Thank you Macmillan Audio | Macmillan Young Listeners for allowing me to read and review The Deadlands: Trapped on NetGalley.

Narrator: John Pirhalla

Published: 10/03/23

Stars: 4

Imaginative.

I had Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys, as well as the Little House on the Prairie series when I was young. Melki-Wegner has created an entire world that felt real. I don't recall reading anything like this before. I enjoyed the different creatures, their roles, as well as the descriptive writing.

I did have trouble the first 30% finding the story. Then one of the characters explained why the journey was happening. This reiterated what I read and helped me move forward. If you are a fantasy reader, you won't have my issues on visualizing.

I recommend this, and will keep the title in my gift book should I need a middle grade gift.

I'd like to thank the publisher for providing me with an ARC.

I'm really enjoying this series. There are really great characters and I think this book improved upon the first book. I love getting to see more of this world and the characters. I'm really excited to see where this series will end up.

Earlier this year I was taken by surprise with the release of the first book in The Deadlands series. I loved it and called it a more mature Land Before Time. When I received the second book I was more excited than I should have been since I am not the target audience, but I didn’t care about that. A good story is a good story no matter who the target is. That continues with the second entry into this series, The Deadlands: Trapped.

The story continues to follow Eleri and his group of exiles as they try to expose a huge conspiracy and save their kingdom. I can’t stress how good the writing is for there to be such character development when the characters are anthropomorphic dinosaurs. You really grow a bond with these characters and you forget they are dinosaurs at some points, which to me is an amazing feat.

The exiles have all made mistakes toward each other but this story is really about overcoming those mistakes and differences and supporting each other. It’s a great message and it really shines in this story.

Selfishly I wanted more from this entry but that’s only because I didn’t want it to end. Eleri is going to have to have a showdown with his brother and I wanted that now. I’m sure it will come and I’m sure it will be epic and worth the wait.

I can not wait until the third entry, until then make sure to check out this book and the first entry into this amazing series.

Trapped, the second book in The Deadlands series is every bit as good as the original. Being back with Eleri and his herd of outcasts brought a huge smile to my face even as they faced new challenges. The series a more mature/serious version of something like Land Before Time, featuring various dinosaurs as the characters. Picking up not long after the events of the first book, Eleri and his patchwork herd of outcasts are still on the run, hiding out from the carnivores, still determined to somehow return to their respective herds and let them know they are being manipulated into a war. In Trapped, as the title suggests, the small ragtag group finds themselves somehow hiding behind enemy lines, in the middle of the enemy encampment where they discover more herbivores being held captive. Of course these are new potential allies, but Eleri being the kindhearted soul he is is mainly concerned with freeing them. They also discover more and new enemies, further uncovering new layers to the manipulation that is happening. It's an excellent story with some wonderful new characters introduced and we see a further bonding between Eleri's outcast herd mates as they are forced to trust each other. John Pirhalla returns as narrator and once again does a wonderful job. He really does bring these characters to life. I especially love the voice and personality he brings to Tortha, and couldn't help but smile every time she called Eleri dirt muncher or referred to the carnivores as corpse munchers. Probably sounds a bit strange but trust me it just fits her character so well and he imbues and delivers her phrases with such personality. I look forward to seeing where the story goes from here. And while you might think this is a story geared more toward a younger audience, I think it's perfect for anyone who loves dinosaurs and a good story. I'd like to thank Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to review an advanced copy of the audio version of The Deadlands: Trapped.



Note to Macmillan Audio (not part of the review) there is an issue with the audio download. There are missing chapters. Everything is fine up to chapter 21, but after chapter 21 it then jumps to 25. While you can figure out some of what occurs in those missing chapters, I just wanted to note it so you could ensure the official release will be complete.

5 out of 5 stars

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for allowing me to listen to this in exchange for an honest review.

Why are more people not talking about this amazing series? I have been obsessed with dinosaurs since I was a kid so when the first book in this series was available to read on Netgalley I jumped at the chance! Imagine how happy I was when I got to the end of the book and read that there is another book coming out in the fourth quarter! I am loving this series so much. I adore Ellery and the gang, they are so brave and the friendships between them are amazing. I want to add that the narrator is amazing as well!

What I love about this is that there are amazing relationships, exciting action and political intrigue. This and the first in the series will be in my top 10 books of this year! If any of the things I mentioned in this review interests you please pick this up. I truly believe that you will love this.