This books is absolutely perfect for fall! 🍂 It's so cozy & magical, and I loved seeing the friendship between Esme, Daniel & Lillian! Elizabeth Foster absolutely transported me to the world of Esperance with her beautiful writing. There's dragons, a magic school, and mystery.. What more could I ask for?! 😍
I'm so happy I was able to read this sequel, because the ending to Esme's Wish left me utterly shook 👀
If you're a fan of Percy Jackson or The Chronicles of Narnia then I highly recommend you check this out!

Such an adorbale MG book filled with magic, dreams and self-discovery. A dark but delightful sequel, finding friends and home I see why this book is perfect for any young readers. Reading about Esme and her friends was like a hug from a friend.

I could not wait to open Esme's Gift by Elizabeth Foster once I finished Esme's Wish...I was not ready to leave the world of Esperance and I needed to know how Esme learns to control her gift in order to help her mother now that she has found her. Again, the author has written of a magical place on the outside, that is filled with corruption on the inside (sound familiar?) and has made the reader a part of it. I'm a grandmother and when my granddaughters are old enough to read YA novels, (they are only 2 and 4 months old now!) I will be sure to share these novels with them!

Thank you to the author, Books Go Social and NetGalley for an ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest opinion.

this was a great sequel to the original book, the characters were still great and I really enjoyed going through this read. I look forward to more from Ms. Foster.

I DNDd the first book in this series so am unable to review this one. I enjoyed the writing but I grew disinterested in the story.

In the second book of the Esme Trilogy our main character is trying to help her mother. She must find ingredients to a cure. This turns part of the book into a quest to find the items. Further, Esme and her friends go to magic school and Esme begins to understand how to use her gift - a concept I really like about the series.

This is perfect for young YA readers, or MG readers who would like to read a fantasy story without a love story.

This was just as good as the first, great story and plenty of adventure. Great middle grade read. The same wonderful characters & beautifully described setting. Looking forward to the next instalment.

‘’The long lens of history…’’

Esme finally has found her mother, whom is stuck in the past and won’t wake up. However, Esme’s father does not believe her and she returns to Aeolia alone. While attending school with her friends, Lillian and Daniel, they look for a way to help her mother. This brings them on dangerous paths and situations, but also new friends. Will they ever achieve their mission?

Another enjoyable middle grade story! The author has been improving on her writing and story skills. Again, nice descriptions, an okay pace and a fun story line. Foster managed to surprise me more, even though I still think there were some predictable moments and situations. Which I would love to explain more about, but hey, spoilers…

I enjoyed the new characters, this gives the story a little more dimension. Seth obviously has something mysterious, which makes you wonder right away about various things.
Fern is interesting, shame she wasn’t as much present in this book, but perhaps in the third book?

I have to say I feel like Esme has not developed as much as I hoped. But overall I like her character. Her gift is very interesting, and I like the flashbacks we got to see! Lillian did develop more, exploring her gift, the situations she is in. I think she is my favourite character.

The school part could have been fun, but unfortunately I felt like it did not add much to the story. I missed the connections between teachers and students. It felt like it had to be there, because obviously the main characters are of school age.

The dragon storyline, however, did progress so much! In my review of Esme’s wish I mentioned that I wanted them to be more ‘there’ and actually see how intelligent they are. I wasn’t disappointed in this book! I was able to learn more about them, they were more present and the connection between dragon and rider was more vivid. Really enjoyed that!

The connection between the two worlds, which was also a point of disappointment in the first book, was explained a little more. But I would really like to read more about that!

I do feel like the first part of the book was dragged a little bit, whereas the second part was actually full of actions rapidly following each other. I enjoyed the second part more, but I think the book would be better overall, had it had more of a balance.

Personally I would love to read more about the politics, but these books being middle grade, makes me not expect too much about that. So my overall rating won’t be that much influenced by that.

I am curious to see what the third book will be about. As the first book had left a more visible opening for the second, the second does not really have that.
But I will be looking forward to part three.

I am giving this book 3.5 stars.

This book picks up where Esme’s Wish left off. Esme returns home to her island in her world in an effort to convince her father that she’s found her mother. Esme’s trip home is short lived because her father and his new wife don’t believe anything Esme tells them, leading Esme to quickly return to Esperance. Back in Esperance, Esme will have to learn how to control her gift to save her mother.

