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Kingdom Keepers: The Return #3
Disney at Last
The stakes are high--both for the past and the future. The finale of The Return series leaves the Kingdom Keepers with unimaginable choices to make.
471 pages, Hardcover
Published March 28, 2017
82 people are currently reading
2793 people want to read
About the author
Ridley Pearson
186 books2,103 followersRidley Pearson is the author of more than fifty novels, including the New York Times bestseller Killer Weekend; the Lou Boldt crime series; and many books for young readers, including the award-winning children's novels Peter and the Starcatchers, Peter and the Shadow Thieves, and Peter and the Secret of Rundoon, which he cowrote with Dave Barry. Pearson lives with his wife and two daughters, dividing their time between Missouri and Idaho.
Also writes Chris Klick mysteries as Wendell McCall.
Also writes Chris Klick mysteries as Wendell McCall.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 100 reviews
May 26, 2017
For complete review check out my blog at https://booksaplentybookreviews.blogs...
April 10, 2017
I don't think I'm emotionally equipped to handle that ending. Or the events leading up to it. Okay, so basically the whole book.
This is one of the best Kingdom Keepers books in the series. Darker and way more heartbreaking than ever before, while still keeping the Keeper's love and loyalty for each other and Disney shining through on every page.
Many Disney characters that we haven't seen appear in this book which just made it so much better for me as a lot of my favorites were brought in. Although there weren't as many Villains, the ones that did show themselves were immensely powerful, or not who we've come to expect.
I pretty much cried my way through the last hundred pages. Tears of grief, loss, and finally happiness, this book is one giant rollercoaster of emotions.
The ending is a bit bittersweet, but overall the way it should be. (Even if I don't agree with the final decision for the Keepers) However, I do know that there is going to be another series after this with the Keepers in it, so I'm hoping that certain decision will be reversed, if only for this last series.
I absolutely love these books, and the characters even more. This is a great ending to The Return, and I cannot wait to dive back in when the next series comes out!
This is one of the best Kingdom Keepers books in the series. Darker and way more heartbreaking than ever before, while still keeping the Keeper's love and loyalty for each other and Disney shining through on every page.
Many Disney characters that we haven't seen appear in this book which just made it so much better for me as a lot of my favorites were brought in. Although there weren't as many Villains, the ones that did show themselves were immensely powerful, or not who we've come to expect.
I pretty much cried my way through the last hundred pages. Tears of grief, loss, and finally happiness, this book is one giant rollercoaster of emotions.
The ending is a bit bittersweet, but overall the way it should be. (Even if I don't agree with the final decision for the Keepers) However, I do know that there is going to be another series after this with the Keepers in it, so I'm hoping that certain decision will be reversed, if only for this last series.
I absolutely love these books, and the characters even more. This is a great ending to The Return, and I cannot wait to dive back in when the next series comes out!
February 16, 2021
I really don't know where to start with this book... As someone that has read all the books involved in this extremely long series, I can say the ending is a cop out. I get that it is Disney and we have to make it Disney Kosher, but like man the ending is not great. I was really disappointed with this book and with the series as a whole because it felt like the author ran out of ideas after Book 2. I also would like to point out that there are waaaaaaaaay too many pages in this book to tell this story. An editor could have easily edited out at the very least 100-150 pages of this book and you would not have missed anything with the story. Now on to particular things that irked me to no end throughout this entire book:
1. The author forgets where the characters are, or which character is doing what at a certain point in time.
2. He likes to mix his metaphors (I mean we all do so I won't fault him for that) but, the way he uses his metaphors is in an incorrect manner (which I will fault him for because that is writing 101)
3. All of the characters are always at odds with one another throughout the ENTIRE STORY. If they are such great friends that have grown together, why do they KEEP FIGHTING AND PUTTING EACH OTHER DOWN?!?!?! Like some fighting is understood, its stressful, people get frustrated, but they shouldn't be at each other's throats every page.
4. In the previous books Jess and Amanda both have used their powers, more so Amanda, as ways to hurt villains and such, but now they somehow grew a conscience? Now they don't want to use violence, when that was the answer for all 9 other books in this series? Why make the switch now?
5. If you are going to make a character talk in an accent, stick with the freaking accent through the ENTIRE BOOK.
6. Fairlies as characters have always been and always will be a cop out way to make sure everything will be fine in the end. It just seems so extra to have them in it, but whatever, they've been in every book since the beginning but having them play a bigger part in this book was too much.
7. Mattie explained her power and showed it to a character toward the beginning of the book but then later looks at that character and says "I don't have time to explain to you my power and how it works." When she LITTERALLY DID IT 100/150 PAGES PRIOR.
8. The fight scenes are boring and confusing. Too much is happening and none of it is executed smoothly. Its really clunky and honestly is kind of a slog to read through. I mean one fight spanned 50 pages and like barely anything was accomplished.
9. The technology still makes no sense and makes even less sense by the end of the book.
10. The potential cliffhanger near the end of this book is too much and I ask the author to please send this series to greener pastures. You've milked this cow dry. If you do end up writing another book in this series I will have to call it quits, I had faith you would end this epilogue in a nice way and the ending was just bad.
1.5/5 stars. Don't read this if you're a self proclaimed Disney fan, it isn't worth it, and you'll be questioning if anything really even happened through the book.
p.s. there are way too many freaking characters, some more important that others and the whole plot idea with blaming the whole thing on one character still made no sense...
