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Castle Glower #4
Fridays with the Wizards
Continuing the New York Time s bestselling series, Jessica Day George brings readers on another magical adventure in Castle Glower.
Fridays at Castle Glower are about to get interesting! With newborn griffins hatching left and right, new Castle passageways to explore, and an out-of-the-blue wedding to plan, life is as exciting as ever for Celie, Lilah, and Rolf. But when the dangerous, ancient wizard Arkwright escapes from the dungeon, no one can rest until he is found. Celie has an idea of where he may be hiding, but the only way to stop him could be to erase parts of the Castle for good. With danger lurking behind every tapestry and under every trapdoor, can Celie outsmart Arkwright fast enough to save her family and Castle Glower?
Continuing her bestselling series, Jessica Day George brings readers on another charming adventure with Princess Celie and her very special Castle.
Fridays at Castle Glower are about to get interesting! With newborn griffins hatching left and right, new Castle passageways to explore, and an out-of-the-blue wedding to plan, life is as exciting as ever for Celie, Lilah, and Rolf. But when the dangerous, ancient wizard Arkwright escapes from the dungeon, no one can rest until he is found. Celie has an idea of where he may be hiding, but the only way to stop him could be to erase parts of the Castle for good. With danger lurking behind every tapestry and under every trapdoor, can Celie outsmart Arkwright fast enough to save her family and Castle Glower?
Continuing her bestselling series, Jessica Day George brings readers on another charming adventure with Princess Celie and her very special Castle.
256 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 2016
136 people are currently reading
2655 people want to read
About the author
Jessica Day George
26 books5,924 followersJessica Day George likes chocolate, knitting, books, travel, movies, dragons, horses, dogs, and her family. These are all things to keep in mind if you ever meet her. For instance, you could bring her chocolate to make the meeting go more smoothly. You could also talk about how adorable her children are, even if you have never seen them. You could discuss dog breeds (she had a Maltese named Pippin, and grew up with a poodle mix and a Brittany Spaniel. Right now she has a Coton de Tulear named Sunny). You could talk about Norway, and how it's the Greatest Place On Earth, and Germany, The Second Greatest Place On Earth. You could ask her about yarn, and indicate a willingness to learn to knit your own socks, if you can't already do so.
And, well, you could talk about books. Jessica's books, other people's books. It's really all about the books. To paraphrase Jerry Seinfeld: Friends, family, school, they were just obstacles in the way of getting more books.
She would like it if books came with chocolate to eat while reading them.
And, well, you could talk about books. Jessica's books, other people's books. It's really all about the books. To paraphrase Jerry Seinfeld: Friends, family, school, they were just obstacles in the way of getting more books.
She would like it if books came with chocolate to eat while reading them.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 346 reviews
August 1, 2025
I just finished reading the copyedits for this one (February 2015) and trust me, you'll love it. This is good stuff, if I do say so myself!
July 2015: Final proofread!
July 2025: What, ten years later! Crazy! Man, I had forgotten the "deep Glower lore" that I dropped in this one, as my daughter said!
July 2015: Final proofread!
July 2025: What, ten years later! Crazy! Man, I had forgotten the "deep Glower lore" that I dropped in this one, as my daughter said!
May 4, 2016
Final review, first posted on www.FantasyLiterature.com:
Fridays with the Wizards is the fourth and most recent book in Jessica Day George’s CASTLE GLOWER series about twelve year old Princess Celie and the magical, semi-sentient castle where she lives. Celie and her brother and sister and friends have just returned from an unexpected adventure in another land, as related in the previous two books in the series, Wednesdays in the Tower and Thursdays with the Crown, where they tangled with the local wizards, befriended the king and queen of the griffins, and searched for the missing piece of a magical device called the Eye of the Castle. As they finally relax in Celie’s beloved castle, along with the couple of dozen griffins they brought back with them, the only thing disturbing Celie’s peace is her seventeen-year-old sister Lilah’s growing romance with their guest Prince Lulath of Grath, which prompts Lilah to pressure the reluctant Celie to come visit the country of Grath with Lilah and Lulath.
