Rise of the Huntress

Rise of the Huntress
Last Apprentice
Book 7

Joseph Delaney

When Tom, Alice, and Mr. Gregory return to Chipenden from fighting the Ordeen in Greece, they are shocked to find that enemy soldiers have ravaged their town, burning the Spook's house down along with its immense library. Mr. Gregory is devastated, but he knows that they must leave the county, otherwise they will become prisoners of war. They leave for the small island of Mona, but quickly Tom and Alice are captured accused of being a warlock and witch. They escape the fatal testing and make it back to Mr. Gregory. After listening to the locals, the trio finds out that Mr. Gregory's escaped prisoner, and Alice's evil witch mother, Bony Lizzy, has escaped and is on the island! I desperate battle soon begins between the two spooks and Alice, but Lizzie keeps growing stronger and stronger. Can they stop her before her power gets too strong?

This was another very exciting addition to the Last Apprentice series. Revisiting an old enemy that had grown stronger as Mr. Gregory was getting weaker made the plot very interesting, especially with the witch being Alice's mother. The deepening corruption that Alice is implanting in Tom, even with good intentions, is worrying, especially with a big battle with the Fiend coming up, most likely in the next book. The repeated failures of both Tom and Mr. Gregory make the story seem very desperate, commanding the reader to continue. I hope that Mr. Gregory still sees the value in Alice, even with all of the potential danger he rightfully sees in her.

Do you think that Alice will stay with Tom to fight the dark, or will she follow the path Lizzie wants her to choose, uniting the Pendle clans for evil intent?

Tom has a dream about horrors in Ireland. Do you think that the next book will see these premonitions coming true, will it focus on fighting the Fiend, or will it be something new entirely?

Is the use of dark magic always bad?

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