Happily Ever After

May 1, 2023
The evil Queens of Fairy get just deserts at last thanks to former giant Lena and her airheaded Lilliputian counterpart, Shefin. Presuming that characters and events in previous episodes will be fresh in readers' minds, Riley picks up his tale in midboil--guiding Lena to the Cauldron of Truth to throw off the fairies' loyalty spell, regain her memories, and, with rebel fairy princess Gwentell and other allies, renew her quest to rescue the genie Jin from the magic lamp that imprisons him. But it's Shefin, her forcibly assigned true love, who takes the lead here, and despite being as dense and clueless as a fence post, he's utterly convinced that he's the greatest hero ever. Armed with a magic sword that turns anyone it touches into a fervent partisan of the queens, Shefin will put readers back on his side by coming through at the last tick with an improbably clever wish that snatches victory from the jaws of defeat. Before that, though, the author spins out further misadventures with his large cast, predominantly cued White and largely drawn from European fairy tales, embedding frequent italicized digressions that fill out some significant backstories. Better late than never, but the latter do give the narrative a distinctly patchy character. Also, though slipping in a teasing hint of, maybe, further sequels, he gives Lena barely a bit part in the windup. A proper, if not exactly seamless, trilogy finale. (Fantasy. 9-12)

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