– SPOILER FREE REVIEW –
Title: The Key (The Engelsfors Trilogy #3)
Authors: Sara Bergmark Elfgren & Mats Strandberg
Genre: Urban Fantasy, Young Adult
Release date: November, 2013
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Description:
The final installment of the Engelsfors Trilogy—an international sensation with rights sold in 29 countries—The Key combines thrilling action and dark magic with all the passion and drama of teen life. The result is nothing less than explosive.
By the end of the second book, Fire, the remaining Chosen Ones know they are the last defense against the mysterious, demonic forces that have been plaguing Engelsfors.
The Chosen Ones are still coming to terms with their loss when evil strikes again, barely a month after the showdown in the school gym. They have no chance to recover, and no choice but to rally together to try to prevent the apocalypse—even while their personal dramas threaten to tear them apart.
Time is running out for the Chosen Ones to fulfil the prophecy and save the world, but whether they succeed or not, one thing is certain: Everything will change.
– REVIEW FOR THE CIRCLE (#1) AND FIRE (#2) –
A fantastic ending for a great trilogy. The writing, the plot, and the characters all got stronger with each book, resulting in a story that I never wanted to end. Was this book perfect? No, not really. It started of slow, it was probably longer than necessary, and there were unecessary moments here and there, but I was so involved in the plot and the girls’s lives that I didn’t mind. So I’m giving it all 5 stars and know that I’ll carry the characters with me for a long time.
The stakes were definitely higher in this book. With the apocalypse right around the corner, every little decision was important, alliances had to be formed, and the girls’ friendship and lives in general had their ups and downs.
This book was much darker and the girls had to confront a lot of hardships, like loss, manipulation, power, and abusers. All of this with the end of the world looming. They all made mistakes or made tough decisions, but I always understood their motivations, even if I didn’t always agree with them. I especially appreciated the fall outs between the girls, as it brought a new depth to their friendship and individual personalities.
“Her words wound and crush, and cause more pain than most because there’s always some truth in what she says.”
In this novel, there’s a point of view from the Borderlands, which is a sort of misty limbo filled with glimpses of moments in time. I thought it was used pretty well to fast forward some events, though the book still ended up being really long. I’m not really complaining about it, but the first 200 pages 0r so dragged for me. After that, it started to pick up and then the plot moved faster and faster. By the time I finished, I wanted to keep reading and reading about this world and characters.
“Bravery without common sense never helped anyone.”
As with the other books, there was a bit of mystery. I loved that we don’t have all the information so we never know which alliances are going to work. It kept me guessing and I couldn’t really figure out what was going to happen, even though I had my suspicions.
In the end, this series surprised me. Not only did the plot go places I wasn’t expecting and explored themes I never thought it would, but the characters were also beautifully developed. The writing got better with each book and it definitely ended on a high note. These books are long, they take their time to tell you each girl’s story and carefully lay out the plot, so it might not be for fast-pace lovers. But if you like urban fantasy with witches, the apocalypse, and friendship in the mix, give this trilogy a go.
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