I enjoyed the first book in this series and was looking forward to the follow-up, but alas, a charming and clever plot was ruined by a lot of creepy Christian agenda pushing.

There were some signs of this in the first book that made me a bit uncomfortable, but they were minimal and mostly stayed in the background of a fun, exciting story. In this book the author has chosen to bring her pushing of a religious agenda to the forefront.

Had the book been honestly labeled as “Christian fiction” this would have been fine. Readers like me who don’t want this kind of content and don’t want their children exposed to it would have known to stay away. But it’s pretty misleading not to disclose this as a religious text and act like it’s just any other middle grade adventure. It feels like a deliberate attempt to sneak an agenda into a kids book, which is pretty gross.

It’s a shame, because Alexander is clearly capable of writing a good story. But this is a big issue and makes me not trust the publisher.

This is an action packed academy book, the second book in this series.

This book picks up the pace fairly quickly with high stakes and nicely built suspense. About halfway through the story gets sidetracked, but it gets on track again before too long.

The characters are lovable and the story is entertaining.

*I received an eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

I wish I had read the first one before this one.

I got the jist of what was going on but reading the first would have made it better.

I enjoyed this title so much! I thought the plot was so intriguing, and the characterization very strong! The description used by the author was so evocative I felt transported, and I kept turning until the very last page. I think the cover is very cute - I'll be sure to purchase this for my store!

This was my first book by this author, It was pretty enjoyable. I would give this book a 3.5 star rating! It was a pretty Quick and easy read!

I thought this book was a really enjoyable read! I don't typically read middle grade books, but the plot of this one intrigued me, so I requested the ARC after having read the first one! It was outside my niche age group and some of the content was bound to feel juvenile to me, but regardless it was good!

This book picked up a lot quicker than the first one did, throwing me right into the action of the story. The writing style for this book was really readable and I flew through it really quickly, not only because of the middle grade language.

I really liked how high the stakes were and the way in which the suspense built throughout the book. The plot was really original and the mystery elements were really well done.

I think that the characters in this story were really cute and enjoyable, as I did in the first book. I did think that it was a bit unbelievable that they were only 8th graders, but of course, that may be just because I'm above the targeted age group of this story. A younger reader might not think much of it!

This book was action-packed and the perfect read for when I was that age! It was a really enjoyable story and I hope to be able to return to this world soon!

I really loved the first Dinswood book, The Secret of Dinswood – because it was a story of kids in a school that’s in a castle, solving all sorts of pirate related mysteries and looking for treasure! Super exciting.

But it was harder to get into the second book, The Missing Mortals. First of all, because I felt like it didn’t kick in for a very long time – even though the initial mystery was set, somehow things just didn’t get a move on. A lot of the book is dedicated to the internal teen and pre-teen struggles of the characters – there are now themes of jealousy between the two main characters, Emma and Doug, despite them not really having a relationship yet, and there’s also romantic tension between the two other main characters.

That’s all good – however, I feel like it’s a tough age to write – the characters are still to young for a relationship (at least in the author’s eyes), but they’re old enough for the angst. I didn’t enjoy that part of it very much, because what I look for in a middle grade is the lightness – the absence of angst, but I do admit that for a lot of pre-teens this might be an important topic, so it’s probably just me. But it’s not only that – the story itself is quite a bit darker than the first one as well – the kids get threatened and blackmailed and it was just a little too stressful for me, I guess.

Another thing that I didn’t enjoy was something that I felt was mostly absent in the first book – the second book was a lot more “cloyingly Christian” than the first one was. It’s still not as bad as it may be, but “the kids could see it was all by the grace of god” or stuff like that – that’s just not my thing. Long story short, if you’re not Christian, you’ll probably feel alienated and roll your eyes. The first book felt much more accessible to everyone.

Despite all this though, I still hope the series goes on! I would like to know what happens next, although I guess the series will probably be leaving the middle grade setting and move up to young adult (and this could have even been the book that bridges the gap). Either way, I’m interested in seeing where the story goes!

I thank the publisher for giving me a free copy of the ebook in exchange to my honest review. This has not affected my opinion.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of The Missing Mortals by Ellen Alexander. I’ve voluntarily read and reviewed this copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Missing Mortals is the second book in the Dinswood Chronicles. When Emma and her friends return to Dinswood Academy for their second year, they once again find themselves in the middle of a quest to find The Missing Mortals at the request of Lord Dinswood. But it seems that Lord Dinswood is not the only one looking for The Missing Mortals. When Emma and her friend are being blackmailed into giving up the Mortals to an suspicious person, they find themselves in a race against the clock. How will Emma and her friends find all the Missing Mortals before something bad happens?

I very much enjoyed the first book: The Secret of Dinswood. So I was glad to get my hands on a copy of The Missing Mortals. Being a sequel, The Missing Mortals picks up the pace in the first half of the book. The stakes are high and suspense is built up nicely. Half way through the main premise falls a bit to the background and that’s when the story get’s a bit boring to me. Luckily it picks up again when the search for The Missing Mortals continues. I didn’t enjoyed this one as much as the first book, but it’s still a very entertaining story full of adventure and loveable characters.

A great middle grade story for anyone who loves uncovering mysteries.

This was such a fun quick read.
I definitely think the story is targeted at a you get audience than myself but I found it so lovely to read. I won't be continuing on with the series purely because it wasn't riveting enough.

This one just didn't work for me. I wanted to love it but it was kind of in the middle ground for me. The story was ok and the characters were there but for the most part I just didn't connect with the story at all.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.
I did not read the first book in this series but I didn't need to as the author explained what happened in the first book, which is one of many things I loved about this book. The setting, plot and characters are all very well written. I found this book funny and extremely interesting. I really did feel like I was there with the characters going through everything they did. I can't wait to see if the gang are going to have another mystery to solve!

I really wanted to like this book but I just couldn't connect with it. I couldn't lose myself in the pages and so it just felt long. I didn't read the first book in the series, so maybe that had something to do with it.

Thank you to NetGalley and LibraryThing for my copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

A fun read, witty and entertaining.
I didn't read the first book in this series but I had no issues with the plot or the characters.
It's well written and the fleshed out cast of characters is interesting.
Can't wait to read another story by this author.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

I loved the first book in the series so I was excited to read the second and I was not disappointed. Such a fun series!

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange of an honest review.

After The secret of Dinswood, Ellen Alexander comes back with the second book, The missing mortals. Emma and the gang are involved into another mystery. This time they need to find some missing statues to solve an old legend or someone will die. Threatened by the note, Emma and her friends are forced to search for the statues, racing against the time.
Funny, witty and interesting. The missing mortals is a great read and I really liked it! The characters, Emma above all, are great, complex and really funny!