The Land of Stories: The Enchantress Returns by Chris Colfer
| The Land of Stories: The Enchantress Returns by Chris Colfer | |
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| Category: Confident Readers | |
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Reviewer: Louise Jones
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| Summary: The Bailey twins return to the fairytale world in order to defeat the Enchantress and rescue their mother. | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 528 | Date: August 2013 |
| Publisher: Little, Brown Young Readers | |
| External links: Author's website | |
| ISBN: 9781907411779 | |
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This sequel to The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell sees twins Alex and Conner Bailey once again magically transported to the fairy-tale realm, this time with the hope of rescuing their mother. She has been kidnapped by the evil Enchantress, the powerful and wicked entity who cursed Sleeping Beauty. The Enchantress is spreading a dark curse over all of the kingdoms and the fairies seem powerless to stop it. Will Alex and Conner find a way to stop her and save their mother before time runs out?
When I reviewed The Wishing Spell I felt that Colfer lacked writing experience, which sometimes had a negative impact on the superb storyline that he had created. Thankfully, he seems to have grown as a writer in the intervening period and the result is a much better narrative, which flows smoothly and does not feel rushed or contrived. For example, in the previous book, the twins were constantly getting into perilous situations, only to be rescued, Deus Ex Machina, by some magical creature appearing from nowhere. This time, the twins seem a lot more capable and self sufficient, relying less on others to save them from the various dangers that they encounter.
The narrative is rich and immersive and the characters well-drawn and likeable. The Enchantress is a truly dark, heartless villain and she really does invoke an emotional response from the reader. I also enjoyed the love triangle between Red Riding Hood, Jack and Goldilocks, with the rivalry between the two females a constant source of genuine humour throughout the book. Colfer skilfully manipulates the emotions and had me laughing out loud at some scenes and rather misty-eyed in others.
Although he has recycled the quest plot from the previous book, there is plenty of fresh material in this story to engage the reader. I found the story completely gripping from cover to cover and managed to read all 517 pages in record time as it was impossible to put down. The ending was particularly moving and I liked the fact that Colfer has set things up nicely for a sequel, which I look forward to reading.
To get the most out of this book, it is best to read The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell first.
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You can read more book reviews or buy The Land of Stories: The Enchantress Returns by Chris Colfer at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy The Land of Stories: The Enchantress Returns by Chris Colfer at Amazon.com.
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