Series review: Thoroughly enjoyed this book, as always. After all these years, I still enjoy catching up with the crazy adventures of Jack West Jr and his team. I've been recommending this series to high school kids for YEARS. When kids have been assigned 'classic' books for years that have convinced them reading is a horrible punishment and could never be fun, I introduce them to this series. I've had parents thank me because not only did their kid finish a book faster than they ever thought possible, the kid asked them to pick up the next book. That's an amazing feeling. This book has been added to my go to books for teenage boys list.

This is the first book in this series that I tried to read. Maybe you need to read the previous 4 books in order to appreciate this one. Or maybe it’s just that I don’t like this type of fantasy. In any event, between my not knowing what was going on and my eye rolling at the general preposterousness of the plot, I decided to abandon this book and I won’t be trying the series again. I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

Wow what a thrilling ride. I’m so glad I picked this up right after finishing The Four Legendary Kingdoms, because this helped me remember all the juicy tidbits before diving into another Jack West Jr story. This book gave me all the feels that I first felt when I discovered The Seven Ancient Wonders but it was also very emotional and exciting at the same.

The best part of this book is that the author decides to go back to the original formula of telling Jack’s story - a globetrotting adventure with a looming deadline. It picks up right after the ending of The Four Legendary Kingdoms and gives no time for Jack to rest before he is off to save the world again. There is a lot of hopping between places - New York to London, Italy to Greece, Venice to Venezuela and many many more. Our favorite crew gets separated into teams to discover the three secret cities, so we don’t see all of them together much. Reilly also manages to device some very new torture methods we haven’t seen before and I just want to tip off my hat to his imagination. We get the usual story of figuring out the locations of the secret cities, finding the immortal weapons, some daring escapes and puzzling through booby trapped avenues while racing against time to perform another ancient sacrificial ritual to save the world.

What makes this book extra special is the emotional pull throughout. We see some beautiful moments between Jack and Lily, Alby, Zoe and even Nobody and the other members of the crew. After this feeling of joy, the author decides that we have been happy enough and we are shocked to our core by the deaths of some key characters and I just couldn’t believe that they happened. It just made the story all the more real and every scene felt like the harbinger of more death. Coming to the action side of it, we have one of the most inventive rescue by a beloved character from Scarecrow and that scene just delighted the Reilly fan in me. As always, the author manages to interweave the story of many myths and legends but I absolutely loved the way he utilized the symbolism of Medusa’s curse and how he turned the legend of the Knights of the Round Table on its head. And that ENDING..... it almost killed me and then gave me just enough hope to hang on to.

This book is a dream for any adrenaline junkie reader and fans of Jack West Jr and I promise, you will be thrilled on every page. And if you haven’t read this series, but love a jet setting adventure, a relentless hero, lots of mythology and the end of the world looming - what are you waiting for... Just go ahead and start this series from the beginning. As for me, it’s going to be a long wait till 2020.

Whew. Another Jack West Jr. book and another white knuckled, death grip roller coaster ride. More than any other author I read these days, and I try to read a lot, Matthew Reilly kicks up the action adventure like nobody else. I look forward to each book he writes. Here we have the newest installment of the countdown Jack West Jr. books begun in Seven Deadly Wonders and now at The Three Secret Cities. West is a get 'er done save the World warrior who is more often than not dragged unwillingly into these do or die deals. Once involved you cannot stop Jack. This volume picks up 3 days after the events in the previous book and gets right to it, as usual. Seems Jack upset a few very powerful folks with his unforeseen win and dismantling of the Great Games, so one of them has paid literally a Kings ransom for Jacks head and the punishment of his entire crew. What follows is a non stop race across the globe on several separate adventures as Jack and the team try to stay alive long enough to complete a seriously important ritual to avert global disaster. Fast paced and inventive secret locations and booby trapped trials propel Jack and the team towards a shocking conclusion as the clock winds down on the only way to avert disaster. Once again filled with great illustrations and maps Reilly has hit another one out of the park.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Man alive, was this one a roller coaster ride??? Oh wait, they all are. This one, though, might tear your heart out. There's torture and suffering and death.... but there's also a lot of fun classic Jack West adventure: crazy rescues, ancient cities, cool powerful artifacts, daring escapes, overwhelming odds, etc.

