Characters
Since this is the sixth book in this series and in every book there are more characters introduced, this book has a very large cast. And in this book as well new characters were introduced, 6 to be exact. In my opinion this isn’t really good for the story. Since the book isn’t that big the older characters aren’t getting the change to develop themselves while the new characters are taking over the story for one book. I am really interested in Ariana and Asher, but they didn’t have that much page time to really enjoy my time with them. On the other hand, I do enjoy the new characters which are introduced, even though we only get this much time with them in this book. I am actually really invested into Blue’s story.

Writing
The writing of this series is very magical and makes you feel like you are in this world. I enjoy ever book I read and normally read them in one sitting. Which I did with this one as well. The world is huge and there are a lot of realms to explore and we do get bits and pieces of these realms as the story progresses. Also every book ends with a cliffhanger, which makes me want to pick up the next book immediately. I am always curious what will happen. I do have to say that new things are explored and invented in the magic system which is always convenient for the plot.

Overall
I enjoyed begin back into the world of this book series. I do feel that it is unnecessary that there are new characters introduced every new book even though the books are quite short. Because of this, I feel that the other characters we have come to love don’t get the opportunity to develop themselves or to be part of the story. Even though I feel this way about the character, I still love the world and different realms which can be explored.

I had really enjoyed the Legend of Rhyme Series up until now, but I felt this was just one book too far. There were already so many characters to keep track of – but here the author introduced yet more characters into the mix. As if there were not already a lot of separated twins, brought up apart by other families, suddenly four more appear – hitherto unmentioned. You would have thought that Larque and Elora would have remembered a little earlier that they had four more children.
All the previous characters are also present, all the Realms (and some new ones). To jog the memory, the author has helpfully provided short poems at the start of some of the chapters bringing the reader up to date, as well as a full appendix of characters at the end. Personally, I would have preferred a run-down of the previous books right at the start – in prose. As I read the book in Kindle format, it was difficult to jump back and forward to check up on certain characters. Also, the appendix involved spoilers, so should be read at the end of the book – when maybe no longer required.
Because there are so many characters, few get more than a couple of sentences, resulting in most of the new characters being very one-dimensional. The exception was the mermaid, Blue. She is a mermaid tasked with cleaning the oceans of the plastic rubbish left by humans. She also match-makes souls who are destined to be together, and the power supplied by a successful love-match fuels the destruction of the plastic waste. This is a really nice story-line, with a strong ecological message. I would have welcomed a whole book just on Blue. She did not really need to be caught up with the stories of Starla and Teagan – their relationships to her (while necessary for the way this book went) did not add much to the overall Rhyme series.
The overall feel of the book was one of chaos. It seemed to mark the end of the series, but very little was fully resolved. The author seemed to be cramming as much as possible in before an end, without considering whether the new additions complemented or detracted from the story.
Overall, I loved this series, and if you have too, then I would advise reading this book for completion. But it is a sad way to end. I do hope the author will continue to write more wonderful books – but outside the Legends of Rhyme.

Another adventure to Rhyme... yes please!

If you haven't pick up this series, you are missing a truly beautiful and enchanting world where fairies are real, children hold magic, and every story has a great morale... the importance of family, In this, the sixth installment Marigold and her brother, Fredrick go in search of their siblings to unite their family and complete their destiny. The only drawback... their one sister isn't such a nice person. In face, she is a murderous witch and trapped in a book to keep from destroying the world. In order to complete their dream, can they sacrifice the world?

I enjoy these books. They have such likable characters like Teagan who has her own issues in this book and no one should resist a return to the magical land of Rhyme. READ THIS SERIES!!!

The Legend of Rhyme series really comes into its own with Stir of Shadows, the sixth book. This is my favourite of the series so far. A lot of events set up in the last books play off in this book, threads come together, clues come full circle like little breadcrumbs leading into a slighter lighter park of the forest and a lot is set up for the next books. This is a bit darker than the other books and I devoured every page. I’m really looking forward to book seven.

The ongoing stories set in the Land of Rhyme are coming toward a foretold change. Our friends and their foes are still being unmasked. Some of them are being separated, others being reunited. Magic is changing. If you have read this far, you cannot stop now!

The novel took me into the land of Coraira which I had not visited in a long time. Everyone is reunited with the twins Asher and Ariana, Teagan the mermaid and others. The land is in trouble again and it is impacting all the characters.

