The End of Time

The End of Time
by P. W. Catanese
Books of Umber, book three

The adventures of Happenstance and Umber reach their epic, surprising, and emotional conclusion. As Happenstance struggles to master his unusual abilities, he realizes that time is running out -- because Umber's rivals threaten to undo all the good he has achieved, while an unexpected new enemy with terrible destructive power approaches the kingdom. (description from Amazon.com)

I loved this conclusion to the Books of Umber series. Happenstance is still one of my favorite middle grade characters. Catanese is so good at imagining interesting and intriguing characters, both good and bad.

Umber is an amazingly interesting and quirky character. His merry band of adventurers are also lovable. Each has their own multidimensional uniqueness. I love how no character is perfect...just a single flaw can make someone so much more fascinating.

I especially love Catanese's imagination for "bad guys." They are creepy, intense, and believable. He manages to take the fantastic and bring it to everyday life. In that way, the Books of Umber is able to believably mix our world and the fantasy of Umber's new world.

With amazing sights and adventures, quirky characters, and fantastic friendships, the Books of Umber series officially lives on my bookshelves as one of my favorites.

Full disclosure: Review copy received from publisher

In My Mailbox - July 3, 2011

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme, hosted by Kristi at the Story Siren, inspired by Alea of Pop Culture Junkie. Every week bloggers can share what they received in the mail or at the bookstore or at the library. The goal is that everyone can be exposed to more books this way!

From the Library:

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

On My Nook:

Heartless by Gail Carriger

For Review:

The Witches of East End by Melissa De La Cruz
*Thanks to Book it Forward ARC tours*


The Eleventh Plague by Jeff Hirsch
Divergent by Veronica Roth
*Thanks to AudioFile Magazine for sending these on audio!*


The End of Time by P.W. Catanese
The Murder of Bindy Mackenzie by Jaclyn Moriarty
*Thanks to SLJ for sending these on audio!*

Bought:

Nightspell by Leah Cypess
(Couldn't pass this up! I was in the little bookstore at Grand Central Terminal in NYC on Tuesday with my Mom, getting her a book for her birthday, when I start perusing the YA shelves...I passed up Hourglass, though it was almost painful, and was about to leave when I pulled this one off the shelf. IT'S SIGNED! So, of course I picked it up to add to my collection. I loved this book! You can read my review here.)

Dragon Games

Dragon Games
Books of Umber: Book 2
by P. W. Catanese

Happenstance would like nothing more than to stay in the comfort of the Aerie, Lord Umber's spectacular cliffside home, without having to worry about the secrets of his past -- or the undetermined role he must play in Umber's desperate mission.

But adventure beckons when Umber receives two mysterious messages. One is a desperate plea for help from Caspar, the man who stole precious documents from Umber's archives that could unlock the mysteries of Hap's powers. Caspar is trapped on a forbidden island, the victim of a nightmarish curse. He is willing to reveal his secrets to Umber and Hap -- but what he demands in return may be impossible to achieve.

The second message is from an oppressed kingdom ruled by a brutish monarch, where an old rival of Umber's has stolen a cache of dragon eggs. The eggs have begun to hatch, and the question is, what do they plan to do with those infant dragons?

I give P. W. Catanese a lot of credit for writing an excellent fantasy series! I loved the first book, Happenstance Found and the followup Dragon Games definitely lived up to its predecessor. The author has created a whole new world full of interesting creatures, characters you can't help but become drawn to, and an overarching mystery that sucked me in completely. There is so much detail in the plot of each book that they could almost stand alone, but discovering little bits about Happenstance and why he exists truly is the intriguing and dazzling focus of the series. I can't wait to read the next volume.