Reviewed by Roberta & Annika

TITLE: A Wish Upon the Stars

SERIES: Tales from Verania Book 4

AUTHOR: TJ Klune

PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press

LENGTH: 450 Pages

RELEASE DATE: March 27, 2018

BLURB:

Sequel to The Consumption of Magic

Nearly a year ago, blinded by grief and betrayal, Sam of Wilds made a desperate decision to follow the Great White into the Dark Woods. Now, he emerges to a world changed.

The City of Lockes is a prison. The King has been locked away in the dungeons. The Kingdom of Verania has fallen, and the Dark wizard Myrin sits on the throne.

But soon after his return, Sam learns of a resistance fighting in his name, led by a courageous knight, a defiant prince, a pissed-off unicorn, and a half-giant who wants to smash everything in sight. If he has any hope of defeating the villains who have taken their home, Sam must face the consequences of his choices—and the friends he left behind.

ROBERTA’S REVIEW:

So…let’s just get right to it, shall we…this book picks up right after the Consumption of Magic has happened. Well…sort of. We get a prolouge of sorts that gives you the cliff notes version of what has happened in the other books…it helps to set the scene if you will…get you back into the swing of things. Then…it starts with Sam and Kevin returning home after 11 months away.

This book totally took me a day to read. I usually find myself speed-reading thru most books, however, I couldn’t make myself do that. I sat and savored every word of this book. I was back in Verania with Sam and his sarcastic comments as well as with the characters that I’ve come to love. As this book goes along…I found myself getting emotional so many times. I have to say that as you all know, TJ does that to you. You get the humor and the love and the affection and you also get the pain. You get the range of emotions that carry you through the entire book and that was so damn wonderful to me.

This story totally draws you back to Verania and all that has happened in the time since Sam & the dragons have gone into the Dark Forest. TJ does this amazing job of taking you back into where the last book ended and having you feel as if you’ve never really left. Sam goes through so many changes in these stories and this one…you really truly see that there is growth. You still have Sam being his most snarktastic self…but you also see that he’s hurt and that he sees that his actions have consequences. You see him accept his mistakes and wants to do better. You see that Sam who has always wanted to do right…still does right. Even when you think that Sam will fail as…you see him getting pulled back into the light. To be able to witness the growth of a MC throughout the series is a wonderful thing to behold.

I got caught up in the action, the romance as well as seeing how the final battle between Sam and Myrin would end. I truly embraced getting drawn deeper and deeper into the world that TJ created and didn’t want it to end. I truly hate saying goodbye to characters that you’ve fallen for and to see that the journey that you had with them is over. This book while dark…didn’t seem as dark as the Consumption of Magic to me. There is still hurt here. There is still grief here. There is still death here and there damn sure is still anger…but I found that this book also had hope in it. The hope for a brighter future. The hope that they will survive whatever the outcome may be.

I loved seeing Gary, Tiggy, Ryan, Justin, Kevin, etc. To be with them as they know that the battle isn’t won and that there is still so much to do. I loved how they tempered all of that with their humor and their quirks. It made the book so much better for me. That they still have it in them to still be who they are despite all that is happening around them. I enjoyed seeing characters from the past who we didn’t really care for…see them changed for the better. I like that everyone here seems to have grown up a bit and realize that the world isn’t always the best place, but when you have people in your life that are in your corner and that they will stand and fight with you…you know that you’ll make it. It might still be hard…but dammit…they’ve got your back.

This was really a great book and a wonderful addition to the series. It was really the perfect way to end the series. There was laughter, tears and there were so many other emotions that truly allowed you to just sink into the story and be apart of it. TJ…this was a wonderful book. An Amazing Series and I’m so very glad that you allowed us into the lives of Sam, Ryan, Tiggy, Gary, etc. I’ve gone on a Wonderful Adventure and even in loss…I still found Hope. I look forward to Justin’s book whenever you get around to it. Ahem…Soon!!!!

RATING: 

ANNIKA’S REVIEW:

And here, at last, was the beginning of the end
Once upon a time there was a young boy living in the slums who wished upon a star. He wished to be someone important. Someone who mattered.
– Be careful what you wish for, it might just come true…

I was sucked into this book right from the start…. well okay not so much as right from the start as it starts off with a bit of a series summary to get you all caught up and in the mood. But when that first chapter started I was hooked. This book held me in an iron grip and I could not put it down. I was immersed in all things Verania, dragons and the antics of Sam and I couldn’t have been happier about it. Real life and reality could wait.

I’m in control of my own destiny. My path may have been set in stone, but stone crumbles, and sometimes we have to forge our own way through
The feel of this book surprised me in a way. We’ve all geared up for so long for this epic showdown, that last and final battle, where everyone would not walk out alive. Despite all of that looming in the horizon this book felt lighthearted. There was no doom and gloom feeling to it, and after finishing it and looking back on the series, I don’t know why I expected that, because that has never been what this series was about.

Even though Verania has fallen, there is still a lightheartedness to the book, it never felt heavy, the death and destruction was never in the forefront, was never what mattered. Instead we got plenty of those bouts of ridiculousness that this series is known and loved for. Tiggy smashing, rainbows and glitter rages and naked fairies, teenage angst and not to forget (how could we ever?) the countless of inappropriate sexual suggestions and proclamations, all wrapped up in this strange tale of a wizard with a destiny of dragons.

I loved this book and I had a blast reading it. But at the same time it was also a bit longwinded. We stood stomping at the bits, waiting impatiently for things to move forward just a little bit faster. Time was running out for our guys, and I just kept waiting for something to finally happen. Wanting to know how everything played out in the end and who would be left standing when the dust settled.

So this is the end of the journey, an adventure with wizards dragons. But more importantly, this has been a tale of great and everlasting friendships, of true love and about family, about pain, loss and epic battles. It all ends here… until it doesn’t. Until something new comes along. And until then I will be waiting.

“when I wished on the stars to do something important, to be someone who matters, I didn’t mean all of this. This… destiny. I think I meant you. Because you’re my something important. You help me be that someone who matters.” I looked away. “You’re my wish, you know? I think you always have been.”

RATING:

BUY LINKS: 

Dreamspinner Press

Amazon