1. The author forgets where the characters are, or which character is doing what at a certain point in time.
2. He likes to mix his metaphors (I mean we all do so I won't fault him for that) but, the way he uses his metaphors is in an incorrect manner (which I will fault him for because that is writing 101)
3. All of the characters are always at odds with one another throughout the ENTIRE STORY. If they are such great friends that have grown together, why do they KEEP FIGHTING AND PUTTING EACH OTHER DOWN?!?!?! Like some fighting is understood, its stressful, people get frustrated, but they shouldn't be at each other's throats every page.
4. In the previous books Jess and Amanda both have used their powers, more so Amanda, as ways to hurt villains and such, but now they somehow grew a conscience? Now they don't want to use violence, when that was the answer for all 9 other books in this series? Why make the switch now?
5. If you are going to make a character talk in an accent, stick with the freaking accent through the ENTIRE BOOK.
6. Fairlies as characters have always been and always will be a cop out way to make sure everything will be fine in the end. It just seems so extra to have them in it, but whatever, they've been in every book since the beginning but having them play a bigger part in this book was too much.
7. Mattie explained her power and showed it to a character toward the beginning of the book but then later looks at that character and says "I don't have time to explain to you my power and how it works." When she LITTERALLY DID IT 100/150 PAGES PRIOR.
8. The fight scenes are boring and confusing. Too much is happening and none of it is executed smoothly. Its really clunky and honestly is kind of a slog to read through. I mean one fight spanned 50 pages and like barely anything was accomplished.
9. The technology still makes no sense and makes even less sense by the end of the book.
10. The potential cliffhanger near the end of this book is too much and I ask the author to please send this series to greener pastures. You've milked this cow dry. If you do end up writing another book in this series I will have to call it quits, I had faith you would end this epilogue in a nice way and the ending was just bad.
1.5/5 stars. Don't read this if you're a self proclaimed Disney fan, it isn't worth it, and you'll be questioning if anything really even happened through the book.
p.s. there are way too many freaking characters, some more important that others and the whole plot idea with blaming the whole thing on one character still made no sense...
July 16, 2017
Finn, the rest of the Kingdom Keepers, plus Jess and Amanda are still back in 1955. While they wait for their trip back to our time to be perfected, they have a new mission – stop the overtakers from even being created. Meanwhile, in the present, Jess and Amanda’s friend Mattie is in a fight of her own to protect the parks of the present. Can she do it?
With two stories in two time periods, this book is never boring. There are several great fight scenes, and we even get to see some of the Disney heroes for more than a glimpse this time around. As always, the characters could be more fleshed out, but I have spent so much time with them I really don’t care. I do feel the climax glossed over a few things, but I do like where the characters end up. We’ll just blame it on me trying to follow time travel.
Read my full review at Carstairs Considers.
With two stories in two time periods, this book is never boring. There are several great fight scenes, and we even get to see some of the Disney heroes for more than a glimpse this time around. As always, the characters could be more fleshed out, but I have spent so much time with them I really don’t care. I do feel the climax glossed over a few things, but I do like where the characters end up. We’ll just blame it on me trying to follow time travel.
Read my full review at Carstairs Considers.
July 7, 2017
A very confusing and anticlimactic finish to the series. A lot of hype and a bunch of scenes were the characters spend the majority of the time going "oh my I am talking to the real characters". I expected more. A bigger fight, more character involvement.
November 18, 2017
I’m speechless.
July 13, 2021
I won’t give spoilers but I’m going to be honest. These books were very good but I feel like they were also unnecessary. I wish Ridley Pearson had left the original story at 7 books and then moved onto the Inheritance series which I know is coming soon. The Return series was fun to read but I just felt like they didn’t need to be written. That’s just my personal opinion. Overall Ridley Pearson did a wonderful job in writing them as always. Thank you for keeping the Disney magic alive❤️
April 24, 2024
This was one of my favorites am sad that the series is over but loved all of the books even though a few weren’t some of my favorites but I still enjoyed the Kingdom Keepers series!
September 1, 2022
Disney At Last
In 1955, Amery Hollingsworth) meets with an old man in a swamp known as “The Traveler”. The man has been known for “reanimation”. Hollingsworth convinces him to form a partnership with a circle of powerful witches and sorcerers. Amery offers to take him to “the place of lost angels”.
Two girls from Baltimore, and two other boys, and a Native American girl are sent to Tomorrowland to cause a power outage by hijacking the area’s music speakers. One of the girls (Minerva) is a shape-shifter (and shifts into a tarantula). The other (Javelot) can control minds. Together they cause chaos in the park and get the guests to clear out.
The KK still are stuck in 195, but there’s progress. A bottle cap was sent and returned to the present. Now they’ll try living objects. Finn reminds the KK they still have to do something about Hollingsworth creating OT and Jess’s dream about Jack Skellington burning bones. Amanda thinks if they can stop Hollingworth *here* they can prevent all the events of the future. Finn hopes even Dillard’s death. Wayne is approached by two Cast Member trainees that say they were sent to be his apprentices and that they were sent by “Jim Hawkins “He gives them a riddle to solve and sends them off. Wila tells them the name they gave is fake and WED confirms it. They were sent to infiltrate his work area. So, Charlene and Amanda follow the two to a bandstand. They discover there’s a hidden door under the bandstand that leads to the underwater system.
