The Web of Power which keeps the Five Kingdoms safe from evil is under threat. Foyce is determined to destroy it so she can take a terrible revenge on her step-sister, Gracie Gillypot. Meanwhile the five Royal Families are in turmoil. Queen Bluebell is fed up with her tedious grandson, Vincent; Prince Tertius is suffering from the endless nagging of his new wife, Princess Fedora - and on top of everything else there's a big tournament coming up. Things come to a head when Gubble the troll crashes into King Frank's study, and he and Gracie are thrown into a dungeon. A band of fearsome werewolves are gathering in the forests, and Foyce is among them. Will Gracie, Marcus and a handful of bats be able to save the kingdoms from total disaster?
Vivian June Isoult French MBE was born in 1945 and educated at Exeter University. Vivian French was best known in school for being extremely skinny and for talking a lot. At school she developed an attachment to words and later became an actor, then a storyteller, and finally a writer of children's books. She is the author of more than two hundred books. Ms. French lives in Edinburgh, Scotland, and has four grown daughters.
This is the only book in the series that I hadn't previously read as a child as I don't think it was out when I read the series for the first time and for some reason never owned it and therefore never read it. I found it really enjoyable though and I loved seeing what happened to all these characters that I love (though on this reread I discovered that Bluebell might be my fave). This was a wonderful conclusion to a wonderful series!
I was a little scared to read this because the ending of The Music of Zombies was really great, but this book is the absolute perfect ending to this series. I really loved how all of the little pieces that have been introduced throughout the series came together in this book. We really get to see Gracie and Marcus mature, along with many of the other characters. My one quibble with the series and with this book is the princesses. The princes develop, but all the princesses are spoiled, bossy, manipulative, and selfish and nothing really changes with them, which is incredibly disappointing (Looby is the only one who doesn't fit this description, but her character is woefully under-developed). Queen Bluebell and her friend are fantastic. Overall, this series is a really fun read with great main characters and some really memorable secondary characters. I will definitely reread this in the future.
In this final installment of the Tales of the Five Kingdoms series, Gracie and Marcus are faced with an evil too close for comfort, a werewolf out for revenge, and a pack of panicked royals.
Overall, this is a fun series that Lower Middle Grade readers will eat up. Talking bats, Good vs. Evil, manipulative monsters, ridiculous royals, friendship, love, and plenty of magic make this series a winner in my book. And the lovely illustrations don't hurt, either.
The overall series gets four stars, as some of the books are stronger than others.