Thomas Leeds has SO many ideas, and this third installment is no exception, full of magical items and concepts and creatures, this is brimming with action, wonder and excitement. I will be sad not to go on another adventure with Jayben and his colourful friends but this is a great magical series with some lovely explanation and inclusion of traumatic brain injury and its effects.

I love the Jayben series - I bought the first one Jayben and the Golden Torch for myself, and then I received a gifted copy of the sequel Jayben and the Star Glass. I've said in my previous reviews, and I will repeat here, that I have been having seizures (like Jayben) since 2022. And whilst I wasn't having them as a child, I can't imagine how scary it must be for young people, and to see a child with seizures in a book, as a hero rather than just a side-piece, must mean a lot.

Once again, Thomas has lead us into the story nicely. He's minded us of what happened previously without regurgitating it. It means we can get straight back into the world and with the characters without too much preamble.

I am more than three times the recommended reading age but I love this series. It's so fun and magical, doesn't skimp on the scary, and doesn't hide away from the difficulties we all face.

It's not very long, and for my reading level, I can read it in a couple of hours. But even for children and younger readers it's a fast-paced, easy-to-read story.

I enjoyed the comparisons between the Elf World and the real world; we get to see more about how they interact with each other, for good and bad, and we see how some characters manage to inhabit both.

We've got all the main players from the previous books which adds an element of familiarity, but we've also got news, and my favourite addition has to be Mr Tickety, who we meet on a train with Jayben. I know first appearances can deceive but I loved him almost instantly.

There's a lot more heart to this one. There's still action and adventure and magic and danger, but it's a lot more to do with Jayben and his emotions and struggles, his family and friends, how they all feel. It adds yet another layer of depth to the story. Because fantasy is all well and good but only if the characters are strong enough to compete with it, and they do.

This one isn't all positivity. In books we tend to have our characters succeed at everything, and the goodies be the goodies and the baddies be baddies. But this book proves that you don't have to succeed and be good at everything all the time. That there is nothing to be ashamed of in failing, and that's very important for young readers.

I can definitely see this as a kids TV show. I originally thought a movie, but I think you can do more with a TV show, especially for children who may not have a long attention span. I think it would work so well.

This is the last one in the series and whilst it ends perfectly, I'd love more. It's such a fun world to lose yourself in and I look forward every year to the next installment. So I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for what Thomas does next.