But more trouble soon raises its head: the ancient and powerful wizard Arkwright, who caused so much trouble during their prior adventures, has escaped from the dungeon and is lurking somewhere on the grounds of the castle, but in hidden passageways where the castle can’t alert King Glower to the wizard’s location. As the royal family realizes that Arkwright’s plans may prove dangerous to their country and deadly to them, it becomes a race to find Arkower ― before he finds them. Much of Fridays with the Wizards is spent with the characters rather ineffectively chasing around in dark passageways of the castle trying to find the missing wizard, with some of the searchers disappearing and others using magic to try to trap the wizard.
The main plot is interspersed with Celie experiencing some of the difficulties of growing up. Unfortunately she is rather pouty and self-absorbed in this book, constantly feeling like no one cares about her feelings or is giving her enough credit for her accomplishments. Admittedly, tweens do tend to have these types of feelings, and Celie’s personal struggles may strike a chord with younger readers ... but I don't necessarily want to read about it. Celie does, thankfully, have a loving family and wise parents who are able to help her deal with her personal growth pangs.
Fridays with the Wizards is a mildly enjoyable story that’s worth reading for fans of this children’s series, but it was a bit of a let-down for me. Too much of the plot felt like a retread. There are a few unexpected developments, but mostly this book is mopping up issues related to the events of the prior two volumes. Even the theme of Celie’s personal issues is one that’s been raised before.
The story contains some intriguing teasers about a strange village in Grath that has its own language and separate government, and the characters speculate that these villagers might be the descendants of the original griffin riders from Arkower, but that plotline is dropped without being further explored. Although I realize it would mean leaving Castle Glower behind for a while, sending Celie off to visit Lulath's country to check out this village or to search for unicorns, as was hinted at in the early pages, would have been a nice fresh plot direction. Perhaps in the next sequel!
Fridays with the Wizards is the fourth and most recent book in Jessica Day George’s CASTLE GLOWER series about twelve year old Princess Celie and the magical, semi-sentient castle where she lives. Celie and her brother and sister and friends have just returned from an unexpected adventure in another land, as related in the previous two books in the series, Wednesdays in the Tower and Thursdays with the Crown, where they tangled with the local wizards, befriended the king and queen of the griffins, and searched for the missing piece of a magical device called the Eye of the Castle. As they finally relax in Celie’s beloved castle, along with the couple of dozen griffins they brought back with them, the only thing disturbing Celie’s peace is her seventeen-year-old sister Lilah’s growing romance with their guest Prince Lulath of Grath, which prompts Lilah to pressure the reluctant Celie to come visit the country of Grath with Lilah and Lulath.
But more trouble soon raises its head: the ancient and powerful wizard Arkwright, who caused so much trouble during their prior adventures, has escaped from the dungeon and is lurking somewhere on the grounds of the castle, but in hidden passageways where the castle can’t alert King Glower to the wizard’s location. As the royal family realizes that Arkwright’s plans may prove dangerous to their country and deadly to them, it becomes a race to find Arkower ― before he finds them. Much of Fridays with the Wizards is spent with the characters rather ineffectively chasing around in dark passageways of the castle trying to find the missing wizard, with some of the searchers disappearing and others using magic to try to trap the wizard.
The main plot is interspersed with Celie experiencing some of the difficulties of growing up. Unfortunately she is rather pouty and self-absorbed in this book, constantly feeling like no one cares about her feelings or is giving her enough credit for her accomplishments. Admittedly, tweens do tend to have these types of feelings, and Celie’s personal struggles may strike a chord with younger readers ... but I don't necessarily want to read about it. Celie does, thankfully, have a loving family and wise parents who are able to help her deal with her personal growth pangs.
Fridays with the Wizards is a mildly enjoyable story that’s worth reading for fans of this children’s series, but it was a bit of a let-down for me. Too much of the plot felt like a retread. There are a few unexpected developments, but mostly this book is mopping up issues related to the events of the prior two volumes. Even the theme of Celie’s personal issues is one that’s been raised before.
The story contains some intriguing teasers about a strange village in Grath that has its own language and separate government, and the characters speculate that these villagers might be the descendants of the original griffin riders from Arkower, but that plotline is dropped without being further explored. Although I realize it would mean leaving Castle Glower behind for a while, sending Celie off to visit Lulath's country to check out this village or to search for unicorns, as was hinted at in the early pages, would have been a nice fresh plot direction. Perhaps in the next sequel!
November 19, 2016
5 Stars!
I am really sad that this is the last book in this series. I really liked this series. It was really the cutest series I have ever read before. This is my first time reading Jessica Day George books. I did not know what to except but after reading this series I really fell in love with it. I would love to read any of her other books she has. I would recommend this series to anyone.
