This one starts off with a bang- literally. After fleeing the academy in the last book Allie and Rachel are in the south of France, at Sylvain's estate. They are taking shelter there, having moved between safe houses, but trouble soon catches up. Judging that she can no longer be protected on the run, the decision is made to send Allie back to Cimmeria academy, where security has been greatly increased. Her and Rachel have enjoyed their time in France and Allie feels closer to Sylvain, but once they get back to Cimmeria things change again.
The identity of the spy has still not been revealed but Isabelle and Lucinda have taken steps to not only increase security but to mislead the spy as well. The rest of the book concerns itself with the changes at the academy, including the reduced student population, and the upcoming final struggle with Nathaniel. One thing I liked was the relationship between Allie and Katie- they're finally getting along now that everything is so dangerous. Katie is actually part of the group in this one, and along with Zoe and Nicole forms a pretty good support structure. And of course Allie is unsure of her feelings and still struggling to discover who she loves- Sylvain or Carter.
The good news is by the end we get some resolution of that. It's not all wrapped up but you can see where it's going, and I liked the direction it took. There's a confrontation that takes place, a few surprises, and then just when you think maybe everything will shake out- the cliffhanger. And it's a doozy. Things look bad at this point and I'm very curious to see how things play out in the final book. If I have any complaints about this one, it's that the book- like the previous three- hits a lot of the same beats. Nathaniel is a threat, there's a spy, who can you trust, who does Allie love. This book is more of the same, and at times I wondered about some of the decisions made. Not everything entirely adds up plot wise, but it's still an enjoyable read. At this point Cimmeria feels comfortable, the characters are compelling and it's just a fun place to read about.
And more good news. The spy is finally revealed. You can see the building blocks for the conclusion of the series, and while I think this could have been three tighter books instead of five, I'm enjoying it and will miss it when the books are finished. The spy is exactly who I thought it was, which I thought obvious after the hint given in the first book, but it's nice to get that out of the way and see the ramifications. We get a little more insight also into the family issues at play here between Allie, Lucinda and Nathaniel. And Zoe and Nicole are a lot of fun here also.
So on balance I think a lot of this could have been skipped if the series had been shorter, a lot of angst- and Allie does go through a lot here, coming to terms with her grief over someone she lost and her conflicting feelings- but this is a fun story and I'll miss these books when I'm done.
The identity of the spy has still not been revealed but Isabelle and Lucinda have taken steps to not only increase security but to mislead the spy as well. The rest of the book concerns itself with the changes at the academy, including the reduced student population, and the upcoming final struggle with Nathaniel. One thing I liked was the relationship between Allie and Katie- they're finally getting along now that everything is so dangerous. Katie is actually part of the group in this one, and along with Zoe and Nicole forms a pretty good support structure. And of course Allie is unsure of her feelings and still struggling to discover who she loves- Sylvain or Carter.
The good news is by the end we get some resolution of that. It's not all wrapped up but you can see where it's going, and I liked the direction it took. There's a confrontation that takes place, a few surprises, and then just when you think maybe everything will shake out- the cliffhanger. And it's a doozy. Things look bad at this point and I'm very curious to see how things play out in the final book. If I have any complaints about this one, it's that the book- like the previous three- hits a lot of the same beats. Nathaniel is a threat, there's a spy, who can you trust, who does Allie love. This book is more of the same, and at times I wondered about some of the decisions made. Not everything entirely adds up plot wise, but it's still an enjoyable read. At this point Cimmeria feels comfortable, the characters are compelling and it's just a fun place to read about.
And more good news. The spy is finally revealed. You can see the building blocks for the conclusion of the series, and while I think this could have been three tighter books instead of five, I'm enjoying it and will miss it when the books are finished. The spy is exactly who I thought it was, which I thought obvious after the hint given in the first book, but it's nice to get that out of the way and see the ramifications. We get a little more insight also into the family issues at play here between Allie, Lucinda and Nathaniel. And Zoe and Nicole are a lot of fun here also.
So on balance I think a lot of this could have been skipped if the series had been shorter, a lot of angst- and Allie does go through a lot here, coming to terms with her grief over someone she lost and her conflicting feelings- but this is a fun story and I'll miss these books when I'm done.
