Keeper of the Lost Cities nightfall word Count

But first, we had the best moment in the book, when Keefe finally showed up:

Biana laughed. “It’s too bad Keefe isn’t here—you two could have a contest to see who whines the most.”
“I’d win,” Keefe said from the doorway.

And here we go:

“I never thought I’d need a stuffed animal to sleep. But . . . I never knew I needed a lot of things before I met you.”

“The only thing I’m risking is me.”
“Which is way more than I’m willing to lose.”

“But whatever it takes, it’s going to happen. Do you know why?”
When she didn’t answer, he took both of her hands, and she couldn’t ignore the rush of warmth that tingled through her when she met his eyes.
There was no teasing glint to be found. Just pure determination when he told her, “Because Team Foster-Keefe is going to win.”

“And here’s another thing you can count on. You’ll never lose me. No matter how any of this stuff goes down.”

“Hey,” Keefe said. “You know what I remember most about that flight with Silveny? That was the first time I felt you trust me. Like, really trust me.”
It was also the first time that Keefe had peeled back his joking, teasing mask and given her a glimpse of the deeper, serious side he hid away to keep anyone from getting too close to him.
“I like it when you trust me,” he said quietly.
“So do I.”
He scooted ever so slightly closer. “You still do, right? Even after . . .”

“There you are,” Keefe whispered, his breath warm on her cheeks. “You’re good now, right?”
Pressure tightened on her hands and she glanced down to see his fingers twined with hers.
Her gloveless fingers.
Dex’s crush cuffs were gone too.

“I’m not some damsel in distress who needs you to swoop in—”
“I know that, Foster. Believe me, I’m super aware of how powerful you are. And brilliant. And special. And—”

“Keefe doesn’t listen to anyone.”
“He listens to you.”
“Trust me, he doesn’t.”
“Ah. So that’s why he’s not there. Interesting. I suppose excluding him is the best punishment. Especially given your choice of replacement.”

“What are you doing here?” Sophie asked.
Keefe’s smirk widened as his eyes finally found their way to hers. “It’s good to see you too, Foster—though yowza, that’s a lot of emotions to hit a guy with all at once. In case you need help deciding, I’d go with the part of you that wants to run over here for an epic Team Foster-Keefe hugfest, and not the part that wants to rip off my arms and smack me with them.”

“Oh, I still have questions,” Keefe said. “Lots of them. But I’m only going to ask one—for now.”
His eyes shifted back to Sophie, and he struggled to swallow before he asked, “How much groveling am I going to have to do before you trust me again?”

Ro whistled. “You know, when you’re trying to impress a girl, it’s probably better if you don’t almost kill her.”
“Eh, this is Foster. She loves the thrill.”

“Keefe,” Sophie warned.
“It’s going to be fine, Foster. I know you probably think I’m trying to take over again—”
“It’s not that,” she interrupted. “It’s . . . can you really handle this? I see what he does to you.”
“I don’t do anything,” Lord Cassius snapped.
“The fact that you can’t even see it is the worst part,” Sophie told him.
Keefe leaned closer to her. “I can handle him. What I can’t handle is any more of the Sophie Shell who’s been wandering around for the last few weeks, scaring the snot out of all of us. I need my Foster back—the real one, who bosses me around and is way too much fun to tease.”
“Awwwwww, is anyone else chanting Kiss! Kiss! Kiss! in their heads right now?” Ro asked.
“Just you,” Sandor said through a sigh.

The rest of his sentence was choked off by Sophie’s tackle-hug.
He laughed as he flailed to keep both of them from toppling over. “Don’t worry,” he grunted. “Breathing is overrated.”
[...]
Keefe pulled her a little closer. “Anytime, Foster.”
It was probably her cue to let go, but . . . she couldn’t seem to do it.

“This”—he traced a finger over the crease between her eyebrows—“doesn’t make you very convincing.”
Their eyes locked and it was suddenly much harder than it should have been to come up with a response.

“Is it harder to be around me?” she asked. “Since my emotions are stronger?”
His lips tugged into a smile. “Don’t worry, you’re worth it.”

