andyman811's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
While not the last book in the series, The Last Ever After was intended as a finale for the TSFGAE series, before being extended with three more installments, similar to Cassandra Clare's Mortal Instruments. I loved The School for Good and Evil. It was a great surprise and a fun adventure with some subtle horror that had snuck between the pages. But then the sequel, A World Without Princes, disappointed me equally with how much they step back in quality. Some of the characters were still enjoyable and some ideas intrigued me but the fact that they ruined the near perfect ending of the first book by negating the idea that there is more to someone than good or evil left me immensely dissatisfied. And now that I finished the third book, let's just say that while it's a bit better than its predecessor, it's going to be a while before I jump to the next installment.
After the events of the second book, Agatha and Tedros find that a simple happily ever after in the Reader's small village isn't going to cut it. Between the lack of space, their regrets over what transpired previously, and the town hating them, the two are ultimately forced back to the world of the Schools, where Sophie rules as queen with the returned School Master, named Rafal. This time around, everyone is forced to be evil, crowded into one school while the other is used as a hideout for famous storybook villains who have returned from the dead. Teaming up with a rebellion of classic fairy tale heroes, Agatha and Tedros try to finish their story for good by stopping Sophie and restoring balance before the world melts away to nothingness.
So as interesting as the premise is, I found it extremely hard to read through this book all the way through. One of its major problems is the pacing and the repetitive nature that comes with it. This book is quite long at 655 pages, with so much of it dedicated to stressing out the same fact and making sure every character gives out the same grandiose speech on love and that oh-so-important-fairy-tale-ending for the hundredth time. It gets to the point where everyone comes across as pretentious and annoying, as if the reader is too stupid to understand that "love is power". The story could have easily been shortened down to 300, maybe 400-450 pages.
Speaking of annoying, my goodness do I heavily dislike the characters, Agatha and Tedros more than anything. This book tries so hard to convince me that they're a great couple, destined to fly away into the sunset and live their happily ever after, yet all they do is bicker and fight. Some of their arguments can be legitimate and even realistic for some couples, such different viewpoints and life and where to go physically as a couple but their negativity far outweighs the positives of their relationship. Poor Agatha; I know she just wants to do the right thing but she shouldn't be forced to make these heavy decisions based off the fate of the world. Despite that, her constant back and forth of whether or not she wanted to queen began to get irritating halfway through the novel. I just wish their dynamic and her dilemma were handled a bit better so it felt more natural rather than repetitive.
While on the subject of characters, I did enjoy Hester and her little witch gang as well as Sophie, the central antagonist. Dot is once again the best person to come out of these books, and her message on body positivity, though kind of in your face, was a good conclusion to her character arc throughout the main books. And I thought that Sophie's back and forth nature fit more into the narrative. For so long she's felt that she was a good person but the events of the last two books have told her otherwise. Now she's unsure of who she truly is and she questions that throughout the story. I found myself more invested in her part of the story than I did Agatha's, though I think that's due to Tedros not being around too much. Tedros really is the true villain huh?
My biggest nitpick of The Last Ever After was that big events were left out and huge questions were never answered. A big part of this is the final better, where chunks of it are told to us after the fact, moments that I think would have been more impactful if they were shown instead. But the one part of the book that irks me the most this way is a question regarding Sophie's dreams that is never answered. Soman Chainani had over six hundred pages of material to work with and he couldn't have cut out a couple of pretentious speeches with an extra scene regarding the big climatic final battle that will decide the future of all stories?
Despite everything, there are a couple of good parts within the tome that is The Last Ever After. The fairy tale rebellion was quite fun to behold, as the famous heroes we grew up reading about have changed with time. Pinocchio is now quite veracious, telling the truth without remorse; Sleeping Beauty and Jack the beanstalk climber are now getting married in their ripe old age; Peter Pan is OLD. When interacting with them, for a moment it feels like I'm back in the world of the first book. Similarly, I thought the ending was quite nice. While not the same as the first ending, it felt like an evolution of sorts. Friends can still be friends even if they have to be away because that's life.
Though with the ending and the entire story comes a mixed message that has me confused. What does it truly mean to be good or evil? I feel as though those words are meaningless now. However, maybe that was the point all along. Although that's disproven by the fact that in the end, the School for Good and Evil still exists. Kids are still forced to partake in a role they might not want for the rest of eternity, although this time it's seen as magical or enchanting rather than the dark comedy horror that it was in the first book. Were these aspects never supposed to be seen as horrifying? Wait a minute, are they still going to kidnap random kids from the vill-
So in the end, I didn't hate this book on the same level that I did the second one. But at least I felt engaged in A World Without Princes, whereas The Last Ever After felt so tiring after each chapter. This was overall a mixed finale, one that has left me burnt out by the TSFGAE series altogether. I am certainly not rushing to read the next arc in the series any time soon. But maybe one day I will, and hopefully then they will give me the happily ever after I so desire from these stories.