If you've not picked up any of Jack West's series, you should, starting with Seven Deadly Wonders. They're not deep literature, but they are absolutely fun as can be, especially if you go in expecting it to be cheesy and fun like most books can only aspire to be.

This is the fifth book in the series, so at this point, we're more invested in many of the characters... which makes some of the losses that much more painful. But I think you'll find the ride worth it. Join Jack West and his gang as they tear around the world, trying to save it YET AGAIN from both huge natural disasters and power-hungry villains, and you can be the newest part of his crew. :)

This entire series has been amazing and this book is no exception. Heart-pounding action from cover to cover. Jack West, Jr. is home recovering from the Games when he is pulled back into the frey to find the three lost cities and the three weapons and use them in just the right way to avoid the end of the world. This might be easy if there was not a whole shadow world with assassins who are paid to kill him and kidnap Lilli, his daughter and Alby , her friend. There is also the Jailer of the underworld who is trying to capture him and imprison him for life. There are so many impossible tasks , escapes and fights for their lives that you will be unable to put the book down.The series is fabulous and this book is even better than those before ( I would advise reading the entire series).I am definitely looking forward to the next book!

There are so many emotions swirling inside of me after finishing this read. I honestly cannot wait to read the next installment even though that is nearly two years away. Yikes! If you are interested in secret civilizations, history, and action packed adventure than this book is for you! Keep in mind there is 4 previous books before this one, but I felt that you didn't have to read the first 4 to understand this one but it helps. In the event that you find this gem first you can go back and enjoy the others after this one to fully grasp the cast.

Wow The Three Secret Cities is Matthew Reilly at his best. He is one author that I can't wait for his new book to come out and I was definitely not disappointed with this one. I was hooked from page one and couldn't put it down. GREAT BOOK!!!

Picking up The Seven Deadly Sins (the first Jack West Jr. book) on a whim, I was immediately hooked on this series. As Matthew Reilly’s series counted down to The Three Secret Cities, West encountered constant obstacles that may have seemed insurmountable, but with the assistance of family and friends he continues his quests. In Reilly’s previous novel West was kidnapped and forced to compete in a number of deadly challenges to become the world’s greatest warrior. After winning, he turned against the rulers of the four kingdoms, causing chaos and preventing the prevailing ruler from stopping the end of all things. The Three Secret Cities picks up the story immediately after the games. To prevent the end of mankind, West must find three objects - a mace, a helmet and a sword. These must be delivered to three cities of legend to activate them before they are reunited in a central location. West must split up his team to complete the tasks within a limited time while also being chased by bounty hunters and fighting the guardians of the cities.

The action begins on page one of this book and never lets up. Fans of the series will see the return of favorite characters, but there are also casualties that leave West devastated. This is a globe-spanning quest that leaves you breathless. Reilly ends his book with a cliffhanger that hints at the goals in the next volume. This is a series that is highly recommended and I can not wait to see what Reilly puts his characters through in the next volume. I would like to thank NetGalley and Gallery, Threshold Pocket Books for providing this book for my honest review.

If you're a fan of the rest of the Jack West Jr series this one definitely won't disappoint and if you haven't started this series yet go start now! This is one of my favorite series from one of my favorite authors. If you enjoy James Rollins, Lincoln Child or Douglas Preston you definitely need to add Matthew Reilly to your list.