I read a quite long text about how Sophie and Keefe will never get together because they are friends for years and Sophie never felt more than that - and I'm like, is this friendly to you?:

“Then you should stay away from me,” she told him.
“Now you’re being ridiculous.”
He strode over to her, and she tried to back away but crashed into the wall.
“I’m serious, Keefe.”
“Oh, I know. But you’re forgetting something, Foster.”
He was close enough to reach out and gently tuck her hair behind her ear as he leaned in to whisper, “I like a challenge.”
His breath tickled her skin, and her stomach filled with fluttery things.
“Speechless again?” he asked, grinning as he leaned in to whisper, “You know, there’s—”

“And since I still have a few more days without Ro driving me crazy, I thought I’d bring you a cheer-up present, since apparently that’s a thing.”
He held out his arms.
“Um . . .” Sophie didn’t see a gift.
Keefe smirked. “Foster, Foster, Foster—always so adorably oblivious. I’m the gift. I’m all yours today—though I might be willing to extend my servitude if you call me the Gift Master.”
Sophie rolled her eyes as she smiled. “You’re ridiculous, you know that?”
“And you love it.” His grin shifted into something softer, something that made her stomach tighten. “So what do you need, Foster? A shoulder to cry on? A good old-fashioned cuddle? Or should we go back to brainstorming my favor?”

And these are the things others say/think about them and do with them, because I love how everyone in the world ships them (except for Grady and Sandor lol):

But believe me, if I thought there was even the slightest chance we could catch her, Foster and I would be having a slumber party tonight.”
“No you wouldn’t,” Grady informed him.
Keefe smirked. “Worried I’ll prank you?”
“Definitely not what I’m worried about.”

She pulled Grady into the embrace, and he reluctantly stretched an arm around Keefe.
“Awww, it’s like I’m already part of the family,” Keefe said, earning a grumble.

“All that means is that someone hasn’t found your weakness yet,” Lady Gisela told them. “Or perhaps Sophie is your weakness.

“So stubborn,” he murmured. “I can’t decide if that makes you two perfect for each other or heading for utter disaster.”

Grady, meanwhile, was studying Keefe like he’d never seen him before in his life.

“Now who’s taking over everything?” Keefe muttered. “And I bet he won’t get cut off for a week.”
“Uh, you’re not helping yourself in the father-approval department right now,” Ro whispered.

I love how fiercely they protect each other.

“If my son has any issues, they’re entirely his own. I’m simply waiting for him to realize he’s pushing the wrong parent away.”
“And I’m waiting for him to realize that neither of his parents deserve him!” Sophie snapped, slamming her locker shut.
The clang of metal tingled through her.
Anger.
The feeling was a revelation—and not just for her.
“There’s the Foster we all know and love,” Keefe said, offering a grin that had a whole lot of relief mixed in. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”

Can we appreciate Sophie's most baddass moment in the series so far?

“Does that mean we have a deal?” Lord Cassius asked.
“No,” Sophie said, standing to face him fully. “I’m done with bargains. If you want your son to live with you, try begging for his forgiveness. And if you want to join the Black Swan, maybe you shouldn’t hold vital information hostage—especially after they came to you for help.”
“And here I thought you were desperate to find Nightfall.”
“I am. And I can drag anything I need out of your mind.”

Also, listen to Lady Gisela. She is a smart woman, knows what she is talking about.

“Ah. The Vacker boy is around,” Lady Gisela said. “And still contributing very little, it seems.”

Buddy read with Rue.

THIS IS THE BEST SERIES EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SOPHITZ FOREVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

_____________________________________________________
3/8/2017

I have seen the absolute gorgeousness of the cover!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
There is no doubt in my mind that Nightfall will be the best book in the series so far!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(Sorry for the overuse of exclamation marks, but they are much needed :)

_____________________________________________________
7/21/2017

I cannot believe that I haven't died from the wait!

**A quick, more serious note about Sophitz: I think that Foster-Keefe may be somewhat cute, but Sophitz is just adorable! It's not the person they get shipped with for me (I do love Fitz though; we are very similar): it's how "compatible" and how "good" they are for each other. I just melt every time a Sophitz moment happens. Keefe just makes me burst into laughter all. The. Time! :)**

The first draft has already been finished!!!!!!!!! I'm sure we don't have to wait any longer!!!!!!!!!!

Oh wait...............

We have to wait 45 more days until Nightfall comes out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

_____________________________________________________

I absolutely love KOTLC, but c'mon Sophitz! You can do it! Don't let Keefe steal Sophie's heart! The main problem is that Sophie and Fitz don't have any alone time, but Keefe is practically is every. Page. Of. The. Book! *crosses fingers* Flashback...please just pair Sophie with someone...I'm dying here!

On a more serious note: What the heck is going on with Alvar?

(view spoiler)[I still can't believe the elves want to cover up their mistakes and let the blame stay on humans. Other species deserve to know the truth - have some integrity! (hide spoiler)]

FOSTER-KEEFE FOREVER

I almost had a heart attack when you released the new title... I was actually worried I was going to die

As I said, FOSTER-KEEFE FOREVER

This is the one of the most underrated series ever! It honestly deserves more hype. It may be a long series, but all the books that I've read so far have been just as good as the previous ones in the series if not better. The writing is so good, I love the overall plot of this series and the humor is top-notch, I always laugh while reading this series no matter how hard sometimes the things they are dealing with are. The humor adds a lighter tone to everything!

