Great continuation in the series. This installment brings in a retelling of Wizard of Oz and more of King Arthur's court. Although, I will say the end really tripped me up as to where it's going to go moving forward. But it did it's job. I wasn't sure if I was going to keep reading through to the next one but that ending makes me need to know what happens!

To save her mother from Olga the evil ogre queen, Filomena must travel to the legendary land of Camelot to find the sword of Excalibur. This precious object is the only thing that can save Fil's mother from Olga's curse, which is slowly killing her. Will Filomena be able to successfully complete her quest? Will challenges along the way bring an unexpected end to her travels?

Never After: The Missing Sword is entertaining, so I am glad that I received the audio version. The narrator, Imani Jade Powers, presents the book in a way that would excite the target audience. I would definitely recommend this version of the book to readers.

Overall, without spoilers, I can say that I like the ending of Never After: The Missing Sword. Though the story is a fairy tale, the elements of realism bring this story to life. Some of the book is a little repetitive, but the conclusion does make up for that fact. Readers new to the series should start at the beginning, as too much happens in the previous three books to help this one make sense.

Disclaimer: I was given an Advanced Audio Copy of Never After: The Missing Sword by NetGalley and the publisher. The decision to listen to and review this book was entirely my own.

Melissa de la Cruz has once again turned the fairy tales upside down, I love her take on these timeless tales. Filomena and her friends faced so many challenges in this book. I love that they face everything together and don't give up no matter how bleak it looks.

I am looking forward to the next book in the series to see what choice was made at the end of the book and how it affects the story line.

Imani Jade Powers did a fantastic job narrating this novel and I look forward to listening to her narrate the rest of the series (and many other books).

Listening to this book made me want to go back & read all the rest of this series! (They’re all added to my TBR list) As a fan of fairy tales I thought the mixing of stories to make this adventure was so fun and engaging. There was fighting, fun, romance some giant scary spiders. The story was easy to follow and the characters were varied and easy to like. I thought this series was ending towards the end then bam off it goes again! I’ll be looking forward to the next book in this series.

I enjoyed the narrator but the way she pronounced Archimedes made this 80s kid crazy.

Thanks to NetGalley & MacMillan audio for a copy of this book.

I’ve been really enjoying this series and was excited to get into the next instalment and it didn’t disappoint! While I read the first three in the series, this fourth book I listened to the audiobook version and was glad I did. The narrator had a soft and melodic voice that was so nice to listen to and her voice work really brought something to the experience.

This book starts off right where we left off in book three with Filomena on the next leg of her quest to save her mother. She must travel alone so is not surround by her troupe of friends, the other members of the League of Seven. We see some of the things Filo is struggling with right away. The idea that she will have to choose where to live right at the forefront. Deciding between being the Queen of Westphalia and staying with Jack or going back to North Pasadena with her parents. After a trial she enters Camelot and she is reunited with her group at least momentarily. From there she has to travel through a new (to us) area in the Kingdom of Never After, Camelot/Oz. It’s an interesting blend of the two stories and settings where she meets up with the Never After version of some of the iconic characters from the stories like always.

I enjoyed the slightly flipped versions specifically the idea around the witches and how they might not be as black and white, good or evil as we may have thought. I also loved the versions of Guinevere and Lancelot but don’t want to say much more in case I spoil it.

What follows is full of questing, epic battles with ogres, magical settings (loved Marlin’s house and the root system idea) and magical spells and items that will change things forever…or at least for a time.

The ending was very not what I expected in the best way possible and I did not see the twists and turns that Filo and the League would face coming at all. It leaves you with a bit of a cliffhanger ending too! I’m excited to find out what happens in the last book of this series for sure from where we left off.

I received an advanced audiobook copy of this book through NetGalley and the publishers in exchange for my honest review.

4 stars

I have really enjoyed this series so far and have yet to hit the point at which one anticipates a slowdown. Filomena is a great character, and along with her friends, she gets up to highly readable antics with some powerful messaging included.

While this book could be read as a standalone and is noteworthy for its particularly fun Arthurian content (as the title may suggest), I do think readers will best engage with this when they have access to the more developed exposition the earlier books offer.

This is a quick and engaging audiobook, and the biggest thrill is the setup for the next installment. I'm already looking forward to it!