Monday, September 23, 2024

*Review* Archibald Finch and the Curse of the Phoenix by Michel Guyon

 

Genre: Middle Grade Fantasy
Published: September 26, 2023
Pages: 468


The Archibald Finch saga continues with another thrilling adventure! It’s been months since our hero returned from Lemurea, but nothing is back to normal. When Archibald realizes he isn’t the only thing that crash-landed at the manor that night, he knows he’ll need to return to the dark world he only just left.

Archibald is a changed boy. He stands up to bullies and hangs out with the gargoyles that used to scare him. But for all his new toughness, he's also a lost boy who misses his friends in Lemurea. When strange footprints are discovered on the manor grounds, he realizes a piece of that world has followed him home...

Without golems, witches or magic, Archibald knows there's little to stop what's prowling the London suburbs, which means he'll have to return to Lemurea to seek Faerydae's help.

In a new adventure for Archibald, Hailee, Oliver, and Faerydae, two worlds collide—two worlds with more in common than any of the kids could’ve imagined. A hunt for clues, golems, and Marodors unearths some shocking answers and hard truths as Archibald and his companions embark on yet another daring journey that tests each of them in different ways. 



I received the audiobook version of this book through Netgalley. This is my honest review. 

This is the second book in a series; so naturally I went into it missing information because I had not read the first book (although I could have because apparently I won a copy of it through Goodreads, but it was in a box and I forgot it existed until after I listened to this book). I didn't really ever feel like I was missing anything though, because it was touched on enough that I could at least guess about it. Possibly because this is a middle grade book. And honestly, the missing info may have kept me a little more intrigued because it gave me more to question. 

I was drawn into the story and the intrigue of a world populated almost exclusively by girls. Finding out how and why the world exists was a bit of a trip too. There were a couple twists that were pretty well disguised and I only just barely saw them coming. 

Overall I give Archibald Finch and the Curse of the Phoenix 3.9832 out of 5 stars. - Katie 




Michel Guyon was born in France, in a small medieval town perched on a rock, surrounded by high walls, with the remains of an ancient fortress at its heart. That’s where the author got his first brush with old myths, puzzling legends and dark Middle Age tales. Since then, like Archibald’s sister in the book, Michel has learned a thing or two about mining for clues and connecting the dots, mainly as an investigative journalist for newspapers in magazines. While his childhood fed his fertile imagination, his travels as a reporter, from Bosnia all the way to Afghanistan, were crucial in shaping his view of the world.

No comments:

Post a Comment