Remember in the last review when I said that I thought I knew the villain. . .

Yeah, I was so wrong.

Once again, Chainani subverts all my expectations as the Snake and the Lion switch sides (or do they?) just as all the rest of the Evers are scrambling to fight back against a new kind of Evil. An Evil that doesn’t follow Never or Ever rules, whose unpredictable nature has everyone questioning their own.

In the previous book, Tedros had a lot of chapters but his POV was surprisingly limited here. Maybe one or two which I can only assume is to save his moment of glory for the epic finale. While everything else is going off the rails, Readers may feel a sort of comfort as Sophie and Agatha become stars once again with intriguing asides by the Coven, Hort and even Professor Dovey.

One great thing about Chainani upping the stakes in this trilogy is that, for the first time in this whole trilogy, I feel like Sophie is growing up. Or at least maturing as she realizes this whole plot is bigger than her, and she actively takes steps to change the story and be a hero, not just a witch. It was. . . it was just awesome. It helps that Chainani has crafted such crafty villains in the Lion (Rhian) and the Snake (Japeth. They may be twins like the School Masters but unlike Rafael, cannot be seduced or swayed as easily, so committed they are to the cause and each other, forcing Sophie to regroup and make a new old strategy.

Agatha, on the other hand, brings Readers back to where it all began at the School for Good and Evil as she regroups with first-years and falculty to break their friends out of Camelot before the ax falls. It was great to return as having a book without the titular school just felt like it was missing something. I don’t know how else to explain it. Plus the first years were pretty entertaining too like fiery Aja with his obvious idolization of Sophie. It reminds Readers, and Agatha, of the fact that Agatha (and co) are all grown up now. She is now looked on as a leader and a guide for others. Which is a bit of a problem as all she wants is to go back to the safety of being a first year with Dovey offering advice and there were no expectations placed upon her.

And like Sophie, she is maturing too as she also acknowledges that she’s a loner but this time, she cannot solve everything herself ans actively asks others for their help. She also starts to try to think beyond her scope of self when she realizes what a sacrifice is she making out of first years just to get her prince and allies out of jail. But that is also part of being a leader, making those tough decisions.

Like I said in an above paragraph, Tedros doesn’t get much to do. There are few glimmers of the leader and one true king he’s supposed to be, but he also falls back to his arrogant, whining, selfish habits too. Chainani is still serving that humble pie, so we’ll see how it pays off in the final book.

Now, Rhian and Japeth. . . I was wrong in guessing who their parents are and what they’re goals are. Chainani draws some similarities to the School Master twins with one being devoted to Good and one to Evil but he continues his theme that the world is really shades of gray and bring up good points as they do so.

Tedros was a bad ruler, doubtful of himself so he fell prey to shifty allies and enemies. Rhian is a decisive ruler but he can be cruel. In fact, he is willing to manipulate these situations, threaten to kill and more so he can be a Good King and neautralize Evil for good. He is committed to the cause and if he has to do Evil actions in the present to get the longterm Good, he will do it. Rhian is just that hardcore.

Plus his messaging is compelling as he speaks to the forgotten people, the bakers, the beggers, the school kids who were never chosen for the infamous school. Why do only the elite few get to be legends when everyone’s ordinary stories should be told to? Isn’t that what we tell our children? Everyone matters. Rhian is putting it into action and propaganda. It’s ingenious in its twisty way. As the previous book repeatedly states Truth can become Lies and Lies become Truth.

Here it is all about the Past is Present, and as the score to settle is who is Rhian/Japeth’s real father, an underlying thought of the sins of the parent come to root in the present making Past Present and Present Past.

Of course, this is a no spoiler review so I can’t divulge more but the answers will surprise you. At least they surprised me as Chainani threw out several plausible red herrings.

I must put in a little aside that I was convinced Lady Gremlaine would turn out to be Morgaine Le Fey, what with living on Morgause Road, and all the tales of the semi-incestuous birth of Mordred but I was wrong. I guess incest would be a touch too far for Chainani even though he still rocks the twisted, obsessive love angle with Sophie, Japeth and Rhian.

As usual, the other POVs were a nice break from the Sophie/Agatha/Tedros show as it expanded the world from Foxwood to Gnomeland and provided some humorous moments. Dovey’s POV in particular delivered a triple header of emotional stakes, fairygodmother lore and a moving speech touching on a higher power (she doesn’t say GOD but you can read between the lines).

And I’m not even getting into half of it but Part 2 is major spoiler territory. I will just say that the title is meaningful.

This was definately a step up from the last book. It has a few of its previous flaws like characters not communicating with each other so to stretch the big reveal at the end as no one has the full story. It’s a bit frustrating as I just wanted to know why Tedros had to unbury Arthur and what pen is Rhian listening to? But Chainani is holding it off. Hopefully it will be worth it.

Also the cliffhanger wasn’t as much of a cliffhanger. If you already read the previous trilogy, you know how Chainani likes to play the confusing identical twin card so it won’t be much of a surprise as it was to Sophie. Just saying.

Can’t wait to read the last one!

5 stars