I was so sad that Keefe wasn't as present in this book as much as I wanted him to be. Once there were like 200 pages in which he was not present! And guess who we got instead? Fitz! Oh boy, hearing Fitz talking about him being Sophie's Cognate, and how he must go everywhere Sophie goes because of that, never gets tiring, right? RIGHT?! His answer to most arguments was literally that he was Sophie's Cognate! At some point even Keefe made a joke about that. I don't hate Fitz. I do like the friendship between Sophie and him, but in this book it is obvious (not for Sophie, though) that it is evolving in something more and I am NOT a fan about that. I don't wanna see that ship sail! Nope, I ain't here for that. Sophie deserves better and she knows it. (Especially when she is around Keefe and her heart makes "strange" things. She just doesn't want to accept that she has a crush on him!). God, I'm talking way to much about this in every review for this series. Moving on.

Dex will forever be my cinnamon roll and I'm kind of sad that he doesn't get as mcuh page count as he did in the previous books. He is so brilliant and I want to see more scenes with him and Sophie together. Their friendship is everything! I do understand why he wasn't as present in this book, there's a reason for that and it is extremely obvious, but I hope he gets more page time in Flashback, I need more scenes with him!

This series is for sure one of my favourites of the year, if not my favourite! I'm not sure who is my top 1 favourite book/series this year. It's kind of a tie between Chain of Gold by Cassandra Clare and this masterpiece of a series.

Can we stop pretending this is a dinner party and get back to why you have a drawing of the Nightfall symbol?

Please do.

WARNING: RANT AHEAD

So many characters and alter-egos and talking and the love triangle/square that ultimately makes me hate Keefe (I'm sorry! I don't want to!) and all of this chaos. There's only so much you can put in a series, Shannon Messenger. I'm sorry, but this is too much.

A List of My Issues:

1. Too Many Characters

I miss the old crew. They were well-defined characters that I treasured. But now? They hardly show up in the book! Dex is shoved into the background where he makes random gadgets appear to advance the plot, Fitz has officially earned the title of "Sophie's Energy Booster" and nothing more (MY POOR BABY WHY.) The two newer characters, Linh and Tam, aren't too bad, but the bodyguards and Black Swan members keep throwing me off because there are so many of them!

2. No One Knows What the Hell is Going On

“I know you’re still refusing to see me as anything more than a villain in this conflict, but like it or not, I’m the only one trying to build a solution.”
“To what?” Sophie asked.
“Problems you’re still not ready to face.

That's code for "IDK." Please remind me what the bad guys are being bad for because I honestly don't remember. And it doesn't seem anyone in the book remembers either.

3. The WORST Love Triangle/Square I Have Ever Faced

Twilight's love triangle was bad. Red Queen's love triangle was bad. Heck, The Hunger Games' love triangle was bad because ALL love triangles are bad. But what makes Nightfall's love triangle/square/thing the worst?

I love Keefe, Fitz, and Dex. Since book one, I have learned to love them, and when it comes to choosing one of them for Sophie, it's only natural I have to cringe when the other two have a "moment" with her. Dex didn't suffer too badly, but poor, poor Keefe did. Every time he even gets close to Sophie I find myself hating him which makes me want to cry.

4. The Plot

The series is going in circles. Repetition, repetition, repetition. Enough said. Specifically, though, Nightfall's plot was atrociously weak. There was a whole lot of sitting around a table and planning, and very little doing. And the lack of explanation really turned me off.

5. Fitz

Fitz has been my favorite character since book one so he deserves a category of his own. Not once in the entire book did he get to show off his skills and much of his personality was smothered by Sophie and Keefe. He is a delicate character, a character that I tucked under my wing and watched blossom from "Wonderboy" to a man that will stop at nothing to protect his friends. He deserves so much better and I adored every moment he made an appearance in Nightfall.

“Tell me about it,” Fitz said, fanning the front of his red bramble jersey. “I was halfway through my morning run when Blur showed up—so now I’m all sweaty.”
“And smelling awesome,” Keefe added with a choked cough.

God, I miss the Fitz/Keefe friendship. And the Sophie/Biana friendship.

But most of all, I miss the old, simplistic plot. I love Shannon Messenger's writing, I really do, but not this book. Try again next time?

I'm happy that my first book of the year is an almoat 5 star rating. I need that kind of positivity after hating every other book I read in December. I suppose this is why I always gravitate towards re-reading a lot, it always helps keep away the slumps and mental exhaustion and just brings happiness into my heart.

