[This review has spoilers!]
Windy City Ruins is the third book of The Talisman Series by Brett Salter. The sworn brothers Rome and Julian travel to New York, Chicago, and Georgia this time around. They find more allies and more monsters and continue their discovery of their world of dragons and knights.
This book is more action-packed than its predecessors. The adventures were more daring, and I was stressed out every 30 pages or three chapters. There was more mystery, plot twists, and battles that kept coming. New characters were introduced that the protagonists had wavering trust issues with. Battles improved, and so did Rome and Julian’s battle strategies.
However, I was worried about Rome and Julian. They should not be allowed to battle anything alone in the future unless they have performed the proper Great Synergy and reached their potential of collaborative powers. They are not ready for it yet. In fact, I was happy with the way the book ended. NOBODY is going to be leaving them alone in a battle anytime soon.
Mr. Rider’s back, and so is Julian’s Shakespearean English. Rome and Mr. Rider had very few lines to each other, but the author made the most of it.
This book is excellent for cool catchphrases thanks to Mr. Jones comeback and unique House of Rider lines. I can’t wait to use “winged porcine” in a sentence.
Editing has improved, and vocabulary is fantastic. The target age group will surely learn new words. They could also spend a day listening to any of Julian’s family members, and that should have the same effect!
I did feel like I missed a part where Rome started having feelings for Krysta. It was explained at the end of the book, but I felt lost whenever Rome cared for Krysta before that. I feel that it could have been done more gradually in the plot.
Windy City Ruins was an exciting book, but I would not recommend reading it in one go because you will feel exhausted more than Rome did after falling from the Statue of Liberty. I was jealous while reading the book. I want such an adventurous life too. Why can’t I be a dragon or a knight?