This novel was difficult for me to read as I have only read the first volume of this series. There are so many characters and many twins in the novel. I didn’t always know what to think about the problems that were presented and then solved. The book seem disconnected at times. I am interested to see what happens in the next book as it may resolve some of my mixed thoughts about the story.

This is an excellent book for young children, maybe not so much for more mature folks like me. But that's OK because I'm not the intended audience.

I did think that this book was particularly short and also disjointed - jumping from one character or group of characters to another, as if the author Jamie Lee, were trying to do a round up of the characters with a view to starting a new series.

Nonetheless, Jamie Lee has such a vivid imagination and creates worlds and characters that will entrance children, so I will still recommend the book to younger readers.

This is the sixth book in the fantasy Legend of Rhyme series and is aimed at middle grade so has no scenes of foul language or sexual connotations.

Marigold is far too big to be a pixie, yet that’s what her family tell her she is. Frederick is far too small to be a giant, yet that’s what his family tells him he is. Pyra the phoenix has awakened, which means disaster has struck. Starla’s sister Blue is desperate to speak to her, but she could inadvertently hurt Teagan by her actions when Teagan goes exploring in places far away from safety. Elizabeth is still stuck in the grimoire and is desperate to get out. Grimblerod is still dealing with the nightmares of abduction. These and other stories are about to mesh with dire consequences.

I liked the introduction of Pyra and the effect she has on the continuation of Coraira. It was also fair that Asher got to claim a power which made him feel more like the hero he is meant to be. You can feel that the culmination of the series is coming as the families get to find out that they are related and how they need to work together.

I think to be this far into the series, and having to keep up with the myriad of characters (both still around or gone), it becomes a little confusing. While the poems at the beginning of each section help to remind the reader of what has happened with the characters previously and where they are now, it’s still a little difficult orienting yourself to what land or story you are in. I found that because of the story having to be spread in so many directions, that not enough substance was spent on the parts of the stories now and certain storylines were only just touched on. Some of the chapters were a little too punchy, and a situation would be brought in and immediately solved. I felt the action was missing a bit.

The Kindle edition had the first 6% taken up by hyperlinks which made it a bit irritating to keep flipping until you reached the story. I liked the catch up of characters at the end even if the author did feel like it was a bit of a spoiler alert, it did help to reorient the reader as to where they were with the characters. As usual, the story questions at the end were a great addition as a discussion point for a class. The story ends with a great cliffhanger and the bonus excerpt from the next book really gets the reader guessing. It’s not the best one in the series, but necessary as a gateway. I would still recommend the series for a magical fantasy read filled with mystery and all manner of beings.

The 6th book in this middle grade series was a surprise. I find that the longer a series goes on the more it lags and doesn't live up to the originals.

In this book it isn't the best of the series but it has so much potential that the series can easily be made much better.

The only hard part is that the characters and how many there are which makes things slightly confusing.

A very interesting story. I think our junior patrons will really enjoy this story. Nice color and artwork too.

Here it is, book six in the never-ending Legend of Rhyme series by Jaime Lee Mann. Stir of Shadows takes readers back to the magical land of Coraira, reuniting everyone with the twins Asher and Ariana, the mermaid Teagan and all of their friends. Once again, the magical land is in trouble and all the characters are impacted in some way.

As with every book in this series there are new characters introduced into the story – perhaps too many. And, of course, each individual has their own story to be told. The narrative is constantly switching between locations, often leaving the reader hanging with unresolved issues. Thankfully, the author separates these sections with short poems that sum up the general gist of the book as it progresses.

The Legend of Rhyme series feels overdone and the storyline in Stir of Shadows seemed to be snatching at straws, trying to piece something together. There are so many characters to keep track of, some who disappear for a while only to be reintroduced as if they had never been away.

There was no sense of danger or action in this instalment. Problems arose, only to be solved moments later. Unlike previous books where readers were overwhelmed with foreboding, the scenes were over and done within no time at all. The book, however, to give it its due, is fast-paced; I read it in less than two hours.

Perhaps it is not the storyline or authorship that is the problem, it could be my age. I am 26, whereas, Legend of Rhyme is targeted at people half that. There is little for an adult reader to latch onto and enjoy before it is snatched away by an easy solution.

Nonetheless, Jaime Lee Mann is great at ending her books on a cliffhanger. Stir of Shadows may not be anything to rave over, but I certainly want to know what happens next!