A review by antimony
Curse of the Bane by Joseph Delaney

adventurous dark mysterious tense

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.5

i must just be in a mean mood... i definitely remember this one not being one of my favorites in the series when i was a kid (i don't actually remember rereading it at all after the first time i read it...though this may just be because i didn't own it). the first half was good but after a good start the second part drags SOOOOO much. i do appreciate what it does for the series, it really sets up the parallels between tom and alice and opens up a lot of stuff for tom's mam's backstory. and i love the illustrations of course. but it could have been shorter