This was much better than I expected. I see why this was my favorite the first time I read this series, so I expected to like it. I really like the character development and the character dynamics which this book focused on. Everything gets so much better when Ro gets introduced in all aspect of things. The plot was also intresting. I do think that the series should have honestly stopped with this book, and wrapped it up (starting to do so in Lodestar). This series does this thing we're it introduces too many mysteries, and some are still yet to be solved or have been completely abandoned and goes around in circles with the plot. Nightfalls did a lot of things amazingly and I won't hold that fact that this series is too long for no reason against this one book because despite the long length of it, I barley noticed it from pure enjoyment. The Atlantis scene is one of my favorites.

Overall, this series will always hold a special place in my heart but I am a tad bit nervous for the rest of the series and hoping that it will remain in the 4+ star realm, but nonetheless excited. I'm sad that my re-read is almost over, and that I have to wait a whole year for the next book, but it is great being back in this word.

They weren't friends. And they weren't actually sisters.
They were just two different girls from two different worlds.

Nightfall picks up right after the last scene of the previous book, where Sophie meets her adoptive younger sister, Amy, and talks to her for the first time since Keeper of the Lost Cities, when Sophie leaves her adoptive family and sets off for a completely new life in the Lost Cities. I really liked how Shannon handled the whole situation about Amy, and I really like the relationship between Sophie and Amy in this book. It was nice to see an outside perspective of the Lost Cities from Amy and it felt sort of like a parallel with Book 1 when Sophie finds out about the Lost Cities for the first time. I also enjoyed how well written Sophie's thoughts about Amy were, and how conflicted she felt.

Three hands. No fourth for her. It was how it should be. How it would have to be. And Sophie could live with that. She could let them go again, to spare them that pain. But it would still hurt. It would always hurt.

I enjoyed the plot in this book better than the previous book. The concept of Nightfall was alright, at most a little underwhelming, but it was still good. I loved the main climax of the book, which is the scene on the cover

Also, I loved loved loved the part where Choralmere was featured—it's so pretty and I would love to live there. There was some extra insight into the Song family and the story behind their surname, which I appreciated very much.

There were some plot twists that I called(view spoiler)[ (I'd called Marella being a Pyrokinetic since 2015) (hide spoiler)], and I had been planning to put (view spoiler)[Ruy breaking the force field in Atlantis (hide spoiler)] in my own story, but Shannon wrote it down before I could and if I write it in now, everyone would think I'm Unoriginal™ so I'm probably never going to finish that fic now. But that aside, I really liked what went down in the book. There was a lot of action and suspense that kept me turning the pages. (Or at least, tapping the side of my Kindle screen.)

With the introduction of Amy, I found Sophie's character to be more developed in this book, and I liked how ready she was to sacrifice something important to protect the people she loved, even if it meant giving in to the enemy. Fitz... was okay, if you counted how supportive and sweet he was towards Sophie—I really liked that—but I would wish to see more from him. Biana was really brave in this book, and she went all the way to defend and protect her friends and family. That, I'm proud of. I loved Dex in this book, as usual, but in this book, he became even braver and smarter. I really liked how Shannon wrote him in this book and I hope to see more in Book 7

And needless to say, I loved Tam and Linh. I didn't know it was possible to love Tam even more, but now I know. I think Linh is the wisest out of the eight, and I really liked the dynamic in this book where she changed from a person who is afraid of the water, who cannot control the water, to a person who bonds with the water and is in complete control of the water. Though she didn't appear as much as I wanted her to, as most of the book she was in the background hanging out with Wylie. And I don't like her with Wylie. I don't ship her with anyone, actually. Speaking of Wylie, I wished he would play a bigger role in the book. I didn't really like Marella in this book as her personality is kind of annoying, but I suppose that's to be expected, considering what had happened to her. I think she'll grow onto me again soon though!

I don't really talk about shipping because it's subjective, but this book made me ship Sokeefe. I didn't really like them in Book 5. I thought the short story in the Barnes and Noble limited edition was really sweet, how Keefe had feelings for Sophie but chose not to act on them because he knew Sophie wasn't ready and might not like it. Also, I ship Tam and Biana, but there were little to no scenes in the book, which was kind of disappointing. I was also looking out for LGBT+ scenes. I hope there's more in the next book. (view spoiler)[I screamed when Sophie and Dex kissed (I'd lowkey shipped them as they're kind of cute together), and was a tad disappointed when Shannon killed the ship (I mean why did you have to make Dex sad, it was heartwrenching to see him avoiding Sophie) but I admire the way Shannon handled it, she handled it excellently and left me feeling sad but satisfied. (hide spoiler)]

The ending of the book was a cliffhanger (like always), but it's an overused plot device in many books, so it felt a little lackluster compared to the ending of Book 5. Nevertheless, I still look forward to what happens in Book 7! All in all, Nightfall was a very enjoyable read and it definitely deserves the five stars... or should I say six, since it's Book 6? That was a bad joke, so I'll leave now and Vanish off the face of the earth until Book 7 comes out. When that happens, I'll suddenly appear (view spoiler)[like how Forkman appeared after supposedly being stabbed to death by Gethen (hide spoiler)].