Zeke and Mattie scope out California Adventure for some of his brother’s guys and find one James Corwin. In her read she hears the words fairlies, Barracks 14, Baltimore, and children. She sees teens look like fairlies. Groups entering DL. But he’s a reacher so he gets into her mind and they battle She wins and sees she can put a thought in his head. Mattie uncomfortably tells Joe what she read.
Joe crosses over for the first time. He speaks to the characters about Hollingsworth and his army of children with special abilities. He asks that they watch the parks for trouble. Amanda and Charlene come to the conclusion that the Cast Members are OTs. Avery (Sr.) and the “Traveler” visit and graveyard and come across two coffins. They make their helpers dig out the bones.
Jess is introduced to Marty Sklar (a writer for the paper) who shows her other graves were also vandalized. At the graveyard, Jess thinks about the man she saw in her dream that looked like Jack Skellington (aka The Traveller) and the two others. She’s filled with psyche energy that suggests she’s seeing something, unlike her dream that’s real. She says it wasn’t vandalism. Then two men come out of the trees. They’re zombies that are guarding the graveyard. Because they’re slow the KK are able to escape them. Joe turns Mattie into a DH1 so she can watch the parks as herself by day and also be able to spy at night. She crosses over for the first time.
The KK return to the graveyard and dig up the coffins. Jess mentions fire and sees clouds and recognizes them as a part of her vision. Whatever happens, is going down that night. In the other coffin are the remains of a man. Someone broke both arms at the elbows. Jess sees a man on a flat hill in the distance. The KK hold off the zombies while Jess touches the male skeleton and sees him dying of a heart attack. He also sees that one the grave diggers struck the man. Then the others pull her up and pull her over the iron gates.
While working at a job in one of the stores, Mattie is attacked by snakes, Storm Troopers, and a woman. Because of Mattie’s quick thinking, she takes them all down. She then makes contact with one of the Fairlies. The lady Mattie meets name is Antonella. She brings her to meet 2 girls and 3 boys who know her. One of the boys' names is Humphrey. There are 12 and they’re there on a mission. They don’t trust Mattie and think she’s spying on them. They tell her she’ll be spending the night and they tie her up. They tell her they don’t want to hurt her they’re just trying to protect themselves. They tell her she’ll be back at work tomorrow. Mattie wakes up as a hologram. There’s a woman there and Mattie tells her she made contact and then gives her the details and warns the woman (to give Joe) the message that he should worry about the Fairlies. ). To earn their trust, they want Mattie to read Kim Irvine’s master key location. She says she’ll do it but no more blindfolds and spending the night in closets.
Zeke brings Nick to meet up with some of the characters. Zeke tells Mickey a girl has been taken captive in the Tower. Mattie then shows up (in DHI) and tells Zeke, and Nick that her real body is in the Tower. She’s already Mattie tried to put it in Kim’s head that someone was coming for the key but Minara turned into a snake and got away. She warns him that the Fairlies are brainwashed.
Jess has a dream of a translucent Pinocchio bursting into flames. Wayne says there is a Pinocchio project underway (a moving puppet) and he can get them a peep. Wayne was asked to find the missing cells for the project. They think Jess dreamed of the person who set the cells on fire. (Which is what Hollingsworth was fired for. Amanda and Finn visit a shop with 3 models of Pinocchio. Nick and his team find Mattie’s body but her hologram hasn’t returned yet. So they try to move her body but when the Fairlies come out and attack, Mattie allows Nick and Zeke to escape without her. Mattie's plan seems to be letting the Fairlies believe she actually wants to stay with them. Mattie manipulates Humphrey into telling her his ability (enhancing other people’s abilities) and she also finds out their location. Mattie also finds out she was just bait to get to Zeke (the traitor's brother).
Wila and Jess catch some guys breaking into a funeral home. Willa goes in to investigate. While checking out a funeral home A rag Is placed over Willa’s nose and in a dazed state she’s led to a drawer and put inside by someone unknown. Jess calls Philby when Willa doesn’t hear her signal to come out. She then calls Philby and he and Wayne turn her into a hologram so she won’t have to call the police. She then finds Willa and rescues her. Willa and Jess examine the other drawers. They're full of fingers. Jess realizes that not only can she dream the future she can read the past as well. The last visions she had she realizes were from the past. So she prepares to read the fingers to see what she can find out. She realizes and tells Willa it’s a ritual.
Inside the Tower, Amanda and Finn see Hollingsworth and the old man in a ballroom with some kids that look hypnotized (their own made Fairlies). what Hollingsworth is doing is taking projections and putting it over the mannequins and then someone sculpts the likeness. They’re creating the OTs. Once the cell is burned and some of them chant over it the mannequin animates. Finn and Amanda hide backstage from “The Traveler” and the hypnotized kids, but while trying to escape the hotel, Amanda’s ability causes a whirlwind of tables and chairs and the mannequins to catch fire. Finn gets trapped between two tables and dies.
Mattie tells Joe that the Fairlies are going to destroy the park and blame Zeke and she wants to stop them. Mattie gets to Antonella by telling her that if they should get caught Barrack 13 would just leave them there and they can’t mess it up for kids like them. Kids like her sister (a pyrokinesis). On the day they plan to attack the park, Humphrey suggests they instead turn the attack back on Barrack 14. Maryanne (whose also a leader) says she’ll think on it and will give a signal either way. Mattie realizes that Corwin is being sent to make a Farlie sent the signal from the conductor that *he* wants sent. He targets a girl named Dejahn. All three struggle for control and a signal goes out but it’s not clear whose or what signal. It seems like Mattie sent off the wrong signal because explosions are going off.
