Review of Shannon Messenger’s Keeper of the Lost Cities: Everblaze

Everblaze by Shannon Messenger

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Ms. Messenger continues to develop a delightful series, building upon the Elvin world with the subtle strokes of a painter adding detail to a painting. It’s slow progress that gives the reader a chance to absorb the new information without getting overwhelmed. And it makes sense – something you don’t always get with similar series. It’d be nice if the characters showed the same progression of growth, but Sophie, in particular, seems to remain in a circular path that’s getting stale. There’s no need to introduce new abilities to keep her interesting. Still, her personality or even the chance to LEARN from the past would go a long way to make her more empathetic (an ironic statement to make, given the world Ms. Messenger has created, I know). Rather than feeling for her – especially toward the final chapters – you grow listless and even start to understand the Council’s position. Perhaps that’s what Ms. Messenger intends? (Doubtful at this stage of the story arc) And while the revelation of one of the antagonists was a surprise, the other unraveled too soon to hold interest. This left the volume unbalanced, unfortunately. Then again, this seems to be a common curse of the third volume in most series. Hopefully, the next book in the series will redeem the shortcomings.

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