I am really sad that this is the last book in this series. I really liked this series. It was really the cutest series I have ever read before. This is my first time reading Jessica Day George books. I did not know what to except but after reading this series I really fell in love with it. I would love to read any of her other books she has. I would recommend this series to anyone.
January 10, 2022
b-b-b-b-bbuuuut..... 😢😭where's the rest of my pogue and celie love story????????😢😢😭😭😖😖
i liked this book a lot, but i also haven't read the one before it so i feel like i was missing some sort of crucial info, but thas ok.😉 celie is still the best. i really really really LOVE Lulath's personality, he is just perfect and its a no wonder everyone likes him. i guess i can't really blame lilah for being so bossy and stressed out, i mean, she is getting married. rolf is just so funny with the comments he made to his lil sister celie! bran and rolf are just two of the best big brothers ever. BUT POGUE........ like oh my gorgeous jewels......he is SO perfect. i was really disappointed though, that him and celie didn't have more moments, but the moments they did have were not disappointing.
i was going to be sooo sooo sooo incredibly sad because i thought this book was the last in the series, but LUCKILY its only the second to last book. i'm no longer about to have a hear attack.😌
i liked this book a lot, but i also haven't read the one before it so i feel like i was missing some sort of crucial info, but thas ok.😉 celie is still the best. i really really really LOVE Lulath's personality, he is just perfect and its a no wonder everyone likes him. i guess i can't really blame lilah for being so bossy and stressed out, i mean, she is getting married. rolf is just so funny with the comments he made to his lil sister celie! bran and rolf are just two of the best big brothers ever. BUT POGUE........ like oh my gorgeous jewels......he is SO perfect. i was really disappointed though, that him and celie didn't have more moments, but the moments they did have were not disappointing.
i was going to be sooo sooo sooo incredibly sad because i thought this book was the last in the series, but LUCKILY its only the second to last book. i'm no longer about to have a hear attack.😌
October 17, 2019
بیشک میتوانستم به این کتاب سه ستاره بدهم اگر سه جلد قبلیاش را خوانده بودم. بدون اغراق هفتاد درصد داستان ارجاع به ماجراهای گذشته و بازتعریف شخصیتهای نهچندان کمش بود. داستان شیرین بود و اسطورهای و آنچه فانتزی خوانده میشود! با این حال بسیار کلیشهای بود و نقص کم نداشت. احتمالاً برای نوجوانان بهخصوص دختران جذاب بنماید و برای بزرگسالان ملالآور
دقم دادند سر این کتاب و پشتش داستان بسیار داشت. نپرسید که نمیگویم
دقم دادند سر این کتاب و پشتش داستان بسیار داشت. نپرسید که نمیگویم
June 2, 2017
Not a bad addition to the series, but I didn't like it as much as the previous ones- maybe because Celie seems to be more pouty and foolish in this book. However, the Castle seems to direct her to do some foolish things ,so sometimes it's not entirely her fault. But I did find there was a lot of "this was unfair" attitude and "why doesn't anyone listen to me?" And " I don't want to be treated like a baby" and "I'm left out" and maybe this is how 12 year olds really think, but I find it annoying. Maybe I find preteens annoying in general! E loved it though and she felt Celie had every right to have these thought and do what she did. :P she would give it 5 stars, so maybe preteens do really think like this.
November 22, 2019
I don't have much to say about this besides that it's another cute entry in this series. All the elements I liked in the previous books are still present and I liked getting to know the queen and Bran better, especially, and really loved the different personalities of the gryphons. The only thing I didn't like was that is still out in the world somewhere. I guess that means he can still cause trouble later (or maybe he's asleep forever???) but it was also disappointing that we had this whole cat and mouse thing going on the whole story and then . Hopefully there will be a reason for that later. Otherwise I did enjoy this story a lot and look forward to the next one.
Content Advisory
A bad wizard's hidden presence in the castle is a cause for concern for all the characters and makes them feel unsafe. No one gets killed or seriously injured but Celie and some of the gryphons are in mild peril at various points.