Maybeck use a hose to stop three girls from forming Maleficent. An out-of-control fire kills the Traveler. Humphrey uses his abilities to magnify Maryanne’s who freezes the Dogcatcher-a man from the Barracks whose ability is causing pain. The Dogcatcher is frozen and shatters but Humphrey is also killed in the process from the physical contact of amping her ability. (The Dogcather was controlling the explosions After climbing the Matterhorn see Tia Dalma and a deformed Maleficent. With the help of Dash and Nick, they’re able to make lightning and electrocute Tia and Maleficent leaving a vulture behind. Amery Jr consists suicide, Zeke ends up in the hospital for dehydration. The Fairlies go after the adults-only some are caught. Mattie gets Joe to offer them shelter. Mattie tells Joe she wants to be a KK. She also wants Jess, Amanda, and Nick to be KK’s too. Mattie wants to know if the future changes the past and Joe says they won’t know until the KK’s come back. They all discuss the fact that after they get back they’ll all be strangers. They all form a circle around Finn. The carousel brings them all back. The KK’s have no merry of the past few weeks. Amanda pushes set the carousel and Dillard appears. Then the KK see Finn alive. There’s a boy living on the ground It’s Wayne from the past year. Amanda, Finn, and Dillard are gone. The KK feel their DHIs weakening. Joe says he needs to return them immediately to the statue’s location. Amanda, Finn, and Dillard show up on the other side of the carousel. Later the KK’s memories are returned, Dillard is still alive, and the Imaginers figure out a way to save Wayne’s DHI (whose gaining daily) but getting his code from old projections of him. The KK enjoy one last night in the parks (Villian free) and he tells Wayne that they’re going to destroy the KK program. Wayne tells him no one can take away his memories and he thinks he’ll be an Imagineer. With the others behind him he ends this chapter of their lives by returning them.
My Thoughts: What an ending! I almost teared up when they meet at the park for the last time. This is how I would have wanted to end being a KK (enjoying the parks to myself at night). Everything was wrapped up. The only question I had was how do you turn a DHI back into a human? Or a dead human for that matter. But the only thing that made sense was when the carousel spun around it went back and brought the past Finn and the past Dillard back. I’m gonna go with that. The other thing I wondered randomly was would this series ever be turned either into a set of movies or a television series on Disney Plus.
Rating: 7
In 1955, Amery Hollingsworth) meets with an old man in a swamp known as “The Traveler”. The man has been known for “reanimation”. Hollingsworth convinces him to form a partnership with a circle of powerful witches and sorcerers. Amery offers to take him to “the place of lost angels”.
Two girls from Baltimore, and two other boys, and a Native American girl are sent to Tomorrowland to cause a power outage by hijacking the area’s music speakers. One of the girls (Minerva) is a shape-shifter (and shifts into a tarantula). The other (Javelot) can control minds. Together they cause chaos in the park and get the guests to clear out.
The KK still are stuck in 195, but there’s progress. A bottle cap was sent and returned to the present. Now they’ll try living objects. Finn reminds the KK they still have to do something about Hollingsworth creating OT and Jess’s dream about Jack Skellington burning bones. Amanda thinks if they can stop Hollingworth *here* they can prevent all the events of the future. Finn hopes even Dillard’s death. Wayne is approached by two Cast Member trainees that say they were sent to be his apprentices and that they were sent by “Jim Hawkins “He gives them a riddle to solve and sends them off. Wila tells them the name they gave is fake and WED confirms it. They were sent to infiltrate his work area. So, Charlene and Amanda follow the two to a bandstand. They discover there’s a hidden door under the bandstand that leads to the underwater system.
Zeke and Mattie scope out California Adventure for some of his brother’s guys and find one James Corwin. In her read she hears the words fairlies, Barracks 14, Baltimore, and children. She sees teens look like fairlies. Groups entering DL. But he’s a reacher so he gets into her mind and they battle She wins and sees she can put a thought in his head. Mattie uncomfortably tells Joe what she read.
Joe crosses over for the first time. He speaks to the characters about Hollingsworth and his army of children with special abilities. He asks that they watch the parks for trouble. Amanda and Charlene come to the conclusion that the Cast Members are OTs. Avery (Sr.) and the “Traveler” visit and graveyard and come across two coffins. They make their helpers dig out the bones.
Jess is introduced to Marty Sklar (a writer for the paper) who shows her other graves were also vandalized. At the graveyard, Jess thinks about the man she saw in her dream that looked like Jack Skellington (aka The Traveller) and the two others. She’s filled with psyche energy that suggests she’s seeing something, unlike her dream that’s real. She says it wasn’t vandalism. Then two men come out of the trees. They’re zombies that are guarding the graveyard. Because they’re slow the KK are able to escape them. Joe turns Mattie into a DH1 so she can watch the parks as herself by day and also be able to spy at night. She crosses over for the first time.
The KK return to the graveyard and dig up the coffins. Jess mentions fire and sees clouds and recognizes them as a part of her vision. Whatever happens, is going down that night. In the other coffin are the remains of a man. Someone broke both arms at the elbows. Jess sees a man on a flat hill in the distance. The KK hold off the zombies while Jess touches the male skeleton and sees him dying of a heart attack. He also sees that one the grave diggers struck the man. Then the others pull her up and pull her over the iron gates.