After the events of the second book, Agatha and Tedros find that a simple happily ever after in the Reader's small village isn't going to cut it. Between the lack of space, their regrets over what transpired previously, and the town hating them, the two are ultimately forced back to the world of the Schools, where Sophie rules as queen with the returned School Master, named Rafal. This time around, everyone is forced to be evil, crowded into one school while the other is used as a hideout for famous storybook villains who have returned from the dead. Teaming up with a rebellion of classic fairy tale heroes, Agatha and Tedros try to finish their story for good by stopping Sophie and restoring balance before the world melts away to nothingness.
So as interesting as the premise is, I found it extremely hard to read through this book all the way through. One of its major problems is the pacing and the repetitive nature that comes with it. This book is quite long at 655 pages, with so much of it dedicated to stressing out the same fact and making sure every character gives out the same grandiose speech on love and that oh-so-important-fairy-tale-ending for the hundredth time. It gets to the point where everyone comes across as pretentious and annoying, as if the reader is too stupid to understand that "love is power". The story could have easily been shortened down to 300, maybe 400-450 pages.
Speaking of annoying, my goodness do I heavily dislike the characters, Agatha and Tedros more than anything. This book tries so hard to convince me that they're a great couple, destined to fly away into the sunset and live their happily ever after, yet all they do is bicker and fight. Some of their arguments can be legitimate and even realistic for some couples, such different viewpoints and life and where to go physically as a couple but their negativity far outweighs the positives of their relationship. Poor Agatha; I know she just wants to do the right thing but she shouldn't be forced to make these heavy decisions based off the fate of the world. Despite that, her constant back and forth of whether or not she wanted to queen began to get irritating halfway through the novel. I just wish their dynamic and her dilemma were handled a bit better so it felt more natural rather than repetitive.
While on the subject of characters, I did enjoy Hester and her little witch gang as well as Sophie, the central antagonist. Dot is once again the best person to come out of these books, and her message on body positivity, though kind of in your face, was a good conclusion to her character arc throughout the main books. And I thought that Sophie's back and forth nature fit more into the narrative. For so long she's felt that she was a good person but the events of the last two books have told her otherwise. Now she's unsure of who she truly is and she questions that throughout the story. I found myself more invested in her part of the story than I did Agatha's, though I think that's due to Tedros not being around too much. Tedros really is the true villain huh?
My biggest nitpick of The Last Ever After was that big events were left out and huge questions were never answered. A big part of this is the final better, where chunks of it are told to us after the fact, moments that I think would have been more impactful if they were shown instead. But the one part of the book that irks me the most this way is a question regarding Sophie's dreams that is never answered. Soman Chainani had over six hundred pages of material to work with and he couldn't have cut out a couple of pretentious speeches with an extra scene regarding the big climatic final battle that will decide the future of all stories?
Despite everything, there are a couple of good parts within the tome that is The Last Ever After. The fairy tale rebellion was quite fun to behold, as the famous heroes we grew up reading about have changed with time. Pinocchio is now quite veracious, telling the truth without remorse; Sleeping Beauty and Jack the beanstalk climber are now getting married in their ripe old age; Peter Pan is OLD. When interacting with them, for a moment it feels like I'm back in the world of the first book. Similarly, I thought the ending was quite nice. While not the same as the first ending, it felt like an evolution of sorts. Friends can still be friends even if they have to be away because that's life.
Though with the ending and the entire story comes a mixed message that has me confused. What does it truly mean to be good or evil? I feel as though those words are meaningless now. However, maybe that was the point all along. Although that's disproven by the fact that in the end, the School for Good and Evil still exists. Kids are still forced to partake in a role they might not want for the rest of eternity, although this time it's seen as magical or enchanting rather than the dark comedy horror that it was in the first book. Were these aspects never supposed to be seen as horrifying? Wait a minute, are they still going to kidnap random kids from the vill-
So in the end, I didn't hate this book on the same level that I did the second one. But at least I felt engaged in A World Without Princes, whereas The Last Ever After felt so tiring after each chapter. This was overall a mixed finale, one that has left me burnt out by the TSFGAE series altogether. I am certainly not rushing to read the next arc in the series any time soon. But maybe one day I will, and hopefully then they will give me the happily ever after I so desire from these stories.