*finally finishes the very last page after seven months later*

Okay, um, that was... interesting.

Did anyone else feel like this was being rushed? Like Mrs. Messenger was trying to write Nightfall as quickly as possible so that her dear readers would have some new installment by November? The reason why I ask this is because throughout the book, it felt like everything was going by too fast or I just wasn’t able to be up to speed with everything. And the missions they carried out? Yeah. Not my cup of tea, unfortunately. Why some KOTLC fans will say that this is the greatest book of THE ENTIRE SERIES, I will never understand. And here’s something from you: (view spoiler)[ I feel that the story would’ve been a lot more interesting if Forkle actually did die. Yes, I said it. Through the first five books, Forkle was GREAT, but when his supposed twin brother took his slot, the story just continued on as usual. Nothing daring and exciting really happened, unless you count the fact that Keefe got injured by the troll king. (hide spoiler)] I’m sorry, but Nightfall isn’t the greatest book of the series! It was bland through half of the book, and it kept recycling the story from previous books. And to add on to my rant, I was so sad to see that Dex was hardly mentioned. Sure, he had things to do with the Black Swan but... I was disappointed to see that the little muffin didn’t get as much... spotlight? than everyone else. He received as much mentioned as Wylie, and that’s not a whole lot. Now that we’re going further into the series, you would expect to see changes with Sophie. Is she as bland as the previous books? Yes. Does she always believe she can do things by herself and is always easily persuaded with the help of her friends? Yes. See? NOTHING HAS CHANGED WITH SOPHIE!!! She hasn’t PROGRESSED, and grown since the very beginning! I guess that was the most infuriating part about this. Sophie didn’t seem to mature. I guarantee you. If you read Nightfall again (I know, how horrible of me to say) and read the first book, you will see NO change with Sophie from when she was twelve to however old she is now. She’s not eighteen or sixteen, is she? I’m sorry, but the timeline is also super confusing. Yes, Mrs. Messenger DOES mention everyone’s height and whatnot, but you never get a clear picture of how OLD they are. And what should they look like now that they are OLDER and MATURE. If it wasn’t for Dex, Keefe, or Fitz, as well as the magnificent writing talent Mrs. Messenger has for this series, I would definitely turn this series over. I can only hope and pray that Flashback will be better and can actually PROGRESS further into the series.

*mic drop*

I wanted to love this book. I really did. I have been a fan of this series since the beginning...BEFORE it became popular. But sadly, this book fell flat.

You know those books that you read and by the end you are like, meh, what just happened? Or that book that is the second book in a trilogy, where nothing actually happens thus or becomes a 'filler' book.

Sadly, that was this book. Nothing really happen. It was pages upon pages of nothing . So now I am going to list all the things I feel went wrong with the book.

1. Sophie
I honestly don't even know how to begin with her. Here we are at book 6 and Sophie is STILL the little helpless weakling we met in book 1. We spend almost the entire book in Sophie's head. And all we read about is her anxiety and worries about everything that is going on. This is suppose to be our heroine and yet she needs EVERYONE to save her. They keep important information from her because she is too delicate to handle it. What drove me the craziest was that it was never ending. Around and around and around she went, worry worry worry. On top of all of that, she barely even used any of her awesome powers. I was also annoyed that she constantly asked her friends if they were sure they wanted to help. Again, this is BOOK SIX. They have been helping since book ONE. Of COURSE they will say yes! On top of that, this is not just Sophie's battle. It affects all of them but she acts like it is only her that is affects. I was just so disappointed in this character.

2. No character development
No one progressed or grew in this story. Well, maybe Keefe did a little bit by the end of the book but no one else did. Really, all the characters felt quite flat. But then that might be due to the fact that NOTHING HAPPENED until the very end of the story.

3. Love triangle
I am so over this. Just pick one already. Or pick none. At this point, I honestly don't even care anymore. Just please stop shoving it down our throats.