This sequel is just as beautifully written as the first book. Foster’s descriptions of people and places are just as magical as the world she’s created.

I was pleasantly surprised that Esme is able to attend school in Esperance. Adding everyday elements like school, make Esperance seem that much more real.

Throughout the story Foster includes fun, mysterious new types of magic that I’m sure many readers hope to see in a sequel.

Overall, this story of friendship, love, and magic will easily appeal to fans of fantasy.

Esme’s Gift is the sequel to Esme’s Wish, a delightful middle-grade fantasy series. Esme has been reunited with her mother at last, but her adventures in Esperance are far from over. Not only does she have to convince her father that Esperance exists and attend magic school, Esme must also go on a dangerous quest to help her mother wake up. This story has a little bit of everything, from magic school, friendship, to dragons!

Esme, Lillian, and Daniel come into their gifts and work together as they collect spell ingredients to save Esme’s mother. Sinister villains, beautiful descriptions, and lovable characters made this a thoroughly enjoyable read. Esme’s Gift is imaginative and action-packed. The magic system is a continuous delight and the world-building is expertly expanded upon. I really loved spending time in Esme’s world and I’m so glad that this is a trilogy! If you loved Esme’s Wish then you should absolutely pick up Esme’s Gift. Esme’s Gift is available now! Thank you to Elizabeth Foster, BooksGoSocial, and Netgalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Ahhhh so good and of course it rounds off the end well, whilst also whetting my appetite for more! Yes, this segment of the story is finished and all the big mysteries are solved, but there are still so many questions I have about the characters, the world!

Where do I even start with this book? Maybe the beginning? Book one ends after Esme finds her mother in a coma and brings her safely back to Esperance. Esme now returns to Picton in an attempt to convince her father that his wife isn’t dead, but convincing your father of a magical world is not that easy. He doesn’t believe her, thinks she’s gone crazy like her mother and forbids her from going near Spindrift. However, preventing a determined teen from leaving the house is also not that easy, so Esme once again leaves Picton, embarking on a new adventure to wake her mother.

Back in Aeolia is so much fun; the world is rich, filled with magic and dragons- lots of dragons! As the title suggests, Esme’s gift plays quite a large part, as do others’, allowing us to see a deeper layer of magic. More mysteries, new and old, unravel: Nathan Mare is still out there, Celia is running in the election, and who is this weird new kid Seth?

Esme’s friendship trio go on more adventures, deepening their bond and making new friends at School. Maybe there’s a little romance brewing too. I was really impressed with how this aspect was handled, not at all overshadowing the existing friendships, but also sneakily making itself more obvious as the characters grew closer.

This is the series I wish I had as a young teen. Strong friendships, adventure, and a good handful of dragons.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a free e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

I'm always curious how much I will enjoy the second book by an author, especially when it is in a series. I have found that some authors consistently write books that I love, some authors consistently write books that I dislike, and some authors get mixed reviews from me.

Esme's Gift picks up with Esme returning home after an exciting adventure in the enchanted world of Aeolia. And nothing is as she had left it. When she discovers a terrible secret about her new stepmother and is threatened with being put into an institution because of the fantastic claims she makes that "prove" she is crazy, she runs back - and attempts to save her mother.

As Aeolia is a world filled with people with special "gifts" that manifest themselves when they are teenagers, the things that happened at their high school as the teens were learning to use their gifts were humorous. My favorite of these was Lillian's accident!

I still really like Esme's new friends, Daniel and Lillian. They are loyal and true and stand by her. Daniel is protective and sweet. So fun!

I was surprised at some of the secrets they uncovered along the way. Especially the secret of the sea eagle who delivered her messages!

There were a couple reasons I took away a star for Esme's Gift. The first is that there was too much retelling the events from Esme's Wish. While I appreciate having an author give me hints in second and third books in a series, I prefer when they are only given when the details will cause me to be lost if I don't remember them, especially in a trilogy such as this. If I read the books one after the other, I don't want to feel like I should be skipping through things I already know. Not only were the details repeated, it felt a little more like telling instead of showing and caused the story to drag at the beginning.

Once Esme returned to Esperance and began to attend school, there was some more telling instead of showing and, again, the story dragged for a bit. Once I got past this section, things began to pick up and became interesting again.

It seemed like there was more "magic" in Esme's Gift than there was in Esme's Wish. There were also more ghosts, mythological creatures, mythology, and violence which made me a little uncomfortable. I didn't reduce the rating because of these with it being just my personal preference and not a reflection of the quality of the writing.

