It's been a long time coming but I've finally gotten to the third installment of the School for Good and Evil saga. Things are heating up, the characters are facing turmoil like nothing they've yet faced, and it's time to see where things unfold from this point on.
Sophie and Agatha, one time best friends but now enemies, have been separated. Agatha and her true love, Tedros, have been sent back to Agatha's home village of Gavaldon and Sophie now resides in the School Master's tower in the School for Good and Evil. But the School is now solely one of evil as all the students are forced into becoming the next generation of evil or be turned into beasts and old villains are given chances to rewrite their stories, killing the fairy tale heroes of old in the process. Agatha and Tedros must travel back to the school and save their friend at all costs, for Sophie might just become the key to evil's ultimate triumph, putting the fairy tale world and the real world in jeopardy.
This book promises conclusions and fairy tale epic-ness and I'm glad to say it totally delivers. The characters of Sophie and Agatha are just as good as ever. Agatha is struggling to save her best friend while also keeping Tedros's affections and battling with her own lack of self-worth. Sophie is searching for her own happiness and is becoming more and more desperate to find it anywhere she can, even if it means turning to evil and destroying another's happiness in the process. Both these characters have come a long way yet they remain their charming, humorous selves. I really enjoy these characters and the writing in this book. Even though it's been a while since I read the last installment, when I picked up this book I slipped right back into the world as if I'd never left.
While we've met some of the children of old fairy tale characters, in this book we get to actually meet them. Old villains have come back from the dead, seeking vengeance on the heroes that defeated them and the old heroes are trying to stay alive long enough to save both the fairy tale world and Gavaldon. The old heroes are, like most of the characters in these books, funny as heck. The direction these characters have taken since their Ever Afters is actually really interesting to see and Chainani does a great job in thinking up clever ideas and retellings of these stories that we know of. Cinderella's story, in particular, was pretty well done. It was interesting, funny, and also pretty sad. We felt for these characters and wanted them to come out of it okay. Other minor characters in the series, such as Hester, Anadia, Dot and Hort are all given arcs in this story and the students must decide where they stand when it comes time for the final showdown.
That being said, we actually spend very little time in the actual school the series is named after. Sophie is promoted to being a teacher and Agatha doesn't attend at all at this point, as she's gotten her Ever After. Not that the school no longer serves a purpose, for the old Evil castle, now the Castle of Old Evil, is the headquarters of the villains and the final battle takes place at the school itself. There's also this big reveal that I won't give away about Sophie and Agatha's origins and...I'm not entirely sure I get it or that is makes sense or is even needed. Now, it isn't bad, mind you. I just felt that it wasn't entirely necessary. However, the story comes to a truly nail-biting climax where everything comes down to a single choice and things are at their bleakest. The tension and chaos in this book are felt and when a person gets hurt or dies, you really feel their loss. It's big, it's bombastic, and just the wrap-up I was hoping for...which is kind of odd since there is another book after this one. I guess that means it's not technically the Last Ever After, now is it? Oh well. That just means there's more. Yay.
Final Verdict
Just what I was hoping for. All the charm, all the cleverness, and all the entertainment that I've come to expect with this series. It's definitely worth the read and definitely worth your money at your local bookstore.
Have you read the book? What did you think? Comment below and share your thoughts. Please make sure to Follow Midnight Readings for instant updates. Have a book you'd like me to read or would like to make a recommendation? Contact me on goodreads at https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/65448711-michelle-beer
Next Time: I fail to see any roses fighting in this supposed revolution....
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