Magic is used at various points throughout the story. The bad wizard puts a handful of people under a sleeping spell. Celie and family aren't sure they know how to undo. Celie witnesses her royal wizard brother face off against a bad wizard. Some magical sticky stuff gets thrown on her and Rufus. It pulls iff some of Rufus's feathers when she takes it off but they're otherwise unhurt. Mention of spells being chanted but the words aren't given. Celie notes that the dust-like stuff swirling around the bad wizard during the confrontation feels unwholesome somehow (unlike her brother's magic) and she's afraid of what he might do to her brother, but she is forced to leave before she can see what happens. (Her brother is unhurt.) Mention that someone in the past accidentally caused a magical explosion that killed her and some assistants. (No details.) The queen decides to officially study magic so she can use it safely.
Celie's older sister and friend are still in love and planning to get married even though the older sister is only 17. They get her parent's approval. The couple is cutely flirtatious with each other but nothing gets physical or sexual. When outside looking for someone, Celie notices an older boy working on a sailing ship and not wearing a shirt. A number of older girls are standing around staring at him. Celie's brother sees her watching the scene and asks if she's decided she's finally old enough to like boys, but she quickly corrects him on this and is annoyed that he thought so.
Content Advisory
A bad wizard's hidden presence in the castle is a cause for concern for all the characters and makes them feel unsafe. No one gets killed or seriously injured but Celie and some of the gryphons are in mild peril at various points.
Magic is used at various points throughout the story. The bad wizard puts a handful of people under a sleeping spell. Celie and family aren't sure they know how to undo. Celie witnesses her royal wizard brother face off against a bad wizard. Some magical sticky stuff gets thrown on her and Rufus. It pulls iff some of Rufus's feathers when she takes it off but they're otherwise unhurt. Mention of spells being chanted but the words aren't given. Celie notes that the dust-like stuff swirling around the bad wizard during the confrontation feels unwholesome somehow (unlike her brother's magic) and she's afraid of what he might do to her brother, but she is forced to leave before she can see what happens. (Her brother is unhurt.) Mention that someone in the past accidentally caused a magical explosion that killed her and some assistants. (No details.) The queen decides to officially study magic so she can use it safely.
Celie's older sister and friend are still in love and planning to get married even though the older sister is only 17. They get her parent's approval. The couple is cutely flirtatious with each other but nothing gets physical or sexual. When outside looking for someone, Celie notices an older boy working on a sailing ship and not wearing a shirt. A number of older girls are standing around staring at him. Celie's brother sees her watching the scene and asks if she's decided she's finally old enough to like boys, but she quickly corrects him on this and is annoyed that he thought so.
Read
May 20, 2019YAY THEY'RE CHASING ARKIDIOT YAY THEY'RE CHASING THE ARKIDIOT
so I only like heard the last chapters where stuff gets resolved but it was great!! great series in general!! and my super picky sis loves it so there's that.
so I only like heard the last chapters where stuff gets resolved but it was great!! great series in general!! and my super picky sis loves it so there's that.
December 28, 2018
Celie and her family are plagued once again by the evil Wizard Arkwright, and this time he's loose in the Castle, wreaking havoc and dodging the guards. With a whole posse of griffins tagging along, Celie sets out to save the Castle and her family, but the Castle has its own ideas about how they should do that.
Another fantastic book in this series! I love the magical Castle, and Celie's connection to her home. As always, I love the entire royal family and all their motley assortment of friends. Every character has such a rich personality and wonderful character arcs of growth and change. I especially love seeing how they all pull together to save the Castle.
I got slightly annoyed with Celie in this book for harping on the same frustrations over and over again. She feels under-appreciated and over-looked because she is the youngest, but I just felt like she was whining about it all the time, and being a little selfish. Overall, I adore her character, and there were only two or three paragraphs where she got on my nerves a little.
The plot line of this story is full of action and mystery, magic and mythical history! I love the twists and turns and surprises around every corner.
The writing really draws you in, and makes you cheer for the good guys!
Another fantastic book in this series! I love the magical Castle, and Celie's connection to her home. As always, I love the entire royal family and all their motley assortment of friends. Every character has such a rich personality and wonderful character arcs of growth and change. I especially love seeing how they all pull together to save the Castle.
I got slightly annoyed with Celie in this book for harping on the same frustrations over and over again. She feels under-appreciated and over-looked because she is the youngest, but I just felt like she was whining about it all the time, and being a little selfish. Overall, I adore her character, and there were only two or three paragraphs where she got on my nerves a little.
The plot line of this story is full of action and mystery, magic and mythical history! I love the twists and turns and surprises around every corner.
