Everblaze by Shannon Messenger
Fantasy. 624 Pages. 5 Stars
Synopsis:
Sophie uncovers shocking secrets—and faces treacherous new enemies—in this electrifying third book in the Keeper of the Lost Cities series.
Sophie Foster is ready to fight back.
Her talents are getting stronger, and with the elusive Black Swan group ignoring her calls for help, she’s determined to find her kidnappers—before they come after her again.
But a daring mistake leaves her world teetering on the edge of war, and causes many to fear that she has finally gone too far. And the deeper Sophie searches, the farther the conspiracy stretches, proving that her most dangerous enemy might be closer than she realizes.
In this nail-biting third book in the Keeper of the Lost Cities series, Sophie must fight the flames of rebellion, before they destroy everyone and everything she loves.
My Review:
This is the third book in Messenger’s KOLTC series and wowza it packed a punch! I mean, I enjoyed the previous two books and I’ve come to learn that Messenger writes some pretty intense suspense. But this one was a page. turner. No joke. I loved it! (And I really love that cover, too!)
Messenger’s worldbuilding is honestly a lot of fun. She’s got a variety of settings, and at this point we’ve been introduced to most of the strange elements of the new elven world. But she still somehow manages to introduce new laws, rules, elements, etc. as well as deepening our knowledge of the creatures and cultures she’s already introduced. We did a little more travelling around in this one, which was cool, got to see Eternalia again, some more Foxfire, etc. I actually really like seeing Foxfire. I like the different lessons and the detention sessions always intrigue me, too. This one was kind of cool because we got some ogre involvement and seeing one of the professors prepare for defense was fun. We visited the Sanctuary and the Wandering Woods again, too. But we also got to go back to the Forbidden Cities a few times and saw a really neat series of jumps to some unusual places in one chapter that I enjoyed. It looks like the setting for the next book is going to expand to a whole new bit of the world, so I’m looking forward to that.
I very much enjoyed the plot of this book. It had some cool plot twists–a few of which I guessed, but still very much enjoyed. It was jam packed with action and suspense, making it really hard to put down. The plot felt like it moved more quickly in this one, and the last one was pretty full too, but this one just…a lot happened in a short amount of time. I definitely gasped and shouted at my book several times!
You know, I’ve always liked Fitz. I don’t know what it is about him that I like so much, but he’s very well-written, in my opinion. He’s charming, but there’s more to him than that. I feel like I know him and calm and trusting around him, which is probably intentional considering his relationship with Sophie. I hope that doesn’t change. And Sophie is a fantastic MC. I love watching her navigate this world of elves with her human upbringing and seeing how she sees things. She brings humanity to the strange story and it warms my heart. She’s concerned about the people around her, but she isn’t perfect. And I like that. But the real kicker is Keefe, I think. I mean, he’s been funny and cute and whatever before this, but somewhere in the last book and definitely throughout this one, he’s grown on me. I really, really like his character! I like the development, the predicaments he finds himself in, and his devotion to his friends. I love how compassionate he is, even though he hides it really well. I’m curious to see where he’ll go. Dex gets on my nerves a little. I see his value and I know Sophie loves him, but he gives me like Anakin Skywalker vibes, like he could go either way. And, of course, I was so very glad to have Alden back! I think he’s possibly my favorite. I’d love to see more of him!
Content: Okay, so there are no foul words and in regards to romance, there’s nothing more than a few secret crushes and kids lightly teasing each other for unspoken feelings. There is, however, a little violence. They get kind of mixed up in this whole revolution (they have been for two books now XD) and so there is some mild violence. There isn’t anything horridly graphic, but there are some fight scenes and some thematic elements to consider: like revenge, madness, revolution, torture, traitors, etc. There is one scene where a character loses a hand, but, again, it isn’t graphic. It’s a middle grade book and I personally think fine for middle schoolers.
More:
Book 1 in the Keeper of the Lost Cities is Keeper of the Lost Cities (5 Stars)
Book 2 is Exile (5 Stars)
Book 4 is Neverseen (5 Stars)
Book 5 is Lodestar (5 Stars)
Book 6 is Nightfall (5 Stars)
Book 7 is Flashback
Book 8 is Legacy
Book 8.5 is Unlocked
Click the links above for more information on the books. I’m reading through the series now as I get them in from my library, so you can scroll down and see my reviews for the ones I’ve rated.
This series must be read in order.
On GraceBought
If you missed it, check out my thoughts on the previous books below! And stay tuned next week for my thoughts on the next book in the series 🙂