Happy BOOK BIRTHDAY to... Watch Hollow: The Alchemist's Shadow by Gregory Funaro - REVIEW!

Hi there!

Welcome back to Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers. 

Today, we're wishing a great big HAPPY BOOK BIRTHDAY to author Greg Funaro as book two in his fascinatingly dark yet delightful Middle Grade Children's Fiction series is brought to life once more...quite literally. If you were around for the introduction of WATCH HOLLOW, then you have a little idea of what you're in for, but trust me when I say the house is not the same as we left it nor are it's enemies. Ready or not, here comes today's title in the spotlight and ebook of choice...

The Alchemist's Shadow

(Watch Hollow, Book 2)

by 

Gregory Funaro

9780062643483

HarperCollins

About the book...

New York Times bestselling author Gregory Funaro brings us the second installment of the thrilling Watch Hollow series, where magic exists, monsters roam, and wooden animals come to life.

Having defeated the Garr, a vicious tree monster who lived within the enchanted woods of Watch Hollow, Lucy and Oliver Tinker now have the home they’ve always dreamed of: Blackford House. Powered by a magical clock and full of curious rooms and improbable knickknacks, Blackford House brims with the promise of new adventures.

Yet when a strange governess arrives from England—bringing with her the Kojima twins, Agatha and Algernon—the Tinker children’s once bright future quickly begins to dim. The Kojimas claim to be the rightful heirs to Blackford House, and soon after their arrival, a great evil enters the Tinkers’ new home, cursing it and turning it into an ever-changing labyrinth.

As a result, Lucy and Oliver, along with their clock animal friends, must now join forces with the twins to escape this labyrinth and save Blackford House, all while a new monster lurks around the corner.

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The Tinker children are back and...more distant than ever? Yeah...despite having pulled together to defeat the darkness in their first adventure, time, loneliness, and growing up in general, has them at odds once again. Good thing blood runs thicker than most other things because the love they have for each other, that desire to protect those they hold dear, is what's going to get them through the new evil that's reared  (quite literally) it's ugly horned head in Blackford House...maybe...possibly....or at least, you should hope so because if not, more than our previously wooden friends are in danger. The very soul of Blackford House stands on the brink of the abyss and trust me, you don't want it falling into these evil little hands. 

Getting reacquainted with Lucy and Oliver was like greeting old friends, so the sadness seen in them was that much more moving. When the twins came, the unknown that followed was palpable and became even more so when the house started revolting...though, as we quickly discover, it's actually trying to protect its own! Uncovering the new evil that's descended (or unearthed itself?) is challenging, especially when the ground keeps literally moving out from under them. The friendships they discover, the capacity for love, compassion, and understanding they come to find, warms the heart. 

In short, it's the sequel we didn't know we were waiting for with a darkness we couldn't have anticipated, but a heart of gold at its core that can't be denied. Step back into the world of Watch Hollow with all your friends (and unfortunately enemies!) for an adventure you won't forget! 

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About the author...

Gregory Funaro is the NY Times best-selling author of Disney-Hyperion's ALISTAIR GRIM'S ODDITORIUM (an Amazon Best Book of the Month for January, 2015) and ALISTAIR GRIM'S ODD AQUATICUM (2016), which received a Kirkus starred review. His latest book, WATCH HOLLOW (HarperCollins, 2019), received starred reviews from School Library Journal and ALA Booklist, and was a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection. The sequel, WATCH HOLLOW: THE ALCHEMIST'S SHADOW is due out from HarperCollins in February 2020. Gregory is also a drama professor at East Carolina University. Please visit his official web site at www.gregoryfunaro.com

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Special thanks to author Gregory Funaro for the invite to read and share this forthcoming release. (THANKS!) Feel free to click through the links to discover more about the author, the work, or the publisher.

Until next time, remember...if it looks good, READ IT!

Be on the lookout for... WATCH HOLLOW by Gregory Funaro!

Hi there.

Welcome back to Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers.  Thanks for stopping by and continuing to hold the faith, while I find my way back to the bloggy world through all this chaos and mayhem.  Good news, as previously stated, I AM READING...and it feels much like welcoming an old friend after a long absence.  Grant it, it's not as voraciously as before, but still...I'm getting there, one day/page at a time.  Anywho, let's get to the focus of the day...

It's a COMING SOON Middle Grade title via HarperCollins from author Gregory Funaro.  Recognize the name?  Does Alistair Grim ring a bell?  Yep...that'd be another work of this talented fellow, and the title in the spotlight today is his latest SPOOKY fun story slated to release NEXT MONTH (February 12, 2019 as of this post).  So, if you're ready, let's slip between the pages of today's book of choice....

Watch Hollow
by
  Gregory Funaro

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Tinkers are a family that's been through the mill, what with them falling on hard times, and the loss of one of their one, if a world could be shades of grey, theirs would be fading to black. One day, an offer that's SO GOOD it can't possibly be hiding anything dark or sinister (yeah, right, and my name is George Washington) is laid at the feet of their father. He's a kind, loving man, who just wants to see his family out of debt, while somehow rediscovering their joy of life, of togetherness, despite the cloud of sadness they remain cloaked in. Accepting the "gift" fate has granted him, he takes on the task of fixing a massive clock (with abilities much beyond that of telling time!) in a mysterious old house, in the mysterious (and perhaps enchanted?) dark woods of Watch Hollow. What could go wrong... *-*

Right from the start, I felt for Lucy and Oliver. No, I've not had the sadness of my heart breaking in the same way as theirs, but I definitely feel their pain in my own way. They were finding their way through the dark days that absence created and while getting on each other's nerves, they were also constantly on the look out for the other. It was utterly endearing and played an integral part throughout the story, including the DANGEROUS and SUSPENSE FILLED END. Though Oliver liked to reason his way through things, being close to teen-dom, he wasn't always thinking clearly...add in a dose of morose to the heart, and it's easy to see how the wool was pulled over his eyes, and yet I can't find room in my heart to totally write him off as a "bad guy" for his choices. Lucy is an equally lovable character, though prickly in her own right. Worried about worrying everyone else, she kept too many things to herself, but her heart was ever so much in the right place. Her kindness, her caring, her utter desire to do the right thing even when it was the hard thing to do, kept her shining in my eyes, even when her own self-esteem faltered.

All in all, it was DARK, and ENCHANTING, filled with HOPE and with DESTRUCTION, but in the end, it reminds us to love the ones we're with, try not to regret the past but most certainly learn from it, and always spare a bit of kindness for a stranger...just, you know, don't invite the darkness in.

**ecopy received for review

View all my reviews

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Special thanks to author Gregory Funaro for the invite to read and share this forthcoming release.  (THANKS!)  Feel free to click through the links to discover more about the author, the work, or the publisher.

Until next time, remember...if it looks good, READ IT!