4. NOTHING HAPPENS
The entire book, we see our characters mainly just trying to figure what the Neverseen is up to. They are researching and generally just trying to disiphor clues. And of course we have weak old Sophie who pulls her eyelashes out and panics over every single little thing. Now don't get me wrong. The book answers some questions that we've had and there are a few surprises along the way. But it's just not enough. Way too much time was spend on basically nothing. Things really didn't start picking up until the end of the story. Things happened (I won't spoil it) and then we re left with yet another cliffhanger.

5. Amy/ Sophie's parents
After that cliffhanger of an ending from book 5, I really thought we would see more of them or read more about them. But nope. Again, I won't give any spoilers but I was just highly disappointed in this.

Honestly, as much as I love this series, I wish she would have stopped this at 5 books. Now it just seems like she is stretching it to make more money. But it's not working. Thankfully, the next book will be the last. Of course I will read it since I have inserted so much time in this story and I want to know how it ends. I can only hope that it has the epic ending it deserves.

But around the second half, it completely redeemed itself. It basically became the Order of the Phoenix of Kotlc, which is seriously a compliment coming from me. I really loved that Shannon Messenger allowed Sophie to be messed up in this book. She's dealing with so much crap and I appreciated getting to see her actually experience trauma from it.

And, as always, I love Keefe and everything he does.

All in all, another solid addition to this series that I freaking love at this point. I look forward to reading book 7.

AHHHHHHHGGH
WHAT'S WITH THE CLIFFHANGERS???
IT'S LIKE SHE SPENDS ALL HER TIME THINKNG OF HOW TO RIP ME TO SHREADS!!

Non Spoilers:
Well. That was emotional. WHY DO AUTHORS LOVE TO TORTURE ME???
Um, so, yeah. I'm not okay. At all. Help.
Haha. SO MANY SOKEEFE MOMENTS 😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍
They were a highlight of the book, as always.
WE STAN LINH'S CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT!!!
As you can tell, I'm not okay, so this review might be short.
These just get better and better.
SPOILERS!!!!!:

Sophie Character Analysis:
Yes, Sophie. I'm sure you don't like Keefe.
I don't know what to say at this point. If you don't like Sophie by now.....
Why? She's so strong and badass. She's been through so much in such a short amount of time. By now, I don't care if she's not like other girls. 'Cause she owns it. She ROCKS it. I love her so much.
What she had to go through in this book is astonishing. I wouldn't have made it out alive. I'd be dead books ago. Props. The trauma she has is hurting me, to see this strong, beautiful girl break down. I shrieked and cried and laughed so many times in this book. Every books seems to get more and more emotional. Shannon Messenger really is an author. I'm in love with these characters, these books, just everything. (Sorry to have this so short)

Keefe Character Analysis:
OH MY GOSH JUST YES!!!! I'M IN LOVE!!!!!
Sokeefe is best ship
Keefe has so much depth and layers. Hos banter is beautiful. He also joins the "Hides Pain With Humor Club" along with Leo, Sokka, and Thorne. He deserves so much more than

Forkle Character Analysis:
I KNOW HE'S NOT A MC BUT STILL, THAT PLOT TWIST!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I DID NOT SEE THAT COMING!!

Ro Character Analysis:
OH MY GOD SHE'S SO AMAZING!!!!!!
She's just such an amazing character. I was in tears when I thought she was dead. Luckily, she didn't. Just wanted to say how amazing she is! ❤

Thoughts On Plot:
I'm not dead inside. They just seem to get better every book! It's such an amazing experience to go through!

Final Thoughts:
STAN THIS SERIES!!!
STAN SOPHIE!!
STAN RO!!
STAN SANDOR!!!
STAN KEEFE!!!
JUST STAN EVERYTHING!!!

In short, I'm a bit snarky on the subject. I am, really. I know it. Why? Because this book, this series, is really really good. There's a lot of things amazing about it and it's a lot deeper than you'd guess. AND PEOPLE MISS IT. Oh hey, caps.

Why do people miss it? Because of something extremely stupid. It's called a love triangle. I'm not sure how far Shannon had originally met to take that but I'm sure at one point she was smart enough to realize that about 99% of her readership only cared about THAT. Now... you can call it a smart business move(it is) or you can call it a crutch(I am). It's smart because it really doesn't matter how good or bad these books are, the main readership only cares to plow through it and lap up the love triangle bits. (Don't worry about my safety. The lack of fangirling and squealing will bury this review and no one will ever know.)

It's a crutch because where this story COULD be leaning on the AMAZING description, plot, details, character development, and deeper messages, it instead makes sure the love triangle is every present and frequent enough where even if you want to forget it(I do), you can't.

Shannon... You. Don't. Need. This. You're a better author than this and your books are better than this. I know, I know, we're six in and it's too late and $$$.

