series at the end. I enjoyed reading the way things started for these characters. I also have fun with the educational bits Kerr adds to each book. I certainly learned a lot about volcanoes! But compared to the other books, this story was a disappointment. The adventures seemed rather easy compared to the previous obstacles the djinn have faced. It was just too easy a read and too simple an ending for these complex and smart characters.
This book felt a little tired. It felt like everyone was rather ho-hum about everything as the plot progressed. There was fun adventure, but there was a missing spark of excitement that the previous books possessed. There were also very few difficulties and hardships the characters faced along the way. I am glad the kidnapping of Groanan did not go on for too long. It was just the right amount to be amusing and then even more fulfilling when he was reunited with his companions.
Also, the motivations and discovery of the villain was really a let down. The villain has no role in the first 4/5 of the book, then becomes this easy to possess and stop character that holds no weight to the storyline. He found the tomb of Genghis Khan! He’s got to have some kind of intelligence. A great book is made partially by its good guy but also largely in part due to its bad guy. This book was lacking a really good and quirky villain character. I kept HOPING it would turn out that Dybbuk was pulling the chocolatier’s strings. Very disappointed in the last few chapters. Give us an ending worthy of all the other books in the series. What happened to the evil tribe of djinn? They didn’t want to try to help the villain with his quest? And to be honest, the motivation of the villain was lame. Again, this seems like a product resulting from the tiredness this book felt weighed down with.
It was fun that P.B. Kerr added a bit about the development of this series at the end. I enjoyed reading the way things started for these characters. I also have fun with the educational bits Kerr adds to each book. I certainly learned a lot about volcanoes! But compared to the other books, this story was a disappointment. The adventures seemed rather easy compared to the previous obstacles the djinn have faced. It was just too easy a read and too simple an ending for these complex and smart characters.
knuspermela's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.75
cara_larm's review against another edition
5.0
If you have read the rest of this series, you will absolutely love this book. It's such a beautiful and definite ending to the series. I personally, balled my eyes out because I will never get to hear about the characters I have grown up with ever again. But, I suppose it had to end eventually and I'm glad it ended the way it did, with no loose ends.
vetathebooksurfer's review
5.0
due to the fact that i'm an idiot the review of the last fucking book was deleted
natep's review
1.0
This is by far the worst book in the series. John and Philippa have to save the world from volcanic eruptions and make the ultimate sacrifice to do so: their powers *gasp* . It was the worst writing in a poorly written series already.
"It was Kilauea that destroyed our mother's physical body, and obliged her to take on the shape of Mrs. Trump, our housekeeper"- written to refresh memory of readers because John, to whom Philippa is talking, would obviously know who Mrs. Trump is.
This type of clunky overly formal (or incorrectly informal) writing plagues this book more than the previous ones. Unnecessary appositives abound where the author tries to remind readers of what happened in previous books in the worst and most stilted way possible. Additionally, why, in every single book in this series, are there so many passages about how twins have special powers of telepathy even in humans? WE GET IT, THEY KNOW EACH OTHER WELL! It just became ridiculous in this book because this paragraph was inserted so many times. Also, I get that the mafia is supposed to be a joke, but can this not be look like it was written by a 5 year old: let's sell Groanin to the Romanian mafia, "they're much more ruthless than we are. Every flaw from the series is amplified here
"It was Kilauea that destroyed our mother's physical body, and obliged her to take on the shape of Mrs. Trump, our housekeeper"- written to refresh memory of readers because John, to whom Philippa is talking, would obviously know who Mrs. Trump is.
This type of clunky overly formal (or incorrectly informal) writing plagues this book more than the previous ones. Unnecessary appositives abound where the author tries to remind readers of what happened in previous books in the worst and most stilted way possible. Additionally, why, in every single book in this series, are there so many passages about how twins have special powers of telepathy even in humans? WE GET IT, THEY KNOW EACH OTHER WELL! It just became ridiculous in this book because this paragraph was inserted so many times. Also, I get that the mafia is supposed to be a joke, but can this not be look like it was written by a 5 year old: let's sell Groanin to the Romanian mafia, "they're much more ruthless than we are. Every flaw from the series is amplified here
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