In Celahir, the magical land where the Light Elves and the Dark Elves live, the four gemstones of the Elven Bow have been stolen by the Dark Elves. Without those gemstones, the barrier between the human world and Celahir is deteriorating and the balance between good and evil in both worlds is tipping toward evil.
The first of the gemstones, the Carnelian, was recovered by Aidan, Maggie, Nana, … Maggie, Nana, and Beebop with help from their Light Elf friends during their first trip to Celahir. Now, the stakes are even higher when the elves return to the human world to ask for help recovering the second gemstone, the Amethyst, and the humans discover that Mike – Aidan and Maggie’s father – has been kidnapped by the evil elf Naesse!
The humans, accompanied by Aidan and Maggie’s mother, Laura, return to Celahir to rescue Mike and recover the Amethyst. All they have to do is defeat the giant that guards the gemstone…
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Recommend to YA readers and adults who are young at heart and enjoy adventure stories.
A great addition to the series that has compelled me to read the last two. It’s always comforting to meet characters from a previous read and this book is no exception. Mostly, they are the same as before but Adian at fourteen is in the transition between boy and man. In this adventure Adian and Maggie’s mother is drawn directly into their adventures with their grandparents. So is their father but more indirectly.
A fun and imaginative adventure with lots to learn about family, friendship, and loss.
At the end of the first story, I wondered how Beebop, Nana and the grandchildren were going to be drawn back to the mythical world of Celahir. Now I know. To lure them back, Naesse, and his evil hench elves, kidnapped the children’s father. For what purpose, I have no idea. From what I’m surmising, that won’t be revealed until probably the last book.
In this story, we’re introduced, in more detail, to Aidan and Maggie’s mother, Laura, who is suddenly thrust into their wild adventure to recover the stolen gemstones, and save her husband. Once again, we’re traipsing through Celahir, tracking down a giant named Brendan. Stuart didn’t go into as much detail about the land this time, but it still amazes me that people, who aren’t used to walking long distances, can walk for hours without their legs giving out.
We meet the same elven friends from before, and are introduced to new friends, and even a love interest for Aidan. The bad guy in this story is Brendan the Giant. He terrorizes and enslaves the human villagers that live in his territory. But has he been misunderstood all along? I liked the moral of this story, and how Aidan stuck to his beliefs, even when faced with pressure from his family and friends. Beebop is still the main POV, but Aidan gets a chance to grow. Stuart does a very good job describing how each character feels, but when it comes to the dialogue, they have a tendency to sound the same. I just don’t see a young boy talking with the same vocabulary that Beebop of Nana does.
Talking about dialogue, it can be a bit stiff. People don’t say I am, or, we are. We use contractions all day long. Reading words without contractions tendd to make the reading a bit formal. And that could be some of the reason why I just don’t feel as attached to the characters as I should. I want to love the world Stuart has built, but it falls flat for me. I think some of it is also his writing style, more of a telling vs showing, which keeps the reader at a distance, and not as emotionally involved. But it’s still an entertaining series, and I want to see what happens with the Crone and Mike. If you’re not as nit-picky as I am, you’ll love this series. I give it 4 feathers.
The adventure and the excitement continues.
I can’t believe it has been two years since I read the first book in the series. Catch up with the mythical world of Celahir was overdue. I enjoyed the first book and my hopes were high for another exciting adventure. I wasn’t disappointed. This plot this time was just as rich and magical as the one in the previous book. I was glad to reconnect with the teenagers and their grandparents, and discover new ones (Laura). In particular, I liked how Aidan developed in this story. They are all well drawn and fascinating. As with the previous book, the story is packed with surprises, twists and turns that kept me turning the pages, especially as it reached the climax. The pace moves along smartly and the storytelling is good with the characters facing incredible challenges. Recommended.
I love reading about mythological creatures and how they are portrayed in various cultures. In this second book of the series, you get to meet a giant. Big, lumbering, dim-witted, and evil? Well, perhaps not all of those. I love how the story digs into the aspect of bullies and the reasons different people become them: power, fear, insecurities. You get all varieties of them here. Aiden and his family and friends have to learn what’t the best approach to deal with these bullies, and learn that compassion and friendship can overcome some hardships in life. Add first love, plenty of action and adventure, and you have a story that will enchant you and teens alike.