Honestly, the love triangle is the one thing killing this series for me. I hate love triangles and unlike everyone else that picks their favorite and hope he wins the magic prize called *girl*. I hope the best doesn't get her because he darn well deserves better. Which making me dislike your MC is probably never the author intention, but there it is.

Basically, I wish I could read reviews about what people actually thought of the book. Not ones that are pre-publishing squealing, and post-reading squealing about who they want to win the girl. And with the decided lack, it really kills my motivation to want to write a review. I am, but is this a review? No. Not really. It doesn't talk about what I like or dislike. Let's face it, this is a big book. There's a lot of content to discuss. Heck, even some discussion on the romance angles would be nice but it just makes me ill because thank you I've had too much of THAT.

*grumble grumble* goes the old lady. And in summary, this is another great book in the series with a plot that forces you to keep reading, interesting characters, and those secret deeper moments that have really sold me on this series. There's also the annoying love triangle that will be dragged out for the entire series and I try to ignore it, but it does at least taint my love of KotLC.

Recommended for people who might actually want some decent content, people who are only here for more KEEFEFITZ baloney, and lovers of love triangles. (but seriously, if you haven't read this series you should and just ignore the lurveeee and enjoy the actual content. It's darn good.

Now to hide from the mob. Bwahahaha.

THE TITLE AND COVER IS OUT!!! And ofc it's absolutely beautiful. My darling Sophie is looking beautiful on the cover and Keefe is looking absolutely dashing <3. And Linh!!!! Her first cover!! This deserves some mallowmelt to celebrate!

Dear Shannon,
FIRST OFF, WHAT have you done to me and my heart?! I would like some of that potion! I hope I can make it in Alchemy.

SECOND, I sincerely hope my eyes are deceiving me because I see a Fall 2017 and a Fall 2018 as the release dates. My dear Shannon, I do hope you realize that these dates are VERY FAR AWAY, as in VERY FAR AWAY. I don't mean to pressure you but you've got to realize that my heart is failing and it can only be rescued by the one and only FITZ VACKER.

THIRD, my guesss for the title would be NIGHTFALL...Or maybe Lumenaria. I do hope that the title and cover come out soon. At least that will get some blood and life in my system for a little while.

Shannon, if you are reading this right now, please know that despite my pressuring, WE LOVE YOU AND THE WHOLE WORLD AND CHARACTERS YOU HAVE CREATED!

Sincerely,
Nicole

Pre-Release: Is it time for Nightfall yet? Oh, not yet? Okay. I'll just reread the first five books...

I believe it is high time I addressed the key question of the Keeper of the Lost Cities series: Do I think someone tugging their eyelashes out when they’re nervous is a thing?

My answer:
Yes, yes I do. As a matter of fact, I had the exact same habit when I was ten up until I was thirteen or fourteen. It’s a thing, guys. It may sound creepy but it’s just like biting your nails (only, granted, slightly more damaging to your appearance).

P L O T

Blah.

What even was the plot?

I’ll start with the good: the morals. (Okay, maybe that isn’t strictly plot but it kind of fits into this section more than any other so let’s roll with it.)

The morals this story promotes are so healthy for the human mind. When this series doesn’t drop bombshells that fuck with my brain, I actually feel like a better person after reading them. It’s just so wholesome.

This instalment also brought the best action sequences by far in the series. The Nightfall and Atlantis battles had such verbal and physical conflict that had me soaring through this book (like a moonlark (hehe). It’s what drove me to make the somewhat impulsive decision of hitting that 5 star rating! And I don’t even regret it.

On the topic of the moonlark, I acknowledge I wasn’t big on the whole ‘Chosen One’ trope initially, but... The metaphor is so beautiful!!! In the first three or so books, having everything centred around Sophie elicited MAJOR eye-rolls from me practically every chapter. Since then, it’s been somewhat remedied. For example, by giving Keefe (view spoiler)[a legacy (hide spoiler)], he is thus more crucial to the plot, widening its horizons. I only wish more would be done with the other 46281 characters!

I liked how the plot capitalised more on the flaws of the elves, addressing namely their vanity and their mental fragility. Also, I hadn’t even considered divorce being a thing in the Lost Cities! My jaw hit the floor when it was first so casually represented!

My main and only real issue was the ‘plot twist’ that happened around 200-ish (total guesstimate) pages in? Plot twist? Try plot convenience! It seemed like it was just randomly thrown in there because Shannon Messenger realised she’d made things a whole lot harder for her future-self at the end of Lodestar! Just because the characters experience mind-fucks doesn’t mean it’s okay to do that to the readers!

Also, I think I’m starting to sense a pattern with the Keeper books. This one’s plot seemed awfully similar to Exile and Lodestar... I wouldn’t classify the repetition as tiresome just yet but I really do hope it dulls in the coming books.

