Synopsis

They’ve got no strings…and they want revenge.

The people of the city of Vetri are turning into wooden statues…

…and Beaumont and Beasley are not on the case.

Not technically, anyway. This case must fall to two of their employees, the faun Gareth Llewellyn and the dryad Sylvia Kirke.

True, Gareth and Sylvia don’t have a great deal of experience, but this shouldn’t be too difficult. The solution to the mystery is fairly obvious, and the evil magical force at work will be no great challenge to defeat.

Unless Gareth and Sylvia make a terrible mistake that puts Vetri on the brink of destruction, of course.

The dark legacy of Geppetto is more dangerous than anyone realizes…and an old enemy is about to make his move.

The end of Beaumont and Beasley has begun.

Amazon | GoodReads | Author’s Website

At last book #5 of the Beaumont and Beasley series is heeere!

And, wow, did this one take a bit of a different turn. Being as how *GASP* Nick and Cordelia are not our main characters. But no fear, there was still plenty of fun (and feels) to go ‘round!

Literally since book #3, The Stroke of Eleven, there has been this sense of…THE WORLD IS ENDING. The players are being set into position, tension is high, and, as the blurb of this one suggests, the end of Beaumont and Beasley has begun. (Don’t mind me sobbing in the corner. I’M FINE.) This book is yet another piece in the ever-growing puzzle of danger and mayhem and doooom we are no doubt going to experience very soon.

NOTE: This book will probably not make much sense at all unless you’ve read the books prior to it. It ALSO has a tie-in to the Crockett and Crane series, namely Deadwood, Crockett and Crane #2. If you haven’t read the C&C books, you can still understand this one, BUT it’ll  have more meaning of you’ve read basically…all of the books prior to this one. Which you should do. Because these books are amazing. Period. The end. Goodnight.

THE RUNDOWN

While Nick and Cordelia are dealing with some, erm, internal struggles, they send out part of the Beaumont and Beasley B team to deal with a problem in the city of Vetri (which is the Afterverse version of Venice and just yessss, so here for this!).

Remember the “mythfits” who first appeared in book #2? YES. This book features two of them as the main characters!

Gareth the timid faun and Sylvia the not-so-timid dryad go from being the “Botanical Department” of the Beaumont and Beasley agency to investigating why people in the city of Vetri are being turned to wood. But when what was supposed to be a fairly straightforward mission turns into something way more personal and dangerous, they question if they’re equipped to handle such a case.

THE CHARACTERS

It was truly a delight getting up close and personal with a couple of the mythfits. I love how every single character in this series has their own story, their own struggles, their own unique personalities. And though I did desperately miss Nick and Cordelia, I adored getting to know Gareth and Sylvia more closely.

Gareth was my favorite! This cinnamon roll of a faun is, well, not very confident. He struggles with self-consciousness about…everything, really. But it just makes him all that more endearing. His awkwardness and timidity is precious.

THEN you couple that with Sylvia and ooooh YES! Sylvia is a dryad who, um, is just about as opposite from Gareth as you can get. She’s loud, she’s brave, she really, really loves hitting things and bad guys alike with a big stick. But she also loves Gareth and just BE STILL MY HEART. The mousy person coupled with the I-will-punch-everyone-in-the-face-except-my-true-love personality is basically my FAVE. They made such a hilarious, but utterly adorable pairing.

One of the best bits was how Gareth kept wanting to have a romantic moment with Sylvia throughout the book, buuut it was never working out for the poor chap.

“I don’t know why I always stumble across perfect locations for romantic interludes when Sylvia and I are right in the middle of running for our lives.” – Gareth, The Geppetto Codex

I especially loved how they admired each other’s separate strengths, instead of judging the other for being so different. Healthy relationships FTW!

Aside from Gareth and Sylvia, we had a few more new faces. I especially liked Ioan and the whole subplot involving him.

And the VILLAINS. Ooooh man. They were fascinating. And creepy. But fascinating! Probably one of my favorite things in the whole book. Those villains were something else, let me tell you.

The Afterverse books are always brimming with a colorful cast, and this one was no different. I loved getting up close and personal with some side characters, while also meeting fresh faces.

THE PLOT

Like I mentioned earlier, this book takes place in Vetri, which is the Afterverse’s version of Venice. And excuse me but just YES!!! I adooore reading stories set in Venice. And then add in fantasy creatures, a mystery, and people being turned into wood and you’ve got yourself one epic setting.

I also really liked the culture of fauns and dryads. The worldbuilding was so rich in this one, and the abilities and politics of the two races were fascinating! I just love how the characters in these books aren’t always straight up humans. We totally need more stories with epic fantasy creatures as main characters!

I do feel like the beginning was full of quite a bit of exposition explaining the cultures and things, but it was information we needed. It seems like books these days are so scared of telling instead of showing, they don’t really, ya know, give us important info. So I did appreciate things being explained, even if some parts dragged. But it definitely picked up more in the second half. Boy did it ever!

If the title doesn’t give it away, this book follows the Pinocchio strings (see what I did there?) that have been hinted at in other books, namely Deadwood. But there’s another well-known story woven in there too. In fact, SO many of the fairy tales/myths the previous books have touched on are coming at a headway, and it. is. EPIC.

I can’t say too much about the overall plot without giving away spoilers, but it is a fabulous ride from the fresh setting, adorkable characters with unique gifts, deliciously creepy villains, spot-on humor, and some GREAT plot twists. I totally should have guessed one twist but I didn’t and ALJLSJLKJSDF. It sent me on a wild ride! That’s all I’m sayin’.

What I especially loved was the different character dynamics and relationship growth. In between, you know, trying not to die, Gareth and Sylvia really learned a lot about one another and themselves and grew from it.

In addition to that, there was a theme about how being humble can be a GOOD thing and just YES. THANK YOU! In this world of self-love, it seems like we’re trying to kill humility. But humility is GOOD. I’m 1000% with Sylvia on her thoughts of humility being totally attractive. Give me a humble guy any day, please and thank you. I just really appreciated that theme.

Overall, it was a solid plot with a lot of great characters—some old, some new—plenty of humor, and a dash of feels.

But my actual favorite part of this book? THE EPILOGUES. Literally, it’s worth reading this book for the epilogues alone. Eeeeeverything is coming together! EVERYTHING. And I am sitting on pins and needles waiting for the next book.

CONTENT CAUTIONS

Refreshingly clean per this author’s usual style! There was like…one sweet, innocent kiss, if I recall. And the villains are quite creepy. Some things are getting a little darker the deeper we get into this series. BUT there was a good deal of humor in between the creepiness to help lighten the mood.

This one did have some, mmm…stranger, darker magic than the previous books. BUT most of the weird magic was being used by the villain, and it was kind of clear this is not the type of magic a person supposed to mess with. So I was okay with it. But if magic isn’t your thing, just know these books have a lot of it.

CONCLUSION

We’ve come a long way with Beaumont and Beasley, and it’s clear things are gettin’ SERIOUS. This book really helped connect so very many threads from the previous stories, all while upping the stakes even MORE.

It was a delightful addition to the B&B series, with a fresh cast of endearing characters, some great themes, a fantastic setting, and so. much. danger. I cannot wait to see where it all leads in the next books!

. . . 5 out of 5 Stars . . .

LET’S TALK!

Who has read this one??? Have you read any of KRS’s books? Because, um, you should know they’re my FAVORITE and you need them in your life stat. Do you like it when books feature fantasy creatures as main characters? (I do. If that wasn’t clear.)

NOTE: Huge thanks to the author for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.