The School for Good and Evil #5: A Crystal of Time audiobook

You know what I want for these up coming additions to the series?? I WANT MATURITY I WANT TEDROS TO STAND UP AND BECOME SMARTER, I WANT AGATHA TO BE MORE CONFIDENT I WANT SOPHIE TO JUST GO FOR IT I WANT THE BEST LOVE CONNECTION SCENES BETWEEN AGATHA AND TEDROS I WANT IT ALLLLLL

That was quite something. When you read the 'epic conclusion to the NY times best selling series' you generally expect it to be that, the conclusion (although, readers like myself must have begun to distrust this line and the promise within). And if the author decides to continue the story, it's very likely that the new books are not as good as the originals and they end up distorting your love for themThis series has me conflicted. I'm annoyed at having to read a continuation of the story when it ended okay. On the other hand, this new series is insanely good? And more complex, and twisted, and it didn't have the things that made me mad in the first trilogy? Like, I really, really enjoyed it but feel pissed at myself for that? Gah.I will say that Camelot Years deals with significantly less LOLs than the first three books. I forgave them for their faults and the incessant back and forth because I was too busy laughing. The new series is more mature, characters are developed and the plot is digging deeper into their pasts.The focus of the plot veers in dozens of places at one time and I found that distracting. There were literally so many things crammed into the plot, they were hard to keep track of. There is a large set of characters so that could be a potential reason. All I know is, it was super frustrating. Then there is this technique of dangling answers in front of the reader and yanking them back just before they can grab them. I hate that technique. Soman Chainani's plot uses this technique like fuel. The smallest of details are tantalizingly to learn. I do not like being teased.Crossing my fingers that I don't forget all of this until the last book comes out.

4.5 starsWow! This has been quite a ride! I wasn't planning on buying this book anytime soon. I still have to read a ton of books, but one of my closest friends bought this book for me on my birthday and boy, oh boy, I tackled her in a hug.Anyway, this book absolutely destroyed me. Then again, a whole bunch of other books have too. What else is new? We continue to follow Agatha and Sophie in a chaotic ride that made me second-guess who was really good and who was really evil, who I could trust and who I couldn't. By the end, it left me shaking and shivering with the thought that what I just read blew my mind.The character's relationships strengthen and weaken (but mostly strengthen). I found myself rooting for Sophie and Agatha as they try to overcome these huge obstacles that make them question everything they once knew. Sophie is trying to do what she can to defeat Rhian, even if it means sacrificing herself. Agatha tries to rescue Teddy boy and her friends from Rhian's grasp. And the shocking, and I mean shocking, truth we've been waiting for has been revealed. When that happened my heart stopped and my eyes widened so much I thought it would pop right out of my head. Soman Chainani was leading us one direction and when the characters finally discover the truth, I was as shocked as the characters.AND THEN ENDING!! By this time, I was convinced that my head was going to explode.

Agatha and Tedros were the wrong heroes for this war.But Sophie?Evil was her blood.She was the hero to slay this dragon.SGE is one of my most favorite MG series. I loved the first 3 books, books 1 and 3 specifically, but I hated the 4th book. It was like the character development of the main heroes went out of the window (Tedros and Sophie's mostly).But this 5th book redeemed the series for me. And who's the one that saved the book? You guessed it. None other than SOPHIE!Yes. Sophie. The Evil Witch of the Woods.Though I love Agatha and Tedros, Sophie took the crown on this book. Literally. Well, not yet but almost. I did not like Sophie on the first books. Why? Because she was a selfish bitch. Although Agatha had tried to prove the opposite, she always manages to do something for her own gain; not minding any of her supposed friends. But on the other hand, she tried and tried to do what is good but in the end she ultimately betrays her friends to do what is good for her. Her and her only.But why do I like her in this book? Because I was waiting for the scenes wherein she betrays her friends again and again but there was none! Instead she's doing her best to help Agatha and Tedros; for Tedros to get his crown back even though she do not like him one bit. She's doing it for her friend, her one true love. And she's doing it for the best if the Woods. This is what I call character development.Agatha and Tedros were like chicken without heads on this book but Sophie? She has an agenda of her own. An agenda to save the Woods in the clutches of Evil. Namely, Rhian and Japeth. Speaking of this two, I hate them but I loathe Japeth more. They paraded as the Lion and the Snake of this book. Rhian, or the Lion, I can somehow relate to. It's like a twisted Thanos story. Ugghh. Good reasons but wrong ways to do it. But Japeth? He is a psycho. An evil Psycho. (view spoiler)[An evil psycho who killed his brother in order to bring back his another psycho friend from which his brother tried to protect him from. (hide spoiler)]This book made me question a lot of things and I can't wait for the 6th one. Hopefully it will be published next year unlike this book in which I waited 2 years to read it.But, I think I already know the ending of it. Because..["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>

