4.7/5 | Five stars for the cover alone. This cover. Is f*cking gorgeous. It may just be my favourite of the series, perhaps my favourite in the history of book covers I’ve ever encountered. It captures such an impactful moment so immaculately in terms of meaning and beauty. The colour scheme is gorgeous, really selling the whole magical, ethereal quality of the Lost Cities—not to mention it’s somehow accentuated by the title of the book: Everblaze. Of course it also helps that a fetching Fitz and Sophie illustration takes centre stage (GAH I love them so much!) P L O T So we opened with Keefe and that was when I knew it was going to be a good book. Okay, fine, I’m joking. Mostly. In all seriousness, the beginning was incredible for reasons other than Keefe (though let us not forget he is always a generous contribute to my happiness). There was exploration of wondrous and, might I add, illegal places, mind-bending riddle solving and, at the centre of it all, the best character dynamic by far in this series: Sophie and Keefe. Compare that to Exile where we spent like 300 pages on Sophie trying to get a completely random, annoying as hell alicorn to trust her! The difference in these openings marked the difference in plot to come because, from the very beginning of Everblaze, the events were much more ominous and plenty more enticing. There was so much action that made this book addicting, as well. For example, the event illustrated in the eye-wateringly magnificent cover almost had me tearing up in real life! There was also the scene at the Wandering Woods, the Grady being a flawed f*cking badass scene, the Councillors’ chosen punishment, the battle on the mountain. Oh the DRAMA! So much of it. So many emotions, so much heartbreak, so much romantic, familial and platonic love. And THE PACING! Oh the bloody pacing! It’s the best thing ever. There was a rampage of action sequences that had my heart racing but it was never overwhelming because, dispersed between said sequences, was witty and meaningful dialogue mixed with banter and other clever and casual means of characterisation. I didn’t mention this in the last two books but I always thought the concept of the Wandering Woods was so poetic! Instead of burying corpses, the elves plant personalised trees to represent the deceased, signifying that a part of you will always live on or maybe even conveying how premature their deaths were since elves have such a long lifespan. This is a brilliant example of how it should be SHOWN how the elvin world is better than the human world in this series rather than just being told 47 times like in Keeper of the Lost Cities how superior they are.
To bring this gush to a close, I really liked that the rebels are painted as the bad guys as opposed to some wronged organisation rebelling against the immoral higher ups for a ‘just’ cause. It isn’t like The Hunger Games or An Ember in the Ashes from the rebel heroes’ perspective but rather the government is dealing with the transgressive, violent rebels. It also shows disagreements between said higher ups so that there may be those 'in the right' and those 'in the wrong'; a whole range of different vantage points is explored. It’s refreshing because the honourable, ethical rebels is something I’ve read many, many times (granted, usually well done) and a change was very much welcome.
C H A R A C T E R S
I usually go through this section character by character but let me just first and foremost establish that my absolute favourite part of this book had to be, hands down, the Keefe drama. I can’t go into it because spoilers but this sunshine kid, who we learnt last book becomes a shadow at home, had to deal with so many life-altering revelations and he and others surrounding him acted accordingly. The execution was phenomenal. Not only did it give a character I care for so deeply millions of layers of added depth but it also meant that the plot didn’t revolve around Sophie! I think THAT was the game changer that boosted Everblaze from a 4 star read to a 5 star read! If you think about it, my List Of Things Sophie Gets That No One Else Does Because She’s Special was significantly shorter this time around! It gave other characters a chance to shine.
Sophie Foster is a smart, compassionate girl and I really like her. She is largely in the spotlight of every installment—everything is about her—and this definitely grew old fast. While this was mostly the case in Everblaze as well, other characters got a chance and I think this served to not only help them grow as characters but it also benefited Sophie. I really just want to see what she’d be like in a supporting role! This may be the closest I’ll ever get to that so I’ll take what I can get.