While working at a job in one of the stores, Mattie is attacked by snakes, Storm Troopers, and a woman. Because of Mattie’s quick thinking, she takes them all down. She then makes contact with one of the Fairlies. The lady Mattie meets name is Antonella. She brings her to meet 2 girls and 3 boys who know her. One of the boys' names is Humphrey. There are 12 and they’re there on a mission. They don’t trust Mattie and think she’s spying on them. They tell her she’ll be spending the night and they tie her up. They tell her they don’t want to hurt her they’re just trying to protect themselves. They tell her she’ll be back at work tomorrow. Mattie wakes up as a hologram. There’s a woman there and Mattie tells her she made contact and then gives her the details and warns the woman (to give Joe) the message that he should worry about the Fairlies. ). To earn their trust, they want Mattie to read Kim Irvine’s master key location. She says she’ll do it but no more blindfolds and spending the night in closets.
Zeke brings Nick to meet up with some of the characters. Zeke tells Mickey a girl has been taken captive in the Tower. Mattie then shows up (in DHI) and tells Zeke, and Nick that her real body is in the Tower. She’s already Mattie tried to put it in Kim’s head that someone was coming for the key but Minara turned into a snake and got away. She warns him that the Fairlies are brainwashed.
Jess has a dream of a translucent Pinocchio bursting into flames. Wayne says there is a Pinocchio project underway (a moving puppet) and he can get them a peep. Wayne was asked to find the missing cells for the project. They think Jess dreamed of the person who set the cells on fire. (Which is what Hollingsworth was fired for. Amanda and Finn visit a shop with 3 models of Pinocchio. Nick and his team find Mattie’s body but her hologram hasn’t returned yet. So they try to move her body but when the Fairlies come out and attack, Mattie allows Nick and Zeke to escape without her. Mattie's plan seems to be letting the Fairlies believe she actually wants to stay with them. Mattie manipulates Humphrey into telling her his ability (enhancing other people’s abilities) and she also finds out their location. Mattie also finds out she was just bait to get to Zeke (the traitor's brother).
Wila and Jess catch some guys breaking into a funeral home. Willa goes in to investigate. While checking out a funeral home A rag Is placed over Willa’s nose and in a dazed state she’s led to a drawer and put inside by someone unknown. Jess calls Philby when Willa doesn’t hear her signal to come out. She then calls Philby and he and Wayne turn her into a hologram so she won’t have to call the police. She then finds Willa and rescues her. Willa and Jess examine the other drawers. They're full of fingers. Jess realizes that not only can she dream the future she can read the past as well. The last visions she had she realizes were from the past. So she prepares to read the fingers to see what she can find out. She realizes and tells Willa it’s a ritual.
Inside the Tower, Amanda and Finn see Hollingsworth and the old man in a ballroom with some kids that look hypnotized (their own made Fairlies). what Hollingsworth is doing is taking projections and putting it over the mannequins and then someone sculpts the likeness. They’re creating the OTs. Once the cell is burned and some of them chant over it the mannequin animates. Finn and Amanda hide backstage from “The Traveler” and the hypnotized kids, but while trying to escape the hotel, Amanda’s ability causes a whirlwind of tables and chairs and the mannequins to catch fire. Finn gets trapped between two tables and dies.
Mattie tells Joe that the Fairlies are going to destroy the park and blame Zeke and she wants to stop them. Mattie gets to Antonella by telling her that if they should get caught Barrack 13 would just leave them there and they can’t mess it up for kids like them. Kids like her sister (a pyrokinesis). On the day they plan to attack the park, Humphrey suggests they instead turn the attack back on Barrack 14. Maryanne (whose also a leader) says she’ll think on it and will give a signal either way. Mattie realizes that Corwin is being sent to make a Farlie sent the signal from the conductor that *he* wants sent. He targets a girl named Dejahn. All three struggle for control and a signal goes out but it’s not clear whose or what signal. It seems like Mattie sent off the wrong signal because explosions are going off.
Maybeck use a hose to stop three girls from forming Maleficent. An out-of-control fire kills the Traveler. Humphrey uses his abilities to magnify Maryanne’s who freezes the Dogcatcher-a man from the Barracks whose ability is causing pain. The Dogcatcher is frozen and shatters but Humphrey is also killed in the process from the physical contact of amping her ability. (The Dogcather was controlling the explosions After climbing the Matterhorn see Tia Dalma and a deformed Maleficent. With the help of Dash and Nick, they’re able to make lightning and electrocute Tia and Maleficent leaving a vulture behind. Amery Jr consists suicide, Zeke ends up in the hospital for dehydration. The Fairlies go after the adults-only some are caught. Mattie gets Joe to offer them shelter. Mattie tells Joe she wants to be a KK. She also wants Jess, Amanda, and Nick to be KK’s too. Mattie wants to know if the future changes the past and Joe says they won’t know until the KK’s come back. They all discuss the fact that after they get back they’ll all be strangers. They all form a circle around Finn. The carousel brings them all back. The KK’s have no merry of the past few weeks. Amanda pushes set the carousel and Dillard appears. Then the KK see Finn alive. There’s a boy living on the ground It’s Wayne from the past year. Amanda, Finn, and Dillard are gone. The KK feel their DHIs weakening. Joe says he needs to return them immediately to the statue’s location. Amanda, Finn, and Dillard show up on the other side of the carousel. Later the KK’s memories are returned, Dillard is still alive, and the Imaginers figure out a way to save Wayne’s DHI (whose gaining daily) but getting his code from old projections of him. The KK enjoy one last night in the parks (Villian free) and he tells Wayne that they’re going to destroy the KK program. Wayne tells him no one can take away his memories and he thinks he’ll be an Imagineer. With the others behind him he ends this chapter of their lives by returning them.
