Ah yes, the Camelot Years. Agatha, Tedros and Sophie had thought that they completed their fairytale but a new evil is rising and everything that they thought was true is about to be undone.

I’ll admit I had some reservations as I went into this as I had thought that Chainani had ended the previous trilogy really well and I didn’t want the love triangle or the Schoolmasters to get resurrected again. And while there are some allusions to these obstacles, the book is so much more than that as Chainani explores what happens after the happily ever after.

A lot of problems. Especially for Camelot that has fallen into shambles and corruption, and after six months, it’s still not getting better.

It doesn’t help that Tedros’ coronation was a complete disaster with Tedros failing to lift Exacalibur from the stone and thus jumpstarting doubts in the peoples’ and Tedros’ mind of his worth as king. Unable to trust his insticts, he leans on his shady steward and distances himself from Agatha, ignoring many of his duties or delegating them. So when a rival comes up claiming he’s the true heir to Camelot, Tedros is a mess.

Calling himself the Snake, this new villain brings new heinousness to the realm of villainy and while no one wants him to be king, Tedros isn’t proving himself to be a reliable one either.

Meanwhile, all the fourth year students are on their quests to cement their names into legend which are being sabotoged and hunted down by the Snake. Sophie is becoming more of a lunatic as she insists that she’s not jealous of Tedros and Agatha’s marriage, and Agatha is isolated from Tedros, saddled with wedding duties she hates. There’s a lot more but no spoilers. Basically, no one’s happy.

What the book tries to tackle is what does it mean to be a leader. And maybe it’s a bit of truama-character growth for Tedros who was pretty shallow and a jerk in the original trilogy because he gets no love in this one. One thing after another is a humiliation or heartbreak, I felt bad for him. But it’s also on hs head because he acts rashly and on his emotions rather than sense but then again, he’s only sixteen. Nonetheless, it sets the stage for Chainani to break Tedros down and hopefully build him up to someone more worthy of his title.

But even though, Tedros is the star this time around, Sophie and Agatha have their own struggles regarding their destiny and how to fufill them, falling back on old habits of trying to work things by themselves or steal the spotlight, respectively.

However, they definately felt more like supporting roles as Chainani adds new POVs from old characters like the Coven, Chaddwick, and Hort as well as new character, the first year reader from Galvadon, Nicola (who is already my favorite) to provide some extra context and new perspectives on the situation. It lessened my worries of stagnation and relying on previous themes by meta commenting on the ridiculous love triangle and Nicole utilizing tropes and solutions she has learned from reading so many fairytales.

Sophie, in particular, shows new potential. Yes, she’s as much of a diva as ever but she has some stern lectures and self-realized epiphanies that although she leans towards evil, this quest may be her chance to be a hero in Agatha and Tedros’ tale. So I’m excited to see where things go for her from here.

I’d be remiss to say that Chainani has not lost his touch when it comes to detailing new landscapes and kingdoms in TSfG&E world, each with its distinct dishes, culture and fairytale references. Plus the twists!
Actually, I could guess several twists this time around and found it very frustrating that the characters would be at the edge of a answer to get distracted or in Tedros’ case, not putting two and two together even though it was so freaking obvious!

But you can never be too sure with Chainani as he spins the whole situation on its side so that my assumptions may not actually be true? I’m not sure, I have to read the next book. Which is befitting with this trilogy’s new them concerning the truth and the many sides to a story, how it can be utilized and reinterpreted to suit one’s needs much like the truth is in this era of fake news.

But there is one Truth (it’s capitalized a lot here) and Chanaini is taking his time, seeding the pieces and always manages to be one step ahead of the reader and the characters.

My one gripe with the book is that it felt. . . felt childish a bit. Maybe it’s because I never read it in middle school so I don’t have nostalgia blinding me but I found some parts of the humor forced, and some of the distractions or complications obvious in its set up. But then again, I am older than the intended demographic.

So, overall, it’s an interesting new world as the Evers and Nevers venture to save Camelot and the rest of the woods and I’m intrigued to see what happens next.

4 stars.