The writing really draws you in, and makes you cheer for the good guys!
March 8, 2016
2.5 stars
This series has been one of my favorites, but this volume fell flat for me. That could be because I expected it to be about something entirely different than from the set up at the beginning than it ended up being about. I thought the last 2/3s of the book would be away from the castle as the family began their journey to Luth's country. But it isn't. Arkwright needs to be captured. Again. The castle may be in trouble. Again. Celie feels like no one listens to or appreciates her. Again. This book rehashed a lot the elements of the first three books while not adding anything to the series. I will still read a fifth book if there is one, but it won't be as much of a priority.
This series has been one of my favorites, but this volume fell flat for me. That could be because I expected it to be about something entirely different than from the set up at the beginning than it ended up being about. I thought the last 2/3s of the book would be away from the castle as the family began their journey to Luth's country. But it isn't. Arkwright needs to be captured. Again. The castle may be in trouble. Again. Celie feels like no one listens to or appreciates her. Again. This book rehashed a lot the elements of the first three books while not adding anything to the series. I will still read a fifth book if there is one, but it won't be as much of a priority.
May 12, 2017
This one was just okay for me. It kind of just seemed like filler, and was basically just setting the scene for the fifth book. Celie had a chip on her shoulder the whole time, which is never super enjoyable to read (very HP #5). They just kind of wandered around the castle looking for the bad guy. Seems like a waste of a book - the plot could have been resolved in a matter of chapters, rather than designating an entire installment of the series to it.
January 9, 2020
I’m so sad I’m nearing the end of this series! Eek! Such a fun fabulous read.
I’d love to see this middle-grade Fantasy series made into movies.
Can you imagine seeing the Griffins?!
Mackenzie Foy would make a fabulous Princess Celie.
And perhaps Uriah Shelton as Pogue.
I’d love to see this middle-grade Fantasy series made into movies.
Can you imagine seeing the Griffins?!
Mackenzie Foy would make a fabulous Princess Celie.
And perhaps Uriah Shelton as Pogue.
June 16, 2017
I liked that this one saw Celia starting that awkward transition from kid to adult, and being kinda mad at her persnickety older sister. Light and amusing as usual, read it on a 3 hr plane ride.
June 11, 2017
This was a glorious story. The Castle is back in Sleyne, Lulath and Lilah are engaged and everyone is thrilled with the upcoming trip to Grath. Everyone but Celie. She feels as though all of her discoveries are taken out of her hands, she's never allowed to participate in the exciting things and why does she need new gowns anyway, she doesn't want to go to Grath. Once again it is Celie who makes the most important discoveries and when Arkwright the evil wizard escapes it is ultimately Celie and the Castle who take him down permanently. The story was fun but had a lot of character growth for everyone. Can't wait for Saturday!
February 7, 2017
A great addition to the series. Cute stories, great characters, fun universe.
And I love how as celie has aged, her personality has changed too. I hope she has outgrown this book's fits of preteen foolishness. The celie I imagine seems like she would weather her teenage years gracefully. Here's to hoping in book 5.
And I love how as celie has aged, her personality has changed too. I hope she has outgrown this book's fits of preteen foolishness. The celie I imagine seems like she would weather her teenage years gracefully. Here's to hoping in book 5.
August 2, 2016
I have loved this series from start to finish. Celie is an excellent and engaging heroine. I enjoyed getting to know her and her family not to mention Castle Glower. I'd recommend this as a lighthearted fantasy to just about anyone.
April 2, 2016
This was way too short! I read it in a day and loved every minute just as I have with the rest of the series. Keep em coming! :)
Read
February 15, 2017Magical castle continues to truck along.
April 10, 2020
3.5 stars rounded up. Continuing to buddy read this series with my 8 year old daughter. In this installment, an evil wizard is hiding in the walls of the castle. The characters work to find and capture him. That’s the whole book. Between you and me, I’m kind of over the story. My daughter wants to continue and finish the series together. I’m starting to think this would have been better as one slightly longer book with a condensed plot line. One more to go.
February 5, 2023
The fourth book in the adventure of Celie and her siblings. The book opens a few weeks or so after the last book and life in the Castle has changed rather remarkably with the arrival of the griffins and their eggs. Things were disappearing though and the griffins came under suspicion until a disappearance of a prisoner was discovered. There follows a race to capture him before any harm befalls anyone else. A very wholesome and fun read.