My Thoughts: What an ending! I almost teared up when they meet at the park for the last time. This is how I would have wanted to end being a KK (enjoying the parks to myself at night). Everything was wrapped up. The only question I had was how do you turn a DHI back into a human? Or a dead human for that matter. But the only thing that made sense was when the carousel spun around it went back and brought the past Finn and the past Dillard back. I’m gonna go with that. The other thing I wondered randomly was would this series ever be turned either into a set of movies or a television series on Disney Plus.
Rating: 7
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 27, 2024
Finally finished this series after making the goal to finish this book on 8/30/17. Much better than the second Return book. Very emotional in different ways, but also somewhat confusing at times. I’d rate it 3.5/5
September 3, 2021
ok I read this book over four years ago when I wasn't confident in my reviewing, so I've decided to dig my drafted review from the grave and grace you all with 2017 ursula's thoughts about her beloved kingdom keepers series. enjoy. fair warning, there are a lot of spoilers and i don't feel like blocking them out, so proceed with caution. i present to you, Disney at Last review (Ursula's Version)(From the Vault)
***
Ok so... I had many problems with this book. I really loved it but there were many annoyances.
First off, the timeline was messed up for me and didn't make a lot of sense. Second of all, Finn's death was so pointless. His dying did nothing except make Amanda and the others cry. I will admit that I still cried, but it was a little pointless to me. Also, I mean can someone be so lucky as to die and come back to life TWICE!? And in the last book especially. I wish the scene went a little something like, "Charlene swooped down pirate-style and saved Finn from getting crushed by tables." That would have been great. Thirdly, Pilby WAS NOT IN THE BOOK WHATSOEVER! He was there for like one important scene where he kissed Willa on the cheek (which I admit was satisfying) and THAT'S IT! He wasn't a part of the big battle, and that annoyed me so much.
Fourth, and this is going to start being a little whiny and trivial, but Tim was barely even mentioned in the book. Remember him from Imagineering School? Yeah. Exactly. Fifth, Charlene and Maybeck get like no scenes. Sixth, I felt as if there were more Mattie chapters in the present than Keeper chapters in the past. Just me? I mean all we talked about was the Fairlies. Last of all, the whole Dillard and Wayne being back made no sense to me, so can someone please explain?
Now, onto the things that I liked. NICK! I love Nick. He's adorable and I'm so glad that Ridley put him in the book a lot. Also I liked that Dash helped them (kinda like how Violet helped them in The Insider), and it came full circle. Flynn and Mulan were great, too. And even though the Fairlies being a large part annoyed me, it was also fun seeing other powers. Those were really all my thoughts on it. I definetle liked Legacy of Secrets more, but besides all this book's faults, I loved it nonetheless. It's weird. All in all, this was a great conclusion, and I hear that the story is not done yet.
***
what a trip down memory lane, I really felt all the emotions coming back as I was transcribing that from the picture in my camera roll. all i really have to add is "dear 2017 ursula, he still hasn't published the next series but I love the hope" :)
***
Ok so... I had many problems with this book. I really loved it but there were many annoyances.
First off, the timeline was messed up for me and didn't make a lot of sense. Second of all, Finn's death was so pointless. His dying did nothing except make Amanda and the others cry. I will admit that I still cried, but it was a little pointless to me. Also, I mean can someone be so lucky as to die and come back to life TWICE!? And in the last book especially. I wish the scene went a little something like, "Charlene swooped down pirate-style and saved Finn from getting crushed by tables." That would have been great. Thirdly, Pilby WAS NOT IN THE BOOK WHATSOEVER! He was there for like one important scene where he kissed Willa on the cheek (which I admit was satisfying) and THAT'S IT! He wasn't a part of the big battle, and that annoyed me so much.
Fourth, and this is going to start being a little whiny and trivial, but Tim was barely even mentioned in the book. Remember him from Imagineering School? Yeah. Exactly. Fifth, Charlene and Maybeck get like no scenes. Sixth, I felt as if there were more Mattie chapters in the present than Keeper chapters in the past. Just me? I mean all we talked about was the Fairlies. Last of all, the whole Dillard and Wayne being back made no sense to me, so can someone please explain?
Now, onto the things that I liked. NICK! I love Nick. He's adorable and I'm so glad that Ridley put him in the book a lot. Also I liked that Dash helped them (kinda like how Violet helped them in The Insider), and it came full circle. Flynn and Mulan were great, too. And even though the Fairlies being a large part annoyed me, it was also fun seeing other powers. Those were really all my thoughts on it. I definetle liked Legacy of Secrets more, but besides all this book's faults, I loved it nonetheless. It's weird. All in all, this was a great conclusion, and I hear that the story is not done yet.
