Big fan of the series’s and my youngest has been waiting months for this to come out. Great read for pre teens!

I have the same feeling I had after getting through this that I had after the eighth book; it wasn’t bad, but it just didn’t have the same overarching feel of the first seven book series. It almost didn’t feel necessary. The character deaths (you can keep reading; I won’t spoil anything and say who died) felt gratuitous, the villains felt shallow, and the plot felt pretty paint-by-numbers. The ending was interesting, and I’d say it was definitely an improvement on the last book. But at the end of the day I’d say that I liked it, but didn’t love it, and it’s starting to feel like Michael Vey has peaked. Hopefully things improve in book 10.