BACK COVER BLURB (As with my Memorable Moment, this contains what might be considered a spoiler and as such I've blanked the text. In order to look at it simply scroll over. TT):
A boy with extraordinary powers.
An army of deadly monsters.
An epic battle for the future of Peculiardom.
The adventures that began with Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children and continued with Hollow City comes to a thrilling conclusion with Library Of Souls. As the story opens, sixteen-year-old Jacob discovers a powerful new ability, and soon he's diving through history to rescue his peculiar companions from a heavily guarded fortress. Accompanying Jacob on his journey are Emma Bloom, a girl with fire at her fingertips, and Addison MacHenry, a dog with a nose for sniffing out lost children. They'll travel from modern-day London to the labyrinthine alleys of Devil's Acre, the most wretched slum in all Victorian England. It's a place where the fate of peculiar children everywhere will be decided once and for all.
FIRST SENTENCE {CHAPTER ONE}: The monsters stood not a tongue's length away, eyes fixed on our throats, shrivelled brain crowded with fantasies of murder.
MEMORABLE MOMENT {PAGE 193}: "The ancient's believed that only a certain number of peculiar souls were available to humanity, and that when a peculiar was born, he or she checked one out, as you or I might borrow a book from a library." He gestured at the stacks around us. "But when your life - your borrowing term - was over, the soul had to be returned."
SOURCE: A gift from Mr T.
READ FOR: Not applicable.
MY THOUGHTS: One of my favourite reads of 2012, I really enjoyed Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children. Read earlier this year, I found book two, Hollow City, even more compelling. So what of this one?
Well ....
A book I so wanted to enjoy as much as the previous instalments. A book I'd begun reading railing against the fact there weren't to be any more. Alas I was left a tad disappointed, a bit, well, robbed (if that doesn't sound too melodramatic) but, more than anything else, I was left convinced that the right decision had been made to end the series with Library Of Souls.
Essentially left feeling the whole book had been bulked up, that there were too many fillers, that once I'd read one action scene (of which, the majority reading like a computer game, there were way too many), had (yawn) read of Jacob taking on one Hallowgast, I'd pretty much read them all. And as for that ending? Hmmm ....
But I digress.
Cleverly done. Three books later and I'm still totally intrigued by the use of the old photographs that so well illustrate certain aspects of the story but ...
First featured in Hollow City, Maddison MacHenry (a talking, pipe-smoking dog) quickly became my favourite Peculiar and yet here he was woefully underused as were several of the other 'older' Peculiars. Peculiars that for me held much more appeal/interest than Jacob and Emma.
Yes, the main protagonists but never favourites of mine. I kept hoping that Jacob and Emma would grow on me, that their relationship wouldn't seem so, well, peculiar but alas, the final book in the trilogy, it wasn't meant to be.
9 comments:
Having read the first, and feeling a bit ambivalent about it, I wasn't sure I wanted to continue on. But as you stated, the real intrigue is in the use of the old photographs. So, books two and three are sitting in my TBR pile.
I'm sorry this one was a bit of a let-down for you.
I am sorry this one didn't work as well for you, Tracy. I do want to give it a try for myself someday (the entire trilogy).
At least you still enjoyed it. I read the first book but have yet to dive into the second and third books. Gives me a push to do it!
Tracy, thank you for your honest and cleverly written review! I always enjoy your way with words. :)
The series itself sounds very appealing to me. I would like to give it a try.
It is too bad that it seems like this book ran out of a little steam.
Maddison MacHenry sounds very cool.
Tracy,
Thank you for your excellent and
honest review.
I still have the first- and second
book on my list.
Raven
I have book 1 to read!
I haven't read the series or seen the movie but my nephew is a big fan.
For What It's Worth
Sorry to hear that this one didn't live up to the first two, especially since you enjoyed them so much. I couldn't get into book one, but might have to give it another go. It's always a bummer when a trilogy goes out with a whimper instead of a band. :(
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