***
what a trip down memory lane, I really felt all the emotions coming back as I was transcribing that from the picture in my camera roll. all i really have to add is "dear 2017 ursula, he still hasn't published the next series but I love the hope" :)
June 29, 2021
okay listen … I love the kingdom keepers and I low key was into where they were going with this past / future stuff … until I didn’t.
it super fell flat and I almost wish I hadn’t read these at all LOL is that bad!? I feel like that’s bad to say.
it all just felt super rushed and out of place to me. sure, you had me at the tower of terror origins, and the expansion of the fairlies, and sure even the hollingsworth duo of doom. but it all really added up to … nothing. literally nothing.
they changed the past which changed the future, but only conveniently so everyone who was dead is now suddenly alive. I didn’t feel that same spark as I did when I was reading the original series, and I certainly didn’t feel any impending doom. if villains weren’t created, then disney just … wouldn’t exist? I don’t know I just was very disappointed.
maybe I’ll think about this more and change my mind, but I really wish they just left the original series alone. this past / future / past again thing left my head spinning and not in a good way. if the whole point is to preserve the disney way, why would you deliberately go out of your way to ruin the disney stories as we know it? even if it’s just the bad parts? and the creation of the overtakers, seriously? that’s like saying someone created mickey apart from the actual mickey. it really just added up to nothing.
AND THERE WAS NO EXPANSION ON THE TOWER OF TERROR STORY WHICH WAS MY FAVORITE PART OF THE LAST BOOK.
ugh. I’m just severely disappointed, that’s all.
1.5/5 stars :’)
it super fell flat and I almost wish I hadn’t read these at all LOL is that bad!? I feel like that’s bad to say.
it all just felt super rushed and out of place to me. sure, you had me at the tower of terror origins, and the expansion of the fairlies, and sure even the hollingsworth duo of doom. but it all really added up to … nothing. literally nothing.
they changed the past which changed the future, but only conveniently so everyone who was dead is now suddenly alive. I didn’t feel that same spark as I did when I was reading the original series, and I certainly didn’t feel any impending doom. if villains weren’t created, then disney just … wouldn’t exist? I don’t know I just was very disappointed.
maybe I’ll think about this more and change my mind, but I really wish they just left the original series alone. this past / future / past again thing left my head spinning and not in a good way. if the whole point is to preserve the disney way, why would you deliberately go out of your way to ruin the disney stories as we know it? even if it’s just the bad parts? and the creation of the overtakers, seriously? that’s like saying someone created mickey apart from the actual mickey. it really just added up to nothing.
AND THERE WAS NO EXPANSION ON THE TOWER OF TERROR STORY WHICH WAS MY FAVORITE PART OF THE LAST BOOK.
ugh. I’m just severely disappointed, that’s all.
1.5/5 stars :’)
July 26, 2017
Wow, I wasn't ready for that ending. As someone who's followed the series from the beginning, eagerly awaiting each new release, the ending of this series is like the end of an era. However, Pearson gracefully brought everything to a close and left me feeling happy with the way it turned out. Let's talk about all the things I loved about this book.
Things I Loved
• The kids. They astound me in every novel with their ideas, friendship, and willingness to sacrifice.
• No time reversal! I was worried when the kids went back to stop the Overtakers from being created that they would reverse time and make nothing they did happen. Thankfully, he didn't do that.
• The ending. I thought I was going to cry when Finn died. It didn't seem right. At least he came back to life, given a great ending.
• More Fairly action. The Fairlies are one of my favorite parts of these books. Their powers are awesome in an X-Men way.
I just really loved this book and this whole series. It really brought the Disney parks to life for me, especially since I can't go there. This is certainly a series I will read again.
Things I Loved
• The kids. They astound me in every novel with their ideas, friendship, and willingness to sacrifice.
• No time reversal! I was worried when the kids went back to stop the Overtakers from being created that they would reverse time and make nothing they did happen. Thankfully, he didn't do that.
• The ending. I thought I was going to cry when Finn died. It didn't seem right. At least he came back to life, given a great ending.
• More Fairly action. The Fairlies are one of my favorite parts of these books. Their powers are awesome in an X-Men way.
I just really loved this book and this whole series. It really brought the Disney parks to life for me, especially since I can't go there. This is certainly a series I will read again.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 24, 2017
Ok, so I totally cried for the last 1/3rd of the book. It was so stressful and so gripping. I loved the ending, but I want it to go on and not end. What a great series for Disney fans!
August 13, 2019
THIS IS THE BEST BOOK OF THE WHOLE SERIES! IT IS AWESOME!
October 23, 2019
The ending to this series rocked! It's almost okay that he has published more of this series in two years.
June 6, 2022
third reread- the last 10% of this book literally had me sobbing
July 28, 2021
I wanted to like this book. I loved the first series. And I loved the concept behind this sequel series. But by the time I reached this book in the series, I was done. In my opinion, the story had been told and there was no where else for the story to go. It seemed like a book that just didn't need to be written. And the ending left me with more questions than answers. It just felt like a very unsatisfying ending.
May 8, 2025
Really enjoyed this last one with. One because it had Lady Tremaine in it, my sister-in-law. LoL And the ending was really good for this series. I was satisfied.
August 20, 2022
This book fell so FLAT. I really enjoy the concept of the Keepers being back in time and all that, but there were too many storylines and characters for it to be an actually good book.
1. Mattie's storyline: Literally, why is this part of the book. Mattie's character bothers me because she is first described as a loner that has no ounce of bravery, but all of a sudden she's willing to do all of these things? And the whole Fairly attack seems so unnecessary. These kids are all gung-ho about destroying Disney, but in the span of two pages, they all of a sudden have flipped their thinking. That was very poorly written and flushed out. Totally unnecessary.
2. The Keepers in 1955: I have no actual idea what I read for the first 300 pages. The Keepers were doing these meaningless tasks that had no rhyme or reason to them, and it wasn't gripping enough to be actually interested in. There was so much potential to this storyline, but in book 11 of this whole world, are we even surprised that the story fell so flat again?