Here is my significantly shorter List of Things Sophie Gets That No One Else Does Because She’s Special:
Sophie can breach ogre minds when no one else ever could, Sophie can implant memories, Sophie still has 37748291028372 powers (for most of the book, anyway), Sophie has the power to almost wage a war because everyone cares that much about what a thirteen-year-old thinks, Sophie is literally called the star prodigy of all of Foxfire in front of other students by the principal. Isn’t it Principal 101 that favouritism is frowned upon?
Sophie handles a ridiculous amount of bullsh*t yet again. I still have yet to understand why everything is her and only HER burden to bear when sometimes it legitimately isn’t. At least I can say this irritating factor was dialled down a little the third time writing a Keeper review. Despite Sophie’s lack of imperfections, I still really do like her and enjoy her as a protagonist—especially in excruciatingly relatable moments like this:
“Sophie thought slowly, fairly certain her brain was about to call it quits.”
Keefe, my love, my driving force. Is it just me or are his jokes becoming even MORE forced? In any other case, this would annoy me immensely, but, in this case, I applaud thee, Shannon Messenger. As his life continues to crumble, his jokes become more inappropriate and less humourous. I adore this type of character as they truly make my heart break the most because of how strong they are, covering up their misery with jokes for the benefit of others or perhaps even because they don’t know how to handle grief (as Keefe admitted in Exile). The execution was largely successful seeing as I still adore Keefe overall but sometimes it was a little problematic—especially towards the beginning of the book.
See, his transitions between incessant jokester and abused child were kind of... jerky? I’m all for these deeper levels of his but I just wish his personas were handled more carefully. It’s difficult to explain. It’s just that one moment he’d be on about sparkly poo and then the next he’d have his eyes trained on the ground, refusing to look at anyone. The switch from one to the other is a little too drastic for my taste. Too unrealistic—forced, even. But, hey, I’m nitpicking and this issue vanished quicker than Biana around the two-third mark of the book. Keefe’s the kind of guy that hides his negative emotions behind a smile, masking fear as a joke. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I love that character concept. And don’t get me wrong: Keefe isn’t merely a concept but rather a remarkably well-rounded character.
“I want you to know that I’m not going to sit at home anymore, worrying about what might happen to you, or Keefe, or Biana, or my dad. I’m going to be right there with you guys, helping any way I can.”
I’ve also said this before and I’ll say it again: Fitz is FIERCE and very passionate. He did kind of become more of the ‘nice guy’ he was in Keeper rather than the fireball in Exile which was mildly disappointing but, hey, you can’t have it all! He’s supportive and smart and all but lacks flare. He’s definitely growing on me and, technically speaking, I really like him, but what I want is to LOVE him like I do Keefe or at least to like him as much as I like Sophie. For that to happen, I need him to be more of a fireball like last book (but less of an asshole than he was in the last book, mind you) or possess some discerning characteristic other than ‘Wonderboy’. ‘Wonderboy’ is not a flaw! Being too perfect is not a flaw! Well, okay, it is, but not the kind that makes me like someone!
Biana who? Is Biana even a main character? I’m sure she’s supposed to be yet she gets a fifth of the time Fitz or Keefe get in the front and centre. She’s meant to be Sophie’s age but then why do I feel like she’s so much younger than her—like she’s nine or something? She likes fashion, she has a crush on Keefe, she’s beautiful and powerful. That’s it. Girl needs some growth! All I can say (and this isn’t even strictly about Biana) is that I’m glad we’re not going down the cliche route of her living in her older brother’s shadow. I much prefer that the whole Vacker family are early bloomers as opposed to the ‘ugly duckling’ trope.
I firmly believe everyone was WAY too hard on Dex. Sure, he f*cked up, but did he know he would? NO! He’s a thirteen-year-old boy, for god’s sake! His reasons were totally understandable and he didn’t even know what he was getting into. All he wanted was to make his family, who adores him and is constantly unjustly slandered, proud! UGH.
And just what is Marella's problemo?
