Nightmare Academy #3: Monster War by Dean Lorey

My name is Charlie, and I must do something about the monsters invading earth even though I've been exiled from the Nightmare Academy. No one else has a chance of defeating the Fifth, but it may be beyond my abilities too. I'm the only Double-Threat fighting against her right now, since Pinch turned his back on humans. The Headmaster says my only hope of defeating the Fifth is to retrieve the Sword of Sacrifice from the Smith in the Netherforge. This weapon can kill any nether creature, but we don't know the sacrifices required to get it. The Director is determined to Reduce my friends and me, but no one will believe the truth about what he did to the Guardian. My only hope of saving all humanity is to retrieve the Sword of Sacrifice.

You should read the previous two books first, since this one concludes the trilogy. Theodore was Charlie's best friend, and he added an element of levity and humor to the plot. His boasting masked his fear and insecurity, but he always stepped up when he was most needed. Despite his presence, this book had a more serious tone to it, as people were dying to a formidable army of monsters. Main characters experienced dramatic sacrifices in order for Charlie to receive the magic sword. Theodore had an ongoing conflict with his father, the General, as his father didn't provide him with any love or support. Living up to parent expectations can be a huge problem. The plot jumped around quite a bit, since Theordore and Charlie could open portals to almost anywhere in the world or the Nether. It could have been confusing, but it all made sense. My biggest issue was with the trilogy's conclusion. Yes, the conflict was pretty much lessened, but it wasn't resolved. The author admitted this at the end and said there was more story to tell. However, this was written in 2010, and I haven't found a continuation of the plot.

A Dragonborn Novel #2: Fireborn by Toby Forward

My name is Cabbage, but don't ask me why my mentor, Flaxfield, gave me that wizard name. Something strange is now happening to Flaxfield's spells, and we've realized it's from wild magic. Even our simplest spells turn to flames that burn out of control. He was once almost killed when a harvest spell engulfed him in a blazing inferno, but strangely, I walked right through the fire to save him. I'm able to summon a magical cat that eats the runaway flames, but Flaxfield isn't sure how I can do that. We know the wild magic originated with a girl named Bee, but her mentor stole her ability to wield fire. He was never a very good wizard, and now he's changed. He's turned into something that's dangerous. Somehow, we must figure out a way to combat this new kind of magic.

This book is part of the Flaxfield Quartet, although my local library listed it as A Dragonborn Novel. I reread my review of the first book from eight years ago, and I was confused. I wrote, and the synopsis on Goodreads confirmed, that Flaxfield died, so how was he a main character again in the second book? Another reviewer said the story in Firstborn preceded the first book, but that wasn't made clear anywhere. The rules of magic weren't shared, so I didn't understand how the spells worked. That was important, because the whole conflict was based on magic that was out of control. Finally, I've always had a problem with books and multiple settings, and at one point, this book had five settings. A couple of them weren't necessary and didn't add much to the plot. It became distracting and made remembering events trickier when reading over many sittings. Overall, I enjoyed the story about an apprentice wizard and his mentor battling an out-of-control magic. The author included a few surprises to characters that made the book even more interesting. I liked the concept of this book, but the ending wasn't satisfying. The conflict was stopped, for the time being, but it was clearly not resolved. It will need to be taken care of in a future book.

Nightmare Academy #2: Monster Madness by Dean Lorey

My name is Violet, and I think Charlie, Theodore and I passed our test to become Addys. We're not sure since we allowed a level four monster to pass through a portal after rescuing a little girl from her nightmares. We've discovered the Guardian is under attack and all levels of monsters will invade earth if the defenses fall. The last of the Named will join the other two and summon the fifth. No one knows exactly what that means except it will be disastrous. It's strange that we're the ones tasked with finding a way to save the Guardian even though we may still be Noobs. All we need to do is find the last female Hydra, survive collecting some of her milk, and return through a monster-infested world to feed the Guardian. No problem.

You should probably read the first book in order to understand what's going on. It's not necessary, but it'll be very helpful. The most interesting part of the book involves the dynamics of the main characters. Theodore can open portals as a Nethermancer, but he wants to be a Banisher to make his father proud. Violet is the team's Banisher and seems to be hiding something from the others. Charlie is a Double Threat, able to open portals and banish monsters, but he's uncomfortable being the leader. The Director of the Nightmare Academy views Double Threats as a problem and has been working against Charlie and two others, and it comes to a head in this book. The plot contains many action scenes and describes an adventure through different worlds of dangerous monsters, arising from humans' nightmares. The series has had a "funnish" twist to fighting monsters, but the end of this book takes a serious turn. There are a couple of unexpected surprises that will hugely affect the book's sequel, Monster War. Overall, the series doesn't present anything dramatically different, but it's still very entertaining. Give it a shot.

League of Beastly Dreadfuls #2: The Dastardly Deed by Holly Grant

My name is Anastasia, and my Aunt Penny just told me I'm a morfo. Maybe I'll be able to change into a guinea pig like my dad, but my aunt says most morflings can become bats. I'll need to wait until I change for the first time to find out. I discovered my grandmother is queen of the morflings and lives in a secret village hidden from CRUD. Unfortunately, being related to a queen means I'm required to live and behave like a princess, whether I want to or not. I must find a way to find my missing father, and my grandfather is probably the only one who can do it. However, he hasn't been seen since the infamous Dastardly Deed, and everyone around here, except me, learned about it in school textbooks. So, my first job is to find my grandfather, the king, even though no one else has been able to do it in the past 250 years. Luckily, the Beastly Dreadfuls are back together to help me.

