4 stars

I absolutely love the Ever After High series. The books are always gorgeous with interesting plays on fractured fairy tales. So, of course, I was beyond thrilled to see a mashup of Every After High and Monster High. While I haven’t read any of the Monster High books yet (on the TBR list, I promise), I do enjoy the movies.

To start out, I actually wasn’t a huge fan of this. Brooke’s narration was a little grating, to be honest. Her interjections were a bit irritating and noting that a particular sentence was terribly constructed in no way makes the sentence any better. It just adds some awkwardness. I love the use of narrators as characters, but Brooke mostly just annoyed me at the beginning.

However, as the story got going, I eased in to the narration and got swept up in the plot. It was fascinating to see all of the characters come together in this entirely new setting. I loved the combining of worlds, both those familiar and those previously unexplored. It was entertaining in a way very different from the previous books.

Then things start really getting weird and I loved all of the puns and creative techniques used to portray the oddity. The use of different fonts, the arguments between narrators, and the surprise input from the reader were all so interesting and unique. It really made for a great reading experience.

As with the other books, the physical book is absolutely gorgeous, complete with Mapalogue graphics that are stunning.

Despite the rocky start, I ended up loving this book so much. It was wonderful to read and go along with the crazy ride that this mashup provides. A hexcellent book filled with puns, suspense, adventure, and surprises. Great to dive into and explore.

Goodreads