Alden, AKA ‘No reason to worry’, was kind of brief but it’s all made up for because of that hilarious code Sophie, Fitz, Keefe and Biana devised. Grady is a king and nobody can convince me otherwise. Edaline is... slightly more interesting than she was before but is still almost as bland as cardboard, to be honest.
I KNEW I’d wind up liking Bronte! From the moment this asshole showed his pointy ears, I was certain he’d be among the most complex characters in the cast. His hatred for Sophie always seemed superficial to me because it was so overdone! I guessed he’d be a Severus Snape but done better, and so far so good.
R E L A T I O N S H I P S
Where, oh where, do I begin?
Let’s start collectively: the main friendship group.
“She turned to study the faces of her friends—the faces that had been with her through everything. She’d fought so hard to protect them that she hadn’t really considered how much they protected her.”
But here’s the catch: I’m talking about each character’s friendship with Sophie alone. Amongst themselves, Fitz, Keefe, Dex and Biana barely interact. For instance, it has long been established that Keefe and Fitz are best friends... but where’s the evidence? Other than Keefe being over at Everglen a lot, there isn’t any indication. It’s all talk and no tell and I could really use more of this friendship. Same goes for Biana and Fitz like these two are meant to be siblings yet I have zero grasp of their dynamic other than perhaps them flaunting their abilities to one another and being equally annoying about it. And Dex is such an outcast in this group; he hates Fitz and Biana and only tolerates Keefe. I’m afraid he’ll be conveniently ‘left behind’ because he just doesn’t fit! I suppose it’s difficult to accomplish all the relations when this is all following Sophie but I still think more could be done.
Oh yeah and what is this crush Biana has on Keefe that gets approximately one sentence of mention per book? That sentence count better increase.
Romance takes a backseat which did not quell my Sophie-Keefe shipping... but still! I don’t know if there is anything I like more than a book with subtle, if any, romance that still makes my heart ache for it! It’s the perfect recipe for an angsty but sweet slow-burn romance.
Keefe and Sophie are proper confidants, being the first to team up every time. It's almost by default now. The only thing I like about freaking Silveny is that she helped bring these two together. Their relationship has obviously progressed with all the casual handholding and, dare I say, simply holding each other? JUST SAYING! But most of all, I adore how Sophie is the only one truly there for Keefe with all he goes through. Honestly, if these two don’t get together, I will definitely throw a giant fit, but as long as their friendship remains this pure, if they don’t get together I’ll perhaps let it slide and binge fanfiction of them as opposed to hating this series for wronging me so.
“Breathe, Foster,” Keefe whispered, giving her palm a quick, reassuring squeeze.
She clung to his hand like it could keep her alive and forced herself to take a shaky breath.”
I’ve decided I’m fine with Fitz and Sophie. He cares a lot for her and is almost desperate to help her in any way he can. My issue is that it reminds me a little bit too much of how Alden cares for her; as if she’s his responsibility. It’s always so serious with them whilst, let’s say, with Keefe it’s always a lot more fun and for leisure rather than duty. She even seems to have more fun around freaking Dex than Fitz. Sophie just doesn’t seem super at ease with him because the tension is always so high. Also, the reason for their closeness is because Tiergen was basically playing matchmaker with Sophie and Fitz ‘for plot reasons’ because they needed to trust each other... you know, for the good of the world.
I mean, to their credit, Fitz and Sophie made me aw more than once. Even if they are being kind of forced to trust one another for plot reasons, the process of doing so is resulting in cute moments that are making me slightly conflicted.
I do like this ship. It’s cute so far, but it’s just that Keefe and Sophie are better.
What else? Sophie, Grady and Edaline made me cry once more because they’re so sweet. I repeat the same thing in every Keeper review because SERIOUSLY I CANNOT FOR THE LIFE OF ME GET OVER HOW SWEET THEY ARE.
I’m ending on the same note I did last time: Keefe’s family. It’s just so INTERESTING. He wilts in their presence, he isn’t himself around them because they disapprove of who he is and, well, let us not forget the things he learns about them!
... ...
I am binging this series and my grades are suffering for it but I almost don’t care.
