I continue to be engaged by this series. This is only Book 4 - and apparently there will be 10. I honestly can't imagine where it's all going to end up. The author has an incredible imagination and a fluid writing style, so even though the books are close to 700 pages long, it reads quickly. (At least for an adult.)
The Neverseen are the enemies of the elves, and pretty much every other creature other than the ogres. They are a secret organization with some shocking members. We found out in Book 3 that Keefe's mother was a leader in the Neverseen. She is "off the grid" in Book 4, although Keefe spends a lot of time and emotional energy trying to figure out if she is still alive or held captive. There is another surprise "reveal" of a Neverseen member in this story, but I won't ruin it for anyone reading this first. We also find out who some key members of the Black Swan are - finally. There are so many disguises, it's hard to keep track at times.
In this book, Sophie, Dex, Biana, Keefe and Fitz are banished to Exillium, which was way different than I thought it would be. I thought it would be like a punishment, especially after the kids were told that there is no interaction between students at the school. They were also told that they had to earn a token in order to return the next day. The kids' experience there - and the training they received - were actually beneficial to them once they left. Plus, Sophie was able to make some positive changes to the school, which had pretty much been "abandoned" by the Council.
Since Sophie and friends are banished from their homes & school (Foxfire), they are taken to live with the gnomes in two tree houses. The gnome that helps them most is Calla. A plague struck a gnome colony and no one understands what was causing the plague or how to cure it. Calla wants to save the gnomes who are ill - and prevent the plague from spreading. So there is a "Collective" which works together to try to figure out what's going on and who is engineering it all. They suspect the Neverseen of course, with help from the ogres.
Since the kids are considered fugitives, all of their actions are done on the sly - with the help of the gnomes & some of the Council members. While at Exillium, they met Tam and his twin sister, Linh. Tam is a Shade (meaning he can shade himself & others in shadow so they can move around unseen) and Linh is a Hydrokinetic (meaning she can move water). These two join the others in their attempt to steal the "cure" for the plague from King Dimitar, the king of the ogres.
It's really difficult to summarize everything that happens in these books because the storyline is complex. A lot happens for a lot of different reasons. I highly recommend this entertaining series!
Wendy's Rating: *****
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