The Three Secret Cities picks up pretty much where The Four Legendary Kingdoms ends with Jack recuperating from the games and then immediately finds himself swept up in another adventure. The story contains Reilly's trademark action, thrills, puzzles and more but also be ready for your heart to break a bit. There are a few surprises you won't see coming and let's just say the ending will leaving you mentally and possibly verbally screaming nooooooo, as you have to wait for the next book to release. I did love that Scarecrow gets another mention in this book AND the Black Knight shows up! I really am hoping he will get his own series soon.

Fabulous book that you definitely do not want to miss!

No. Not fair. I have to wait until 2020, after that cliffhanger. Urg....

I absolutely love this series. Actually I've loved everything I've read by Matthew Reilly. Once again we get tons in non stop action, great characters, and over the top fun. I know some people complain that it isn't realistic but personally I read too escape from the world so I'm totally okay with it being a little out there.

Thank you to Net galley for an advanced copy

This book was often times confusing since it was taking place in multiple arenas at the same time. That being said, few can write a heart thumping thrill ride like Reilly. Searching around the world for three ancient artifacts to prevent the worlds end, three groups must act quickly and carefully while being chased by men with unlimited resources must finish what was started by Jacks victory in the previous book. This book really needs to be labeled a sequel because if you haven’t read Greatest Warriors you will be totally lost.

Thank you to Gallery, Threshold, Pocket books and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book for an honest review.

I give this book 3.5 stars. I chose this book because my husband read the fourth book in the series while I was in early labor with my first child. It was fun to listen to as my husband read it out loud to try and distract me - so I thought I would check it out.

The fifth book in the series begins where the last one left off. The action and events flow similarly to the prior books in the series, but are based on the new challenges that Jack faces. There is a more somber tone due to deaths of influential characters, which helped balance out some of the action.

The overall flow to the book allows for a quick and enjoyable read. For those fans who have enjoyed Matthew Reilly in the past, this will definitely be something they want to read. For the newer readers like myself, I am putting this series on my list to start from the beginning so I can get the entire backstory.

I wanted to give this a better rating, however the ending was a little bit too much of a 'gotcha'. I think it was not as genuine as it could have been - more to sell future books in the series than to elevate the series as a whole.

Matthew Reilly is one of my favorite authors;alongside of Ian Fleming,Clive Cussler,and James Rollins,he takes history,mythology,and science fact,and turns the into exciting works of fiction!His stories are a bit unbelievable:the hero escapes from nearly impossible situations,and he always comes out victorious.I guess that does make good fiction a la Indiana Jones.As impossible as the stories seem,they are extremely well-written. and entertaining.His last book dealt with the labors of Hercules.It was so interesting that I actually read about them.If you like adventure,this book is for you!

Received from NetGalley.

I go on NG and what do I see? The next Jack West book, several months before release. I was SUPER excited and hopeful to get it, I couldn't believe if when I did!!

Obviously, if you haven't read the first 4 books in the series, you aren't going to want to read this one, or even it's review, so turn around and start from the beginning!

Assuming you are caught up to date, this one leaves off right were the last one ended, with (spoiler alert) Jack the winner of the games and the royals in an uproar about it. Within days there's a bounty on Jack's head and they are all off to try to find out the secret of the cities to prevent the end of the world, of course.

The action takes off with a bang as Jack and team race to one city after another in search of clues and objects that will give them the locations of the 3 cities as well as the items needed when they get there. The team is scattered across the globe, usually, coming together briefly just to reorganize and head out again.

As is the way with this series, no one is safe and there are loses along the way. It's sad and compelling all at the same time and we have no time to be sad because more is happening and more lives are at stake and the world is at stake.

It seems like the end for Jack at times, but as usual, things work out, in more peculiar ways this book but oh the heartache along the way, it's enough to make you want to yell at the book and throw it across the room.

And then the ending. Ugh! The ending. So horrible and awful and great at the same time.

Matthew Reilly is my favorite author and he delivers again. But I want more now. This book isn't even out yet and now I have to wait forever on the next!! I need more of Jack and team!!