Unraveled - Shannon Messenger | Book Review

Unraveled (KotLC Book 9.5)

Shannon Messenger

Reviewed 12/11/2024

Review (NO spoilers):

Keefe’s amazing adventures in “Humanland”. I came into this expecting to not enjoy it whatsoever, because I don’t particularly like Keefe and I found his POV chapters annoying in Unlocked. It definitely didn’t exceed my expectations. 

Very little actually occurred; Keefe just wandered around thinking thoughts, talking occasionally. There was one unexpected twist, but it amounted to absolutely nothing (and while I’m sure it’ll be relevant in book 10, it may be the only part of the book that is). The “special bonus chapter” made me want to throw the book at the wall (although I suspect most readers don’t share my opinions in that regard). The majority of the book felt like a waste of time to me, but you’ll enjoy it if you’re a fan of Keefe. 

Scroll down for review with FULL SPOILERS

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Review (SPOILERS):

Lord Cassius is… obsessed with painting a lake? I have no idea what to do with that information. Eleanor Wright is… alive? I have no idea what to do with that information either. Alvar is… kind of a good person now? I have a lot to say about that information.

I understand that Alvar’s relationship with most of the main characters is interesting, but hinting at/sort of giving him a redemption arc every other book is getting old now. He was pretty much a main character in this book, and he was likeable? He was giving Keefe pep talks and deep advice. That’s not the Alvar I remember, who loves to remind everyone that Fitz keeps trying to kill him. We’ve already established that he has a soft spot for Keefe, but this book rather unnecessarily revolved around that. 

How many times does Alvar need to almost die, escape, and start to regret his actions or become a better person? There are so many compelling villains in this series, but Alvar keeps coming back, and I’m so done with him. Keefe also seemed a bit too confident that he could hide/lie about all of this (Alvar, Eleanor) from his friends, notably Sophie and Fitz, who are totally not the most powerful Telepaths in the Lost Cities!

My book “Includes Special Bonus Chapter!”. Yeah, I hated chapter 42 enough the first time.

The only good thing I can say about this book is that the cover was pretty.