When I read the first Oddmire book, Changeling by William Ritter, I knew there was more to Fable’s story. So I am so excited that The Unready Queen mainly follows her journey as she learns to embrace her magic and understand how the world works beyond the Wild Wood.
*The Unready Queen is the second book in The Oddmire Series, so there may be spoilers for book one below. Check out my review of Changeling instead.*
Fable finally has her first true friends in Cole and Tinn, but her mother only allows her to visit them if she stays quiet and keeps her magic concealed from the human world. But when the trio learns humans are destroying the Wild Wood and in turn the creatures that live there, Fable cannot stay quiet. As violence escalates and a war between humans and magic creatures brews, Fable’s mother fears a looming prophecy will leave Fable a most unready queen.
Like the first book, this one has a great cast of characters, including several noteworthy new ones. Evie is a great addition to the trio’s friend group and she provides a new perspective on magic. One of my favorite aspects of the book is how easily she and Fable become friends—no drama, jealousy, or misunderstanding between them. We need more books that focus on positive female friendships, especially for a younger audience.
The plot was pretty straightforward with a group of humans trying to destroy the Wild Wood and the magical creatures that live there retaliating. It wasn’t a particularly new idea and some aspects did come across as been-there-done-that story line. But the other elements of the plot such as the Queen of the Dark Deep’s prophecy and Tinn struggling between his human life and his goblin heritage make up for the more cliche aspects.
I love that this book expands the world of the Wild Wood and introduces a plethora of new magical creatures alongside the goblins. The way they played a part in the story and helped tie everything together was so exciting.
And like book one, the ending left a hint of more to come. Fans of the first book are sure to enjoy this sequel and, like me, will eagerly await the next adventure in the Wild Wood.
Keeper of the Wood Between Worlds 
This sounds like a fun series! And the covers are quite neat looking, too. That’s always a bonus.
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I LOVE the covers. This is the kind of middle grade fantasy series I can get behind. It’s so fun AND has strong themes.
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