The City Beyond the Sea is the sequel to Greenwild, and the second book in the ongoing Greenwild series. If you haven’t already read Greenwild, look out – there are spoilers ahead!

The City Beyond the Sea will be released on June 4, 2024. 

Now that the Greenwild has woken up to the threat posed by the Grim Reapers, Daisy Thistledown is determined to finally travel to the Amazon and rescue her beloved mother. But then Daisy gets a surprise message from her mother that urges her to find a place still clouded in myth: Iffenwild, a cousin city to the Greenwild that hid itself away so long ago its very existence is under question.

With the help of a quirky, magical theater company, Daisy and her friends find their way into the Iffenwild. Iffenwild hasn’t been untouched by the Grim Reapers, though, and it’s up to Daisy and her friends to secure its people’s help—even if that means saving them first.

The City Beyond the Sea has all of the best aspects of fantasy sequels without any of the too-common letdowns. Thomson takes advantage of the established characters and world to deliver a fantastic, multilayered tale, one that never falters into the weaker plot of many second novels. In fact, I’d be hard-pressed to say that The City Beyond the Sea isn’t as good—or even better—as the first book in the series. Just as in the first book, Thomson takes a familiar genre and crafts a tale that manages to combine the nostalgia of past favorite fantasy books with a uniqueness and spark that make the story impossible to put down.

To begin with, the worldbuilding is top-notch. Worlds-within-our-world are not uncommon, but as in all of this book, Thomson brings something fundamentally fresh to this trope, creating a setting that brims with color and interest. I loved reading about the Greenwild in book 1, but it was impossible not to fall equally in love with Iffenwild, the Nautilus theater company, and every intricacy of this new setting. Thomson is able to describe so vividly I can see the world without slowing down the story—and the gorgeous illustrations fill in all the details!

I also loved the characters. Truly getting to know Daisy, the Prof, and her friends better was one of my favorite parts of this book, but the new cast, especially Max, can’t be discounted—every character feels vibrant and unique. In The City Beyond the Sea, there is certainly a lot of conflict between them at times, but if anything, that made me love them even more. Seeing them in their darker moments as well as their hopeful ones made them all dimensional, and made the highs and lows of the story all the more impactful.

Blending action, adventure, and atmosphere, I highly recommend The City Beyond the Sea equally to middle-grade readers themselves and to teens and adults who love the genre—I truly loved it!

​An e-ARC of this book was provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

By Nico

All Olivia wants is to be as remarkable, as magical, as the rest of her family. But despite her best efforts, she can't develop the Tiller magic that makes her family such renowned healers. So, when her older sister invites her to accompany her to Arden’s capital as her apprentice, Olivia's family is certain that this is her only chance to amount to much of anything.

But when Olivia discovers that she's been offered a spot at the new Unicorn Academy—an experimental school that brings together students of all magical disciplines—she sees her chance to find her place. The only problem? Not everyone is convinced that the guilds’ newfound unity is a good idea. And when Olivia’s sister is accused of unicorn poaching, she and the school are caught in the crossfire.

Olivia, with help from her new friends, is determined to clear her sister’s name and uncover the real criminal before the conflict forces Unicorn Academy to close. But the secrets surrounding—and beneath—Unicorn Academy are more dangerous than Olivia imagined, and she soon realizes that learning the truth isn’t just about clearing her sister’s name.

For lovers of middle-grade fantasy who want a series opener that has the feel of an old favorite but with unique twists aplenty to draw you in, I definitely recommend Tangled Magic. The land of Arden was an awesome setting, with lots of intertwined history and magic that felt appropriately layered and deep without ever becoming confusing or info dump-y. Olivia and her friends were quite simply just fun to read about. Too many friendships feel forced, but the ones in this book never do, perhaps because they develop so naturally at the beginning of the story.

Although Tangled Magic is interconnected with a previous series set in Arden, I don’t think you’ll enjoy this book any less by not having read the earlier ones—I didn’t! Plus, I definitely want to go back and read the Unicorn Quest series now that I enjoyed Tangled Magic so much (at least, while I wait for the sequel, which I very much want to read after the ending of this one). I recommend Tangled Magic to readers ages eight and up who are looking for an exciting fantasy series to dig into.

​Thank you to author Kamilla Benko for providing an e-copy in exchange for an honest review! All opinions here are my own.

By Nico

A Door in the Dark is definitely more YA than most of the books we review—I would place it firmly for ages fourteen and up. However, for high schoolers who enjoy high-tension, dark fantasy, I highly recommend it.

Ren Monroe is a survivor.

Hers is the most unlikely story: a girl from the Lower Quarter chosen to attend the prestigious Balmerick University on scholarship, where the best wizards in Kathor learn their craft. A girl who not only survived, but excelled, beating out the scions of Kathor’s wealthiest families to become one of Balmerick’s top students. And all her hard work will be worth it if Ren earns a position among Kathor’s elite, and a recruitment from one of the richest houses. That’s been her goal ever since her father’s death, since she understood what she needed to do for there to be justice in the world.

Survival. That’s why, when a spell gone wrong dumps Ren and two of Kathor’s wealthiest scions—along with three other scholarship kids like Ren—in the middle of the wilderness, she doesn’t panic and doesn’t scream. Not even with one of their number already dead.

After excelling in advanced magical theory, leading them back to civilization should hardly be a challenge for Ren. But that’s not taking into account the group’s painful secrets, particularly Ren’s own—or the creature hunting them through the most dangerous place in Kathor.

In the end, there’s only one thing Ren wants more than survival.

Revenge.

A Door in the Dark was a book I honestly didn’t see coming. I knew I wanted to read it as soon as I saw the book announcement--Scott Reintgen is one of my favorite writers—and after starting it, I found myself enjoying the book for all the right reasons: interesting characters, tension, an incredibly strong world… Then, about a third of the way in, the pace suddenly picked up, and I went from ‘enjoying’ to ‘engrossed’ in the space of just a few pages. I devoured the rest of the book in about twenty-four hours, reading a few pages whenever I had a moment to spare; it was a book that refused to let me put it down. Even now, the ending seems to have rented permanent real estate in the corner of my brain.

To begin with, the worldbuilding is amazing. I can’t think of another book that nails the theory piece of magic the way A Door in the Dark does—one of my favorite parts was how Ren was able to discuss crafting spells in such an analytical, scientific way, using different theories and principals that made it truly feel like a highly academic course of study. The tension and layered class relationships also added another dimension to the world—Kathor’s flaws and history truly brought it to life.

​The other highlight is the characters. There are few authors who can truly pull off morally grey characters this well, but Reintgen gives everyone a realism and punch that makes their decisions both devastating and incredibly believable. Ren was probably my favorite; her fierceness and intelligence blended to create a wholly unique character who stood out from page one. Intense, atmospheric, and powerfully dark, I highly recommend A Door in the Dark to readers ages fourteen and up who have ever wondered what would happen if you dropped the characters from Six of Crows or All of Us Villains into the middle of the wilderness.