The last few books of this series have been disconnected from what made them so great to begin with. I’ve never enjoyed the books that take place on our side as much, but even with that knowledge going in, this one fell flat. None of the eeriness is present, though we are told that this school is evil. And the stakes are so low it doesn’t feel triumphant at all when they are jumped over. Lastly, this series starts with the premise that once a door closes, it almost never opens again. That’s one of the big pieces of tension in that first, and subsequent, novellas. But by this point in the series they just open whenever if you want it badly enough? Nah, I don’t like that.

On the up side, I didn’t dislike Cora as much. She’s actually given a little more storyline than just constantly thinking about how she’s The Fat Girl.

January 2023