April 13, 2020
Fridays with the Wizards has a potential to be so much more. However, it seems like the author had no ideas and just went with this. It was far below my expectations, with such a simple plot in such an exciting series. It was okay, but not enough for me. Hopefully things in the series will get better, but so far they've only gotten worse.
June 17, 2025
It was really good! I swear the books get better as they go!
The plot was great as usual, and I loved that this book focused
more on character development, and how the author wrote each
Character with different problems, and different ways of coping it made it feel
Realistic. I also liked how we learned more about the mom/queen and her past!
Overall I loved it and I 100% recommend
The plot was great as usual, and I loved that this book focused
more on character development, and how the author wrote each
Character with different problems, and different ways of coping it made it feel
Realistic. I also liked how we learned more about the mom/queen and her past!
Overall I loved it and I 100% recommend
January 16, 2025
This one is my favorite now! Very entertaining and well…page-Turning! The royal family (and their friends) are so likable! I just LOVED this book! It has you wondering: what’s going to happen next? So fun! These series are the best! Also the series are on my favorite list! Probably in 1st place!
May 17, 2022
Genuinely scary in parts. I really liked this one! Plus more Lulath and his girls.
It's probably my second favorite in the series.
It's probably my second favorite in the series.
September 16, 2022
Naturally, this one was so good!!! I will say Celie was quite a brat for a lot of the book—but I understand the desire to be seen and known is real so I’ll give her some grace. I love how much attention Pogue gets. He truly is a part of the fam & JDG does a phenomenal job at weaving him in. I still deeply love Rolf & I thought there was a lack in his story arc which made me miss him.
February 5, 2024
*may contain minor spoilers*
Jessica does it again!
I was expecting this to be about their adventures in Grath, so I was disappointed when I realized that it was not. However, it was way better than I was expecting! (*sigh* Why do I ever doubt Jessica Day George?? She always BEYOND delivers).
I really liked having Celie's internal struggles prevalent in this one. I think it balanced out the rest of the series. She's struggling because she finds all these things and learns all things, and they get taken away with no consultation and barely a "thank you." I found that both understandable and relatable. She doesn't want to change, with Lilah's impending marriage.
I love Lulath. I ship him with Lilah.
BUT DID LILAH HAVE TO BE SUCH A JERK IN THIS ONE???
I've had mixed feelings about Lilah lately. I loved her big-sisterliness in book one, but in books two and three, I wasn't quite sure. She was a brat in this one. LILAH, CELIE DOES NOT GET WHATEVER SHE WANTS. So annoying.
Pogue is hands-down my favorite character. It's been decided. He's so nice to Celie! *melts* I feel empathy toward him about Lilah and Lulath, but I don't ship him with Lilah. Lulath's perfect for her. I DO, however, ship him with Celie. And before you start thinking weird things, I know she's only twelve. But I'm thinking in several years, they could fall in love. For now, yeah, that would be gross. I mean, her liking him would be cute, but him liking her would be... a bit weird.
(CELIE YOU HAVE TO GROW UP SOON BECAUSE I WANT TO SEE THIS)
To be honest, I did get a little annoyed at Rolf with the griffins, but I do understand. Cora and Pogue got griffins on accident, but he can't even get one when he tries! AHHHH but I was so happy at the end where Lady Griffin did lay an egg for him!
Wizard Arkwright is the WORRRRRRSTTTTT. I'm so glad they took care of him. NO THANKS TO WIZARD BOWEN AND WIZARD WHAT'S-HIS-FACE
They are sooooo annoying. I love the Castle, but did you seriously have to go through all that?? And Celie can discover the Castle's secrets herself! She doesn't need their help!
*takes a deep breath*
A very good book, just as good as the others, but some annoying parts. I'm not annoyed with the authors, though, just the characters. I think that's when you know a book was well-written.
Jessica does it again!
I was expecting this to be about their adventures in Grath, so I was disappointed when I realized that it was not. However, it was way better than I was expecting! (*sigh* Why do I ever doubt Jessica Day George?? She always BEYOND delivers).
I really liked having Celie's internal struggles prevalent in this one. I think it balanced out the rest of the series. She's struggling because she finds all these things and learns all things, and they get taken away with no consultation and barely a "thank you." I found that both understandable and relatable. She doesn't want to change, with Lilah's impending marriage.