Totally random thought:
You know what would be really interesting? Getting a look into the Della-Alden-Alina love triangle! That must have been simultaneously hilarious and suuuper dramatic! Even if it were delivered by means of simple exposition, I require more details!

C H A R A C T E R S

“Dex was already waiting for her when she made her way downstairs. So was Bronte. And Mr. Forkle. And Alden and Della. And Grady and Edaline. And Tam, Linh, Biana, Fitz, Keefe, Grizel, Woltzer, Lovise and Ro.”

It’s paragraphs like this that make me wonder if perhaps there might be too many characters...

Like, why introduce Vespera when you already have Fintan, Ruy, Gethen, Brant AND Gisela? And all of these guys are supposed to have their own unique vendetta? Ruy, Gethen and Fintan could easily be condensed into one character, leaving Gisela and Brant who are interesting, sure, but one of which (view spoiler)[was killed off like POOF! (hide spoiler)] and the other of which is inconsistent as fuck. I really hope no new characters that are meant to be significant enter the picture because, with each new entry, the current cast suffers.

Sophie, my innocent, precious baby. As much as I love her, her character is beginning to seem a little... stagnant. What I mean is, for a protagonist who goes through so many hardships, you’d think she’d show a little more growth? The lack of this quality became very apparent to me due to the sheer amount of parallels drawn between this book and Book 1, what with the inclusion of Sophie’s human family.

And if Sophie’s human family is the theme here, I’ll confess that it only took two chapters for me to like Amy more than I liked Sophie after the first entire book! I’ll just... take that as a sign of improved writing.

I remember in my Keeper of the Lost Cities review when I raved about how Keefe never failed to make me smile. Half the time, he still does, but, during the other half, he genuinely makes me cry. And I am totally okay with that.

My strong respect for Keefe continues to grow after Nightfall. He’s irrational and reckless but he’s so clever, easily the bravest and selfless to a fault. He’s so deeply flawed that I cannot help but adore him and just when I think I’ve figured him out, he shows a new side to him. See, that’s the thing! There is always so much more to him!

“Ah. The Vacker boy is around,” Lady Gisela said. “And still contributing very little it seems.”

Hey, I didn’t say anything! Gisela said it!

...but, like, I meannnnnnn...... she lowkey right.

Honestly, I don't think I can blame Fitz for being so bland. If anything, his character is facing injustice. I think he’s just a casualty of too many characters being included and not enough of them being developed properly. But seeing as he’s on a good 40-ish% of the established covers, he really should be more of a priority.

Biana is such a legend. If she wants something, she sure as hell will go after it! For example, when she outright told Tam to take his shirt off, covering it up with innocent logic. And when she rugby tackled the villains that scared the crap out of everyone else? Awesome. I aspire to be like Biana. Plus, she has remarkable taste in guys: Keefe, and now Tam.

I love Tam. He’s such an angsty guy and I love me some angst. He is consistently entertaining and engaging and is a true asset to the books. Linh’s character arc made me emotional; The Girl of Many Floods came full circle! I’m so glad that monumental moment was captured so perfectly on the cover.

Marella was kind of pointless. Then again, half of the characters were. On a positive note: Ro is most definitely a strong addition!

And, look, just because Dex and Sophie ain’t gonna happen doesn’t mean Dex don’t gotta happen at all! Like, where the hell was he the entire book?

“But then the voice added, “There’s no reason to worry,” and she rushed back to consciousness in a wave of fury.
She only knew one person who used that expression.”

You mean she only knew one person who used that expression 45 times! That is golden characterisation right there. God, I love Alden.

R E L A T I O N S H I P S

(view spoiler)[I would like to take this moment to commemorate the passing of a ship. SophiexDex, while you never stood out to me, I honour thy sacrifice. May you rest in peace.

Although, if Sophie and Dex don’t remain best friends till the end, so help me, I will rampage!!! Now, if only a certain other ship could kindly bugger off so my precious Sokeefe would finally set sail! (hide spoiler)]

2. SOPHIE AND CO
I love the dynamics of the group, and their banter - but the group has become rather large: Dex was practically shoved to the background, Fitz became Sophie’s official mind booster... Tam and Linh were alright, but it felt like their presence was unnecessary, at times.

3. LOVE TRIANGLES
Sophie, Fitz and Keefe. Ugh. Love triangles are bad in general, and in this case, rather unnecessary.

4. ONE-DIMENSIONAL VILLAINS
Lady Gisela seemed to be the “villain” just for the sake of being one - Vespera and Fintan too. The series is the classic Good VS Evil, with evil having no reason to be there but to move the plot along.