Really enjoyed reading this book!! I was on the edge of my seat the whole time.

If you are a fan of fractured fairytales or the show Once Upon a Time, The Unseen is a book you would enjoy. Set in both the Old World and the New World, Alice, Peter Pan, and Pinocchio try to rescue their children who have been pulled through a mirror. The children are on their own quest to reunite with their parents. They must battle the forces of the Red Hearts and the Ivory Queen. Love is lost and found, friendships are tested and battles are won and lost. I would suggest reading the first book, as I was a little lost at first, although you can read it as a stand alone. There is also a book #1.5 called The Ivory Queen.

The Unseen is the sequel to the Carver which I read last year. In this series we follow different fairytale characters and their kids going on adventures in different worlds to stop the Evil Queen. We get too follow a bunch of perspectives in the different worlds but I think Rosanas time in Wonderland was the story that intrigued me the most because thats where the plot was moving forward. I thought the the concept and the setting were interesting but I dont know if thats enough for me.

I remember wanting a character list in the first book stating which fairytale the characters came from and their relationship to one another in the book. I forgot so much from the first book that a character list was even more needed for this sequel. As I kept reading a lot of things came back but I felt like I was still missing some important information. Sometimes the writing was confusing but most of the time it read like MG and was easy to follow.

Some of the characters were childish which made it harder to connect with them. The expression "blew a raspberry" is used a few times and for some reason it gets on my nerves. It just sounds weird and something people said 50 years ago. Im sorry but once a guy "blows a raspberry" he loses all his attraction. There was also a character who became an antagonist without good reason or developpement in that direction. They went from being one of the good guys to acting completely irrational.

I usually read about 200 pages a day but this took me forever to finish. I dont know why but I kept going on the internet to avoid reading. Even when I committed myself to reading it was slow going. I was seriously considering just giving up which reminded me that I felt the same way while reading the first book but some how forgot about it because the concept is something I would normally enjoy. Its not a bad book and has a lot of things going for it. I just think I would have liked it more if it was 100 pages shorter.

I think people who enjoy middle grade would like this more than I did. I just have a hard time connecting with characters from MG books. The character were immature for their age, a 12 year old wouldnt put their hands in a whip cream fountain like a toddler. Also their head wouldnt come up to an adults hip when they're hugging. These books always make me want to binge watch another season of Once Upon a Time. If you like that show you might like this series because theres a lot of similarities.

The unseen by Jacob Devlin.
Crescenzo and his friends may have survived their confounding journey to the enchanted realms of Florindale, but now they find themselves fighting for their sanity and lives while stuck on the other side of the very mirror they set out to destroy.

With their families trapped by a former ally with a crippling fear of the queen, Enzo, Rosana, and Zack must play a deadly game in Wonderland, where shadows are on the move, kings are at war, and one of them wants Rosana dead.

As darkness hovers over the world, the friends must lean on each other and stop the King of Hearts from following through on Avoria’s orders: Break them.

Good read with good characters. I liked the story. A little slow but I managed to read slowly. I just took my time. 3*. National and blaze publishing.