I love Lulath. I ship him with Lilah.
BUT DID LILAH HAVE TO BE SUCH A JERK IN THIS ONE???
I've had mixed feelings about Lilah lately. I loved her big-sisterliness in book one, but in books two and three, I wasn't quite sure. She was a brat in this one. LILAH, CELIE DOES NOT GET WHATEVER SHE WANTS. So annoying.
Pogue is hands-down my favorite character. It's been decided. He's so nice to Celie! *melts* I feel empathy toward him about Lilah and Lulath, but I don't ship him with Lilah. Lulath's perfect for her. I DO, however, ship him with Celie. And before you start thinking weird things, I know she's only twelve. But I'm thinking in several years, they could fall in love. For now, yeah, that would be gross. I mean, her liking him would be cute, but him liking her would be... a bit weird.
(CELIE YOU HAVE TO GROW UP SOON BECAUSE I WANT TO SEE THIS)
To be honest, I did get a little annoyed at Rolf with the griffins, but I do understand. Cora and Pogue got griffins on accident, but he can't even get one when he tries! AHHHH but I was so happy at the end where Lady Griffin did lay an egg for him!
Wizard Arkwright is the WORRRRRRSTTTTT. I'm so glad they took care of him. NO THANKS TO WIZARD BOWEN AND WIZARD WHAT'S-HIS-FACE
They are sooooo annoying. I love the Castle, but did you seriously have to go through all that?? And Celie can discover the Castle's secrets herself! She doesn't need their help!
*takes a deep breath*
A very good book, just as good as the others, but some annoying parts. I'm not annoyed with the authors, though, just the characters. I think that's when you know a book was well-written.
February 12, 2018
fun light enjoyable
July 13, 2016
Jessica Day George is one of my favorite writers, so I dislike having to write anything negative about any of her works, but unfortunately this newest chapter in the Castle Glower series just didn’t work for me. And to be honest, I wasn’t crazy about the last one either.
The writing is solid, as always and I certainly don’t think this is a bad book, it just didn’t resonate with me. I found Celie to be annoying and whiny throughout the book and it never really resolves. She just became tedious to me. Additionally, the pacing seemed slow and Celie was alone for the majority of the book, particularly when any action took place.
There is a ton of talk and build-up about everyone going to Grath, which never occurs. Arkwright breaks out and is lurking around the Castle, needing to be captured…. AGAIN. Then the title also threw me. I expected for wizards to play a more prominent role, but they don’t… other than the fact that Arkwright is a wizard and so is Bran, but Celie is barely around either. The two wizards from the Academy only show up at the very end. I don’t know, to me it was a strange and misleading title to pick.
With the way the castle constantly changes, it was also very hard to visualize a lot of the descriptions and keep track of where characters were at any given time throughout the story. Additionally, the story felt very repetitive and boring. I never felt engaged with the story or the characters.
I don’t know. It just didn’t work for me. This is a 2.5 for me, but I’m marking it as a 3 on my stars. If there is another Castle Glower book after this, I don’t think I’ll be picking it up. The last two just haven’t caught my attention. I adored the first book in the series, but I haven’t really felt that spark since then. Ah well.
The writing is solid, as always and I certainly don’t think this is a bad book, it just didn’t resonate with me. I found Celie to be annoying and whiny throughout the book and it never really resolves. She just became tedious to me. Additionally, the pacing seemed slow and Celie was alone for the majority of the book, particularly when any action took place.
There is a ton of talk and build-up about everyone going to Grath, which never occurs. Arkwright breaks out and is lurking around the Castle, needing to be captured…. AGAIN. Then the title also threw me. I expected for wizards to play a more prominent role, but they don’t… other than the fact that Arkwright is a wizard and so is Bran, but Celie is barely around either. The two wizards from the Academy only show up at the very end. I don’t know, to me it was a strange and misleading title to pick.
With the way the castle constantly changes, it was also very hard to visualize a lot of the descriptions and keep track of where characters were at any given time throughout the story. Additionally, the story felt very repetitive and boring. I never felt engaged with the story or the characters.
I don’t know. It just didn’t work for me. This is a 2.5 for me, but I’m marking it as a 3 on my stars. If there is another Castle Glower book after this, I don’t think I’ll be picking it up. The last two just haven’t caught my attention. I adored the first book in the series, but I haven’t really felt that spark since then. Ah well.
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