datgirllani's review
adventurous
challenging
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
ethannku's review
4.0
3.5 rounded up
okay ngl the ending saved this one, sophie got what she deserved and i love that :D but the beginning was sooo drawn out and the action was so squeezed in, + this book made the last one feel even more useless
okay ngl the ending saved this one, sophie got what she deserved and i love that :D but the beginning was sooo drawn out and the action was so squeezed in, + this book made the last one feel even more useless
kotori123454566's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
an_x07's review
adventurous
challenging
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
bokbubblan's review
4.0
So I FINALLY got around to read this beautiful book.
I bought it this fall, and I have been so incredibly busy with school that I just haven't read enough.
I really love this series and I can't believe that it is over. I remember reading the first book and my English wasn't as great way back then. I am content with the end. I was stressed for a majority of the book, had no clue how it was going to end.
So much love.
Go camping trip with rattles snakes that let me finish this!
I bought it this fall, and I have been so incredibly busy with school that I just haven't read enough.
I really love this series and I can't believe that it is over. I remember reading the first book and my English wasn't as great way back then. I am content with the end. I was stressed for a majority of the book, had no clue how it was going to end.
So much love.
Go camping trip with rattles snakes that let me finish this!
sparkwaren's review
5.0
Very rarely to books only get better and better as the series progresses. I haven’t encountered this happening too often in my many years of reading, but each time I do it’s like angels have descended and started playing their little trumpets directly in my ears. And, good lord, they were blasting it with this series. The final book in the trilogy, The Last Ever After, was amazing. I haven’t been this happy with a trilogy in such a long time. (Though, I haven’t finished the series that follows my favorite book of all time, Daughter of Smoke and Bones, so. We’ll see what happens there.)
I wasn’t bored reading any of this. Despite the time it took for me to read through it (it’s a pretty big book), I found myself powering through the chapters to see what was going to happen. I knew the end would be happy, or I at least figured it would be since I couldn’t fathom it not, but I couldn’t figure out how it would. Would Agatha drop Tedros and accept Sophie as her Ever After? Would Agatha drop Tedros and let Sophie have an Ever After with him, leaving her as the perpetual third wheel? I couldn’t put my finger on what would happen, so the ending did have a bit of surprise to it for me.
I also didn’t see the whole thing with Sophie’s mom coming, though I knew there was some sort of connection between Agatha and Sophie’s dad, somehow. Callis played a much different role than I had thought she was going to.
As much as I praise the series overall, however, I felt just the teeniest bit cheated in the end. I’m thrilled Sophie found her happiness in what she did, but I wanted a glimpse into the future. A few years or something, just so I could see how she handed her new position, how Agatha and Tedros got along with their kingdom, and what happened with Hort. I was so proud of Hort and I didn’t get enough of him in the end to make me totally happy with the way everything wrapped up. I still absolutely loved this series, though.
I can’t wait for the movies to come out and for Chainani to write more books. I hope he has more fairy tale ideas in mind, but I think I’ll take whatever he churns out.
I wasn’t bored reading any of this. Despite the time it took for me to read through it (it’s a pretty big book), I found myself powering through the chapters to see what was going to happen. I knew the end would be happy, or I at least figured it would be since I couldn’t fathom it not, but I couldn’t figure out how it would. Would Agatha drop Tedros and accept Sophie as her Ever After? Would Agatha drop Tedros and let Sophie have an Ever After with him, leaving her as the perpetual third wheel? I couldn’t put my finger on what would happen, so the ending did have a bit of surprise to it for me.
I also didn’t see the whole thing with Sophie’s mom coming, though I knew there was some sort of connection between Agatha and Sophie’s dad, somehow. Callis played a much different role than I had thought she was going to.
As much as I praise the series overall, however, I felt just the teeniest bit cheated in the end. I’m thrilled Sophie found her happiness in what she did, but I wanted a glimpse into the future. A few years or something, just so I could see how she handed her new position, how Agatha and Tedros got along with their kingdom, and what happened with Hort. I was so proud of Hort and I didn’t get enough of him in the end to make me totally happy with the way everything wrapped up. I still absolutely loved this series, though.
I can’t wait for the movies to come out and for Chainani to write more books. I hope he has more fairy tale ideas in mind, but I think I’ll take whatever he churns out.