3. The ENDING. I really wanted to believe it all, but of course, everything had to work out. EVERYTHING that was good from the previous books with the death and destruction was magically undone. To me, that absolutely killed the entire series for me! Books are great when there is sadness and loss, but to completely undo all of that is pathetic. Keep somebody dead for crying out loud. AND< how is it that they successfully stopped the creation of the Overtakers (I hate that everything is shortened to OTs, OTKs, etc.... lazy) but yet they all still remember each other and the adventures they had??? If we're going to undo the deaths, then the Keepers need to be undone as well. It'd be sad, but it'd make it a fantastic series.
Overall, I'm sad about this series. Some books have been great, and some have been horrible. Unfortunately, the bad outweighs the good.
1. Mattie's storyline: Literally, why is this part of the book. Mattie's character bothers me because she is first described as a loner that has no ounce of bravery, but all of a sudden she's willing to do all of these things? And the whole Fairly attack seems so unnecessary. These kids are all gung-ho about destroying Disney, but in the span of two pages, they all of a sudden have flipped their thinking. That was very poorly written and flushed out. Totally unnecessary.
2. The Keepers in 1955: I have no actual idea what I read for the first 300 pages. The Keepers were doing these meaningless tasks that had no rhyme or reason to them, and it wasn't gripping enough to be actually interested in. There was so much potential to this storyline, but in book 11 of this whole world, are we even surprised that the story fell so flat again?
3. The ENDING. I really wanted to believe it all, but of course, everything had to work out. EVERYTHING that was good from the previous books with the death and destruction was magically undone. To me, that absolutely killed the entire series for me! Books are great when there is sadness and loss, but to completely undo all of that is pathetic. Keep somebody dead for crying out loud. AND< how is it that they successfully stopped the creation of the Overtakers (I hate that everything is shortened to OTs, OTKs, etc.... lazy) but yet they all still remember each other and the adventures they had??? If we're going to undo the deaths, then the Keepers need to be undone as well. It'd be sad, but it'd make it a fantastic series.
Overall, I'm sad about this series. Some books have been great, and some have been horrible. Unfortunately, the bad outweighs the good.
September 4, 2025
Great book after Galway point hard to get into
January 12, 2021
Awful. Just... awful.
June 13, 2017
4.5 Stars! I absolutely adored this book and am in complete denial that it's over. The only reason that it isn't 5 is because of a few problems I had with it:
-I've never been a fan of time travel plots, but I felt through this whole series it has been handled quite well. However, the last few chapters surrender the logical fate of the book for a happy ending. As happy as I was with ending, it didn't make sense.
-The keepers felt more like supporting characters than the heroes from the previous books. Mattie was basically running the book, which i personally would have preferred from a novella.
-The romance has always been problematic because nothing is ever confirmed or denied between Charlene/ Maybeck and Philby/ Willa. It took all three books of this trilogy for me to figure out who was official and who wasn't.
Other that this book was perfect to me! These characters will always have a special place in my heart and I have so many happy memories associated with the Keepers. I desperately hope more books are too come!
-I've never been a fan of time travel plots, but I felt through this whole series it has been handled quite well. However, the last few chapters surrender the logical fate of the book for a happy ending. As happy as I was with ending, it didn't make sense.
-The keepers felt more like supporting characters than the heroes from the previous books. Mattie was basically running the book, which i personally would have preferred from a novella.
-The romance has always been problematic because nothing is ever confirmed or denied between Charlene/ Maybeck and Philby/ Willa. It took all three books of this trilogy for me to figure out who was official and who wasn't.
Other that this book was perfect to me! These characters will always have a special place in my heart and I have so many happy memories associated with the Keepers. I desperately hope more books are too come!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 7, 2017
An ending (say it 'aint so!) to a wonderful series of books that followed the Kingdom Keepers as they try to save the magic that is Disney.
While the epic battles that crossed time (1955 and the present) kept the pace moving in this book, it's how the book ends that brings everything back together. You get to know characters across ten books and it's always good to see that they can live 'happily ever after' in the end.
While the epic battles that crossed time (1955 and the present) kept the pace moving in this book, it's how the book ends that brings everything back together. You get to know characters across ten books and it's always good to see that they can live 'happily ever after' in the end.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 7, 2017
I'm so sad it's over :'(. This series has been apart of me for so long and I'm sad to see it go.
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AHHH IT'S SO PRETTY. I'M SCREAMING <3
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Finale? Aw I'm so sad :,(. But I bet it's going to be lit ;)
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AHHH IT'S SO PRETTY. I'M SCREAMING <3
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Finale? Aw I'm so sad :,(. But I bet it's going to be lit ;)
June 8, 2017
The long journey is finally over, the story complete. I'm so sad that I'm saying goodbye to the keepers, yet glad of the time we had. Slightly confusing ending but what isn't confusing about DHI's! Thanks for the journey Ridley!
June 14, 2017
Enjoyed the book though the ending is intense and a little confusing. The time travel aspect of The Return trilogy added a new aspect to the series but at times muddied the story. Still, there are certain spots in WDW and on the cruise ships that always make me think of this wonderful series.
May 6, 2017
Wow....great book!! I loved all the new characters..and was glad to see more of the Disney ones. Happy Reading :)
May 26, 2017
AMAZING! As always, Ridley outdoes himself and writes a fantastic ending to the trilogy. Disney magic sure is amazing!
July 20, 2017
I love the Keepers
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