About This Book:
The third and final book in a new trilogy of twisted fairy tales from New York Times bestselling author James Riley, set in the world of his popular Half Upon a Time series, that’s perfect for fans of Fablehaven and Chris Colfer’s A Tale of Magic series!
Who doesn’t love a good Happily Ever After? The Cursed City is now the Blessed City, with its residents’ curses removed. Lena is now fully human, as are the rest of the giants, and together they live in peace with all the other humans in the city, all their differences now gone. And sure, Jin might have disappeared, but really, genie magic only caused trouble.
At least, that’s what the magic spell in Lena’s head is telling her. But somewhere inside, she knows that this new world isn’t right, that no real Happily Ever After would take her giant heritage from her…and that Jin is in danger.
When things are at their darkest, can a single Spark light the way?
*Review Contributed By Jan Farnworth, Staff Reviewer*
Happily Ever After or is It?
What I liked:
Anytime an author uses a book inside a book and breaks the fourth wall to talk to the readers, it makes for an interesting tale. James Riley has created a wonderful world in his Once Upon a Time book with characters from just about every fairy tale under the sun, which makes these books a great place to start for middle-grade readers. They already know the characters. I feel the ending was more rushed than needed, but it was fun to spend time in this world again. The dual points of view help propel the story and keep you engaged as you read.
Final Verdict:
An interesting wrap-up to these three books. Even with the Fairy Queens working against them, Lena and Shefin free the djinn and save the kingdoms. Plenty of humor and sarcastic wit for middle-grade readers. This book starts slowly, but the action picks up about halfway through. With the rushed ending, this was not my favorite of the three books.
