Review – Grip of the Shadow Plague (Fablehaven, Book3) by Brandon Mull (5/5 stars)

The third book in the Fablehaven series was just as wonderful as the second book. I really love this series, I cannot believe how action packed they are and how creative.

In this book Kendra is summoned to join the Knights of the Dawn; she ends up on an expedition to recover another artifact from a secret preserve. Seth is angry at being left behind, until he ends up embroiled in adventures of his own. Somehow creatures at Fablehaven are turning dark and evil, even creatures that have never had an evil form. The Shadow Plague is spreading at an alarming rate and Seth needs to figure out what is going on before Fablehaven is completely destroyed.

Things are more dire and desperate than ever in this book. The new characters introduced in this book are wonderful additions (don’t worry all the wonderful characters from the last book are still there too!). The addition of Gavin as a dragon tamer and a possible love interest for Kendra was wonderful; he is a great character with really interesting abilities. The plot gets even more complicated as the levels of deceit within the Knights of the Dawn are realized. There is so much at stake in this book and things get so desperate; I had a really tough time putting this book down! There were points where this book almost had me in tears I was so concerned for everyone and points where I was grinning wildly in relief. As with the previous book, Mull lightens things up occasionally with a biting sense of humor.

It was nice that Seth started to develop some special abilities of his own. Although Kendra still takes center stage for much of the book with her abilities as Fairykind. Overall I was really impressed. Mull continues to develop wonderful plot lines, intriguing characters, and gives his world greater and greater depth. Younger kids might get scared at some parts of this book, as things get very dire in this book. Still, I think most children and adults will really enjoy this series. I can’t wait to see what book four brings!