I was not disappointed great story of love Sophie foster she is the best to me she is the girl version of Harry Potter

This is probably one of my all time favorite series. I love the characters and the sense of excitement you get learning about the mysteries of the elvin world. This book was different though. The beginning was pretty good. It answered several questions that were left as cliffhangers in the previous book, so that was good. But after chapter 30 or so, the whole plot seemed to disintegrate. Several characters that were extremely important in the previous books seemed to be left out for no good reason. The whole idea of Sophie, Fitz, Keefe, Dex, Biana, Linh, Tam, Wylie, and Marella being a team was left out, and after looking at the size of this book, I had really been hoping for some quality time with each of the characters. I was pretty disappointed when only Fitz and Keefe had interactions with Sophie and the small amount of time spent with other characters seemed very forced and didn’t contribute anything to the plot. I also wish there was more Grady-Edaline-Della-Alden-Sandor-Black Swan time. I had really enjoyed their guidance/ parental contributions to previous books, but yet again they were left out. Overall, this is an awesome series, I just hope the next book is better.

My 10 year old loves these books!!!!

There's so much to love about this series. It's funny smart, immersive, thought-provoking, and even romantic in a tweenage kind of way. The many different creatures and magical powers are captivating and detailed. It's so fun to explore this world. I absolutely love how mental magic is handled. The process of infiltrating, exploring, and damaging other people's minds is explored more intricately in this book than pretty much any other fantasy series I've read. The action is also a whole lot of fun, and Sophie Foster is impossible to dislike, even if she is the most special person in the universe. She's just so kind and insecure and doggedly determined to be good that you can't help but feel for her. She's a sweetheart.Shannon Messenger also has one that special gift that some authors have, and she's only gotten better at it: she compels you to keep reading. I gobbled this book down, eager to get answers to my million questions.Which brings me to my biggest complaint:So. Many. Unanswered. Questions.Can't really explain without getting too spoilery, but Messenger has been dragging out about a dozen plot threads for yeaaaaaars. She's great at tantalizing hints, but I don't want this series to end up like a TV show with too many seasons. It was actually kind of nice to see more progress on the romantic side of the story, even if it wasn't really the relationship I'd prefer. But in terms of the main plot, things have a way of reversing themselves so many times they just go back to the status quo. I'd love to see more development, more answers, and a better view of the finish line (which I'm sure will be amazing.)

So yes, we all know that this series is getting really long already. FLASHBACK is the seventh book. Some people have decided to give up on Shannon Messenger and stop reading it altogether-- which they can choose to do quite easily, since these books are always released a year apart-- but I'm still waiting for Sophie's story. Even if it will have to take an eighth and a ninth installment (which the author did admit to certainty). But come on-- the elvin world is so rich and layered and multifaceted that I have no problem spending some time on reading about it. Yes, there were cliffhangers. Yes, there was an insufferably complicated love triangle-that-became-a-hexagon. Yes, there were so. Many. Unanswered. Questions. ... Actually, there still are. However. Reading this made me incomprehensibly ecstatic because the romance finally PROGRESSED. And I loved it so much! And also, even though about a third of the book is confined to the Healing Center at Foxfire (well, I mean, it wasn't bad seeing Elwin again), there was still plenty of progress made on the team. Except for the fact that DexBianaWylieLinhandMarella were seen very, very little. Although it's slightly forgivable because FitzandKeefeandTam were seen a little more. EVEN THOUGH YOU ALL KNOW I WANT MORE DEX. We learned some preeeetttyyyy surprising secrets too, in this book, and yes, the Vacker family plays a huge role in this book. The Vacker family and memory. Also, the Vacker family official portait by Laura Hollingsworth does make an honorable mention in one of the scenes! So, yeah. Waiting an entire year for an 848-page-long, eleven-dollar book was totally worth it in my opinion. And now... I'll play around while I wonder what next year's book will be...