Early Review - So Silver Bright (Theatre Illuminata, Book 3) by Lisa Mantchev (4/5 stars)

Reading level: Young Adult

Genre: Fantasy
Size:  368 pages

Publisher:  Feiwel & Friends

Release Date: September 13, 2011
ISBN: 978-0312380984
Stand Alone or Series: Third (and final) book in the Theatre Illuminata series
Source: ARC from Publisher
Rating: 4/5 stars

This is the final book in the Theatre Illuminata series by Lisa Mantchev.  I received am advanced reading copy of this book for review in exchange for participating in the Silver So Bright cover reveal earlier this year.  It was a good conclusion to the series.  The book is beautifully written and creative, I enjoyed how the series was wrapped up.

Bertie is recovering from her run-in with the sea witch Sedna and meeting her father.  Her father takes off leaving her abandoned.  Now Bertie is stuck in a horrible situation; Sedna is still after her and Bertie still hasn't been able to fulfill her promise to her mother, Ophelia, that she will bring her father back to the Theatre.  As if this isn't enough Bertie recieves an inviation to perform in front of the Queen that cannot be refused.  Bertie has a lot to do; and through it all she will have to finally make a decision about who she will choose as her companion...will in be the steadfast pirate Nate or will it be the magical and mysterious wind spirit Aeriel.

The writing in this book is beautiful, magical, and glittering.  This is a book to be savored slowly, and while that makes it a tough read a points, for the most part it is very beautiful and magical.  

There is a lot that happens in this book, a lot of adventure, some action, and some emotional turmoil.  Our favorite characters are all here; with the addition of a couple more.  In this book we get to meet a beautiful Queen who ages from birth to death each day, a herb witch who wants ideas of children as payment, and we get to spend more time with Bertie's father.  We finally learn the history between Bertie's father, Ophelia, and Sedna.  We also get to watch Bertie struggle between her love for Aeriel and Nate and see her finally make a decision.

The plot moves along as a wonderfully fast clip, as I said a lot happens here.  The world is incredibly creative and we see more of this world in this book than in any of the previous.  So many magical and fantastic things happen; you just never knew what would happen next.

I only have a couple small complaints.  The first is that, like the other books, you have to read every word and really pay attention to follow what is going on.  That's not necessarily bad, but it makes the book a harder and slower read; the language in the book just doesn't flow as naturally as it could.  The second complaint is at points I still had some trouble picturing exactly what was happening.  I think this is because some of the things that happen are so fantastical and so complicated, that it is just hard for the reader to really picture the world in detail.

Overall I enjoyed this book.  It was an excellent ending to an incredibly beautiful and creative series.  If you love a creative fantasy with adventure and a touch of romance check this series out.  I will be keeping an eye open to see what Mantchev writes next.  

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:

- 100+ Reading Challenge
- Fantasy Reading Challenge