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Review: The Storm Keeper’s Battle by Catherine Doyle

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The Storm Keeper's Battle by Catherine Doyle

Storm Keeper’s Battle (Storm Keeper #3)
Catherine Doyle
Bloomsbury
Published December 28, 2021

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About The Storm Keeper’s Battle

Fionn Boyle, Storm Keeper of Arranmore, is facing the fight of his life. The terrifying all- powerful sorceress Morrigan has been raised from the dead and has sealed off the island from all help.

Fionn is the only thing that stands between her and a dark future. He’s got to find a way to defeat her. But there are some terrible choices in store for Fionn as the dark sorcerer begins to take his nearest and dearest for her own. With only two candles left to burn, will Fionn master his powers in time to stop her?

In the thrilling conclusion to the acclaimed Storm Keeper’s Island series, evil sorceress Morrigan rises, and Fionn and his friends must use their wits to save Arranmore Island’s future.

“Fans of Harry Potter or Percy Jackson can add Fionn Boyle as a generous and brave hero from the Emerald Isle.” –SCHOOL LIBRARY CONNECTION on THE STORM KEEPER’S ISLAND.

My Review

Confession: I learned that THE STORM KEEPER’S BATTLE came out in the UK in March, so I ordered a copy and read it long before the US release date. This is something I’ve never done before, but I seriously could not wait to read this book all the way until October. So technically I read the UK release of the book, but I waited to post my review until close to the release date here in the US.

I have too many favorite things about this book. The friendships between Fionn, Shelby and Sam. The way it again ties together all these moments in the island’s past and Fionn’s role in those events. The memories of and presence of Fionn’s grandfather. I may have sobbed through a couple of scenes.

At the beginning of the book, I’ll admit I was a little nervous that it would be tons of chapters of Fionn and friends stumbling around looking for clues and killing time until the final battle with Morrigan. But as the trail of breadcrumbs began to take shape pretty quickly and the stakes continued to go up higher and higher, I felt like I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough. I got completely lost in the story and couldn’t stop reading until I reached the very last page.

This is one of my favorite series ever. I want to have ten children so that I can read these books aloud to each one of them. I love the story of courage, family, friendships, and community. And I love the magic and the candles and the way that love speaks across time. It’s so, so good.

If this is the first you’ve heard of the Storm Keeper books, please check out my review of THE STORM KEEPER’S ISLAND, the first book in the series as you’ll definitely want to read that one first.

If you liked THE RAVEN HEIR by Stephanie Burgis, definitely check out the Storm Keeper series!

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 10 to 14.

Representation
Characters are Irish.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity used twice.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
An evil sorcerer gathers the souls of others to her, making a cape from them and controlling their bodies, commanding them like an army. Fionn also has some magical abilities. He has candles from his grandfather which allow him to visit other times in the island’s history.

Violent Content
Situations of peril and battle violence. Fionn and his allies must battle a sorceress and her powerful, Titan-like brothers.

Drug Content
Fionn’s uncles drink wine and share stories with the family.

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Review: Everless by Sara Holland

Book Review and Content, Dystopian or Post-Apocalyptic, Fantasy, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , ,

Everless
Sara Holland
HarperTeen
Published on January 2, 2018

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

About Everless
In the kingdom of Sempera, time is currency—extracted from blood, bound to iron, and consumed to add time to one’s own lifespan. The rich aristocracy, like the Gerlings, tax the poor to the hilt, extending their own lives by centuries.

No one resents the Gerlings more than Jules Ember. A decade ago, she and her father were servants at Everless, the Gerlings’ palatial estate, until a fateful accident forced them to flee in the dead of night. When Jules discovers that her father is dying, she knows that she must return to Everless to earn more time for him before she loses him forever.

But going back to Everless brings more danger—and temptation—than Jules could have ever imagined. Soon she’s caught in a tangle of violent secrets and finds her heart torn between two people she thought she’d never see again. Her decisions have the power to change her fate—and the fate of time itself.

My Review
I love the concept of the story—the idea that time and blood are connected and you have the choice (or are pressed to) spend from your allotted lifespan to purchase things. This premise set up some interesting stakes straight from the opening of the story. And Jules is immediately a likeable character since what she wants most is to save the person dearest to her, at any cost to herself.

I wasn’t impressed with her infatuation with Rowan Gerling. Yeah, okay, they were childhood playmates, but what’s admirable about him besides his good looks? I kind of kept waiting for the shoe to drop and for Jules to discover some deep fault in him. I liked the other characters, though, from the stable hand Jules recognizes from her past to her best friend in the village even to Ina Gold.

In terms of the plot, I felt like there were a couple threads that got dropped, or else where I missed their connection to the larger story. Jules carries a drawing that belonged to her father which she believes must be her mother. At one point she seems to realize the drawing’s significance, but never shares what that significance is. And it never comes up again as the story resolves.

Everless does have some interesting twists, though, and those kept me reading for sure. I needed to know what was going on with Rowan’s big, scowling brother Liam, and to understand Jules’s connection with the sorceress. All those questions had me charging through the tale all the way to the end.

Medieval-style dystopian fans (think The Selection by Kiera Cass) do not want to miss this one. If you’re a fan of Nadine Brandes’s A Time to Die, or The Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard, you will love the strong heroine, time-centered story, and forbidden magic elements of Everless.

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Cultural Elements
No real racial descriptions. All characters appear straight.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Brief, mild profanity used very rarely.

Romance/Sexual Content
Brief kissing between a boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
A sorceress created a system in which time and iron and blood are bound. So that one’s time (lifespan) can be traded as currency for goods and services, like rent or food.

Violent Content
To extract time, a specially trained person cuts one’s palm and captures the blood in a vial. Time-letting is used as a punishment for a woman who’s accused of a grave crime.

Drug Content
Jules, the princess and another handmaiden go to a tavern and drink alcohol as a last night out before the princess marries.