I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The Forgotten Mountain by Heather Lyons Series: The Collectors' Society #3
Published by Cerulean Books on June 25, 2015
Pages: 320
Source: the publisher
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After years spent in Wonderland, Alice Reeve learned the impossible was quite possible after all. She thought she left such fantastical realities behind when she finally returned to England.
Now Alice has become a member of the clandestine Collectors’ Society, and the impossible has found her again in the form of an elusive villain set on erasing entire worlds. As she and the rest of the Society race to bring this mysterious murderer to justice, the fight becomes painfully personal.
Lives are being lost. Loved ones are shattered or irrevocably altered. Each step closer Alice gets to the shadowy man she hunts, the more secrets she unravels, only to reveal chilling truths. If she wants to win this war and save millions of lives, Alice must once more embrace the impossible and make the unimaginable, imaginable.
Sometimes, the rabbit hole leads to terrifying places.
The Forgotten Mountain is Heather Lyons’ ninth published book – and I’ve read all nine of her books and each and every one is an epic win. I’m actually getting to a point where I can’t formulate words to describe how amazing Heather and her books are – or I repeat the same things I’ve said in every single review of her books, but they’re all still 100% true – Heather is an amazing writer and storyteller. She creates amazing worlds that feel real and multi-dimensional characters that feel like real people. I’m always anxious for her to publish a new book and when I do find out she has a new one coming out, I’m like
The second I picked up The Forgotten Mountain, I fell right back into this amazing world. It was like no time had passed since I finished The Hidden Library (which I read in February). I know it’s probably cheesy, but it felt like coming home after a long vacation.
Alice has always been a fierce, epic character – and one of my all-time favorite MC’s. But in The Forgotten Mountain, she was especially so – and sometimes a bit scary, too! So you have an idea what I mean, here are some epic/scary quotes from Alice:
“Madness – that old, dear friend of mine – has come home for a visit. And I welcome its return with open arms.”
“I do not play by his rules. I play by mine and mine alone.”
But she was scary because she was determined and loyal – to Finn, to the other members of the Collectors’ Society, to Wonderland and, most importantly, to herself. With every book, she keeps growing, maturing and coming into herself. And I love that about her.
As always, I adored Finn! His… predicament in this book… Was terrifying and upsetting and heartbreaking. The cliffhanger from the last book was RIDICULOUS and I’m still upset we had to wait so long to learn his fate! But I loved where his character went in this book. Alice and Finn are one of my top favorite ships and I absolutely adore them together! They make each other stronger and bring out the best in each other! And then the way the book ended…!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! But I’ll get more into that in a bit.
I still love Mary and still want more of her story. I’d love a novella from her POV or a spin-off with her. I’d love to see her back in her world, especially. I think that would be epic and hilarious! *Stares at Heather… Makes puppy eyes…* She’s just an amazing character – smart, determined, loyal. She’s not the best fighter, but she holds her own in a fight and pulls her weight in other ways. I adore her and Victor and the way their relationship always thrives, despite the things they’ve been through. Although that ending…!!!!!!!!!!!
Of all the characters, the Artful Dodger (A.D.) had the most character growth in The Forgotten Mountain. His character always felt a bit one-sided in the previous books, but we saw a LOT of different sides to him and learned a lot more about him this time. He’s a fierce fighter, smart, sly and a ladies man – or so he thinks! I’m definitely excited to see more of him in the next book!
I really like Wendy and Sarah and I’m hoping they get happy endings. Marianne is still a great character, as well. I like the way she fits in with the group, despite their uncertainty about her in The Hidden Library. I still like the Librarian, but I don’t really trust her anymore.. And I’m DYING to know her real identity! And Brom, as usual, was a great character.
The pacing in this book was excellent. There was always enough action to keep the plot moving forward, but not so much that it felt exhausting. Heather’s writing gets better with every book she does – and that’s saying a lot because her writing has always been exceptional! Her writing – coupled with the plot and where the characters all were in their journey(s) – made this book the best one in the series (so far) – and again, that’s saying a lot because I’ve loved every book in this series! All the characters are at the height of their character development; they’re all fierce and strong and loyal. The plot is intriguing and the story really hit a major turning point. No one is holding back now! It was epic and amazing!
And then that ending!!!!!!!!!
I thought the cliffhanger at the end of The Hidden Library was evil but this… this.. this… GAH!!!! HEATHER, WHY?!?!?!?!?!?! These status updates from Goodreads basically sum up my feelings at the end of the book:
87.0% “Ooohhhh…… *Gulps*”
88.0% “Oh crap!!”
88.0% “OMFG!!!!!!!!!!!”
91.0% “!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!?????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!??????????!!!!!!!!!!!?????”
97.0% “Omfg!!!!!!!!!!!! No no no no!!!!!!!!!”
97.0% “!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
Seriously, I have no idea how I’m going to survive the next few months, waiting for book four to come out!
So, obviously, I adored this book! I adore all of Heather’s book! And – as usual – I HIGHLY recommend this book (plus the first two, if you haven’t read them). Plus all her other books. All of them. Like.. Go read them all right now. I’ll wait… *Sits, stares creepily at you…*