The narrator's voice speaks directly to readers and presents an amusing angle to the descriptions. Anastasia's aunt teaches her proper princess behavior by having her walk on banana peels while balancing books on her head and then teaches her the proper etiquette for eating pastries. Her cousin is a proper princess and uses her position to be a thorn in Anastasia's life. She's a brat. The Dastardly Deed and the resulting disappearance of the king becomes Anastasia's focus and offers a mystery to be solved. The fact that no one else has been able to find him only increases the drama. My main concern with the book is how the story meanders around and doesn't move along as much as I'd like. Not much really happens in the first three-fourths of the plot with most of the attention being on Anastasia's adjustment to the palace and school. The last part describes the actual efforts to find the king and leads the story toward the sequel. However, I don't feel like the plot line moved much from page one to the end. I'm hoping the sequel will allow more progress to be made. 

Elementals #3: Battle Born by Amie Kaufman

There must be a way for dragons, wolves, and humans to live together in peace. However, that's become more difficult following the battle in Holbard. The wolves don't trust us, because they think we're working with the dragons. The dragons don't trust us, because my twin brother Anders is a wolf. Our mixed group of survivors must find a safe place to hide, but we can't figure out how to get Cloudhaven to allow anyone besides Anders and I to enter. The war escalated when our mother was accused of murdering our father, but we know that can't be true. Someone has been pitting the dragons against the wolves, and there is evidence the destruction in the harbor wasn't caused by dragon fire, as it appeared. We haven't seen our mother since we were two, but it feels like she's the key to ending the conflict.

You should read the first two books before reading this conclusion to the series. I hadn't read the second one in over a year, and I wish I could've better remembered the previous events. I was still able to enjoy the story, and the series came to a satisfying conclusion. The war between the dragons and wolves was like a feud, as it had become a way of life. They had forgotten that things used to be different, as they did everything they could to stay separated. Humans were seen as lesser creatures and ended up caught in the middle. The positive message displayed by the main characters was that communication was more effective than fighting. The leaders of the dragons and wolves were dead set against it, and the reaction of the human leader was unexpected. The overall message was about appreciating diversity and differences and learning to live together. Being different didn't make one group better than another. While it's hard to believe a book with dragons, wolves, and titled Battle Born didn't contain much action, this book was still entertaining, and the plot moved along nicely. I recommend you give the whole series a shot.

Ranger's Apprentice: The Royal Ranger #4: The Missing Prince by John Flanagan

I love being a Royal Ranger and hope I'll never be asked to become queen, like my mother. I love having Will Treaty as my mentor, and I'm looking forward to our upcoming mission. My mother thinks it's too dangerous, but King Duncan, my grandfather, thinks we must do something to rescue the Gallican prince in a neighboring kingdom. It might create trouble if Will and I are discovered as Rangers, so we'll be traveling as jongleurs. Apparently, my singing isn't as good as I thought, so I'll be performing as a juggler and knife thrower. Will doesn't trust the King of Gallica, the man we're helping, so we'll need to be very cautious. Rescuing his son from the powerful Baron Joubert de Lassigny is risky, but returning home to Araluen may be just as dangerous.

I recommend this book, but I suggest you wait until the sequel is written before reading it. It offers adventure and humor in a setting of castles and kingdoms. The Rangers are almost mystical to the citizens due to their special training and stealth, and they specialize in secret missions. Maddie's character is unique, since she has no desire to live as royalty and loves the life of a Ranger. A bigger factor is the fact she's a girl, since many people can't believe a girl can have her abilities. She needs to control her anger when others mention she's female. It bugs me a little that Maddie plays a sidekick to Will instead of being the star character. She is important, but he controls every part of the mission. That's understandable since she's Will's apprentice, but this is the fourth book in a series featuring her character. She's able to feature her skills at times, but I figure she should display more independence by now. The first half of the book finds the two Rangers traveling through Gallica, entertaining commoners along the way. They share their singing and knife-throwing skills, and try to assist those in need of help. The last third of the book describes the actual rescue mission and contains most of the action. However, the conclusion is not satisfying, as you'll need to read the sequel to finish the story. I would have more criticism for this fact if I didn't appreciate the author's past work. Give the series a shot, and I even recommend you read the original Ranger's Apprentice series where everything started. 

Story Thieves #2: The Stolen Chapters by James Riley

My name is Kiel, and I can't understand why I've lost my magic. It's hard to be a hero without my powers, and I'm still accepting that I came from a book. I'm sure I must have cast a spell taking memories from Owen and myself, but I can't remember why. Doyle Holmes, a distant grandson of Sherlock Holmes, framed Owen and me for arson and told us Bethany will die in two hours. However, Owen's been arrested, and I have no idea how to find Bethany. Doyle always seems to be one step ahead of us, but I still must find some way to get Owen out of jail. Then, we'll need to find Bethany, because I suspect Doyle has a plan for her abilities.

I hadn't read the first book in a while, but I'm not sure how much that mattered. The main characters had their memories blocked, so they weren't sure what was going on. Consequently, I wasn't sure what was going on. Doyle Holmes was the antagonist, and he'd somehow made this whole mess happen. Actually, the main characters had, but that was the gist of things once the memories slowly returned. It was a little confusing that a descendant from the greatest fictional detective of all time would be evil, but that was explained as the book neared its climax. That revelation was a twist the author saved for a critical moment. James Riley included himself in the story, as the fictional characters couldn't understand if the author was real. The lines between fiction and reality became blurred, since some characters were able to move between the two. Bethany revealed this ability in book one, so this isn't a spoiler. The plot read as an adventure-mystery, as the characters tried to figure out what's going on. The two-hour countdown created suspense as the clock wound down. Overall, this is an entertaining series, and I recommend you give it a shot.