ARC provided by publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I am reviewing this having not read any of the Artemis Fowl books. I wanted to see if you could read this new series having no background in the world. I think this will also be something many others may also want to know. I can gladly confirm that short of a few mentions of Artemis I do not feel like my lack of any prior knowledge impaired my enjoyment of the book and I certainly do not think you must read those books prior to this one.

I could not give this 5 stars. This for me was because the first quarter was hard to get through. This could possibly have been the writing style but the language used did make me feel stupid as an adult. I also believe children will have no idea what some of the language used in this book means and might get bored in the beginning. I understand this is probably due to the Fowl family, especially Myles in this book being a genius but it did get a little disconcerting. Happily I can say whether it be settling into the writing style or the story after around the 25% mark I did not feel this and I became very engrossed in the adventure.

Bare in mind some of the chapters are quite long for a children's book. So if your child is reading to you or vice versa before bed take into account as an adult reader my kindle told me some of the chapters would take me 25 mins or more. I would say I read at an average speed. I think it would have been better to have seperate chapters for each perspective. Especially as these do change within most chapters anyway. This i believe would make the book as a whole more digestible for younger readers.

Character wise Myles and Beckett compliment each other so well and there relationship really is precious. New friendships between humans, fairies and trolls, who working together against 2 very different foes. There are some laugh out load moments and I really did find myself looking forward to reading this. I do not want to go into story specifics as I never want to spoil a book for anyone.

I would recommend this story to most. Just bare in mind that it might take a little time to get into the story. I would say if you loved the previous series you will most likely love this one too. I am looking forward to the next book in the series to see what happens next.

Anyone who has ever read Eoin Colfer's Artemis Fowl series will have a good idea what this new series is going to be like, it features Artemis's younger 11 year old fraternal twin brothers, Myles and Beckett. There is plenty of humour, adventures galore, dastardly villains, and the introduction of a new blue fairy, a pixel (pixie and elf hybrid) Lazuli Heitz, Lower Elements Police (LEP) specialist, ambitious, with no magic powers. Myles is a suit wearing, intellectual genius, scientist, fastidious, smug, a know it all, with a tendency to enjoy lecturing others. His brother, Beckett, is nothing like him other than in appearance, he is reluctant to wear clothes, takes delight in poking fun at Myles, is disordered and disorderly, keen on learning languages spoken by animals and it is not certain what his intelligence levels are. The twins live on the well fortified Fowl Irish Dalkey Island, under the protective eye of NANNI (The Nano Artificial Neural Network Intelligence) an AI system devised by Artemis himself, with input from Myles.

There is a miniature troll, found by Beckett, who assumes it a toy, naming it Whistle Blower, but the troll is sought by the monstrous 150 year old Lord Teddy Bleedham-Drye, an immortalist seeking ways to live forever. He wants the troll's venom which he feels is the answer to his quest, and has the Fowls under surveillance, he doesn't care what he has to do to lay his hands on Whistle Blower, including murdering the Fowl twins. However, the Fowl twins have another villain after them, with the goal of getting hold of a fairy, an secret international intelligence agency called ACRONYM. In charge of the operation of getting the Fowl twins, torturing and interrogating them is a nun, Sister Jeronima, the nunterrogator, well resourced and backed by governments. The twins find themselves detained in Amsterdam, in Verona and taken to the well defended island of St George, in the Scilly Isles as they face an unholy alliance, death and danger, joining forces with Lazuli and Whistler Blower, and referring to themselves as The Regrettables.

Artemis is in space, but there in the background of this novel and Holly Short makes an actual appearance in the thrilling finale. This is the kind of reading fare that is likely to appeal to many, children, particularly to many boys who have a particular aversion to reading and to many a adult too. I think it is a ideal book for parents to consider reading to or with children, as it offers the potential of enjoyment for both parties. Fans of Artemis and Eoin Colfer are likely to enjoy this foray in a new but familiar direction from the author, the twins are quite the double act. This is a highly entertaining read, inventive, comic and witty which had me keenly anticipating the next in the series. Many thanks to HarperCollins Childrens Books for an ARC.

IN SUMMARY: A vibrant sequel to the ARTEMIS FOWL series, THE FOWL TWINS follows in the footsteps of its predecessor with the wacky, magical adventure of the titular twins and their fairy companions, with a quirky writing style to match.

MY THOUGHTS:

I never finished the Artemis Fowl series as a child, so I was somewhat worried I wouldn't be able to dip into THE FOWL TWINS. Fortunately my worries were unfounded.

THE FOWL TWINS is a sharply written, wacky but vibrant book from start to finish, re-introducing you into elements from the first series but still able to stand on its own. Colfer has such a distinctive humour that shines throughout the book's prose. I don't think that style was for me; at times I found it irritating and it detracted from my reading experience, but I do think there will be children and adults alike that will revel in its blunt delivery and quirky tangents.

The titular Fowl Twins were so utterly different and yet that's what makes them loveable. Myles, an arrogant child-genius who knows his own worth, compared to Beckett, a wild, smart-in-his-own way kid. Myles has the head, and Beckett has the heart, and though they're so different they worked brilliantly together. It was nice to see that even Myles, who is usually ice-cold, was affectionate towards his brother when he could've easily just resented him. They played off well together.

Fairy-representative Lazuli Heitz, however, left a lot to be desired. She just didn't pop as a character; was actually rather dull next to the twins, despite her unhuman constitution. How is she any different to Holly Short, who was also no-nonsense and frequently baffled by the humans around her? The fact that she is introduced as a magic-less fairy was really interesting but then this is turned on its head, which destroyed what made her unique and what gave her motivation to prove herself.

That said, THE FOWL TWINS was a fun read. Perhaps not as fantastical as it could've been, but certainly enough to satisfy fans of Artemis Fowl and maybe pick up a few new ones on the way, too.

WILL I READ ON? Yes, if given the opportunity. I don't think I would go out of my way to get the sequel, though.

I know this is presented as a “child’s” book but I guess I am still a child at heart, it was funny, engaging, had great characters and story, what more could you ask for in a book!