This book was kinda weird because it easily could have been the best of the series so far. Plotwise, it’s definitely the strongest. The slow crumbling of the main crew was executed perfectly. The set up of Wendel Whispers was great because it drew me, along with the characters, into the conclusion that he was the one from the Emerald Ring. The reveal of the real ventriloquist from the club was suitably wild. Theo’s internal conflict between his friends and his family, Mr. Vernon finally getting called out for his tendency to be dangerously mysterious, and the confrontation with Kalagan all round the story out to be the most interesting one yet.

But I was emotionally unfulfilled, I guess?
For some reason, the lack of consequences for bad decisions is one of my pet peeves. Like, for example, Theo bailing on the talent show the day of. Idk I just thought the others should have been a little more irritated than they were and there was just no resolution to it. Similarly, I was expecting Theo to confront his family about how they had been treating him. Honestly, they were kind of awful to him and at the end there was nothing like “oh hey Theo sorry we’ve been tearing you apart for being yourself” and I sorta needed that for my sanity. Thirdly, I understand why Mick and Emily did what they did, but again, no consequences. The things they did were still bad even if they had good intentions.

It was a good addition to the series, just not my favorite.

(but i am SO shook after decoding the secret message. i needed the 4th book yesterday.)