I‘ve been waiting for this book since the moment I finished reading 4th book. And now when I finished this book, I cannot wait for the 6th book to come out!!! Soman Chainani books are my meaning of life: I finish one, I wait for another. He has an extraordinary talent to finish every chapter like an episode of a TV show making you lust to read more and MORE AND MORE because you MUST know what happens next. When I read his books- I lose the track of time, with this book I couldn’t notice when the morning sun started rising, because this book truly worked for me as a Crystal of Time: there was Present and no Past for me, there was only a second that lasted forever in his magical world. Only good books can do such things. So… I cannot tell anything more without spoilers. :D So I better stay here like this: GIMME 6TH BOOK RIGHT NOW! xD

@ Soman Chainani WHEN IS THE NEXT RELEASE DATE HELLO???Ahhh. These kids are so grown now and I love Japeth and I can't stand Nicola. My love for Sophie and Hort has been IGNITED. I have so many theories running through my head and this series is taking me on so many twists and turns. I need a release date for the next book!!

I think this is one of the smartest series for young readers and the second trilogy really hits its stride in A Crystal of Time. It's emotionally compelling, funny, juicy, and has some big underlying themes that feel very relevant. The content definitely feels a little older than the first trilogy with some crossover appeal into younger YA. This book is really getting into the truth vs. lies, including some real life parallels to things like manipulative political leaders and fake news, but in a fairy tale world. I continue to love the nuanced characters and relationships, with the deep friendship between Sophie and Agatha at the heart of everything. There are twists and turns, perilous moments, high stakes (especially for middle grade) but also humor and a lot of heart. I thoroughly enjoyed my time with this installment.As always, there is also tons of casual diversity and upending of expected gender roles. There are definitely things in this book that I would be hesitant to give to a 10 year old, hence the suggestion that this is a bit more mature, maybe more like 12-14? Also, do be aware of content warnings for cheating, death, previous loss of loved one, and a scene where someone uses dark magic to become non-consensually pregnant (note that there is no sex involved, but still...).

Edit June 2020: ended up changing my rating from a 5 star to a 4 star!✨✨“Past is Present and Present is Past”✨✨Y’all omg thIS BOOK AHHH!!!This book was definitely my favourite one out of the series, Chainani reallyyyy outdid himself! I loved new characters we met, how we got to explore more from our already beloved characters, and also how we got to dive deeper into characters from the past...!I really have nothing bad to say about this book. My major problems with the last book were fixed in this one, and I didn’t spot anything new I didn’t like. Something I’ve noticed is that there is always foreshadowing in the first chapter of these books, so as I was reading the first chapter, I was looking for potential foreshadowing, but I wasn’t sure if it was actually was there. No spoilers but!! The first chapter is actually intense omg, read it well!I also loved how the lines were blurred between who is good and who is evil, as sometimes it isn’t always black and white, especially if you change the perspective you’re looking at. SO GOOD!Overall, I believe this book to be a full 5/5✨, just due to everything. I loved the plot twists we see throughout the novel (and one in particular with a certain furry friend), and just all the development we see and everything! I would recommend you read it if you’ve read the rest of the series!