The ending was satisfactory and except for a small detail that remained unresolved, it could have been the conclusion of the series. Which leaves me with a decision to make, whether I will read the final book when it comes out. I'm currently guessing I will...

Lovers of young adult fantasy, and especially those who like magic and mythology will likely enjoy this series.

The second book in the Esme series picks up where the first one left off. Back in Aeolia, Esme must find the ingredients for a potion that could save her mother. She is also trying to convince her father that she is telling the truth and to join her. Her adventures in this book bring her to different areas of this new world, with her friends by her side.

I felt that this one read even more like a middle grade novel than the first, even though by the end Esme is supposed to be 16 years old. While this is not necessarily a problem, I feel I would have believed the story more if Esme were a little younger. I enjoyed the adventure story of this, although the search for a list of ingredients made it feel a little formulaic. There was a bit more insight into the magic system and the “gifts”. The history is still vague, but we also got to see more of the fantasy world, which was fun.

I felt that the first book had a lot of potential, but for some reason this one did not live up to it. I would still like to continue the series and find out what happens to these characters.

Thank you NetGalley for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I loved Esme's Wish but this one I think was even better!

Esme tries to convince her father of the truth but he is having none of it.

I know this is a middle grade book but I actually really enjoyed the mysteries and pacing!

I loved the first book, but I loved this even more!!! It’s even more packed with adventures and actions and other amazing things!! I think I loved this book more because I didn’t see the one thing I didn’t like in the first book—which is the too much description of the world. Esme’s Gift went straight to the adventure and the mysteries and I LOVED IT

I really can’t think of anything I didn’t like about this book. (I should probably stop doing that—looking for negative points in every book I read lol) All the things that I wanted to happen from the first book happened and I’m sooooo satisfied!!

This book felt like a good ending, but I know that this is going to be a trilogy. I’m excited for the next book!!!

Esme's Gift is the sequel to Esme's Wish and it is as filled with exciting adventures as Esme's Wish. I was lucky enough to be able to immediately read the sequel. Esme returns to her world to try to convince her father to join her in Esperance because her mother is alive but her father believes that she has mental issues just as he thought her mother had when she spoke of Esperance. Esme believing that they would attempt to medicate her or keep her from returning to her mother once again use the portal. Esme is now living in Esperance. She is learning to use her gift, she is also learning more about herself. Upon her return, she learns that her mother is still not awake and is getting weaker so Esma's next adventure is helping the Keeper find the ingredients that are necessary to release her mother from her gift so she can wake up. This means that Esme, Lillian, and Daniel must travel to many exciting and dangerous places to retrieve the ingredients needed.
This is another great read with excitement, magic, dragons, sirens, and many strange monsters. If you like fantasy this is an excellent read.

Thank you NetGalley for providing this book for review.

Esme's Gift is the exciting sequel to Esme's Wish. It starts off where Esme's Wish left off. Esme, Daniel and Lillian , with the help of some new friends, are on a mission to do whatever it takes to save Esme's mother, who had been missing for seven years.

I couldn't wait to jump back into the world of Aeolia, and continue my journey with Esme and her friends. The authors world building is fantastic. Her writing style makes you feel completely immersed in this magical world that she has created. I would love to really visit the city of Esperence, ride a dragon with Rhys, and meet the characters and creatures that live there. I felt very invested in the lives of the characters and I felt like I have known them forever.

Esme's Gift is just as fast paced as Esme's Wish, although, I did feel like it may have been too fast paced in some spots. There were times where there was action, but I felt like it was over too quickly.

I have fallen in love with this series, and I can not wait to see what the author has in store for Esme and her friends in the next one!

This was a really good book, however, if I never read the first one and felt a little lost at times. I will still recommend it to my students but will buy the first book to go with this. The storyline didn't drag, it had great character development, and the plot was very well developed and kept the reader engaged.

Five stars! I received a review copy of both Esme's Wish and Esme's Gift in exchange for an honest review from the publisher through NetGalley. I actually found Esme's Gift first, but thankfully there was a note that this was book two, book one was also available, and they're better read in order. Well, when I finished Esme's Wish I couldn't download Esme's Gift fast enough!

This book picks up right where the first one left off. Esme emerges in our world and races home to tell her father that Esperance is real and her mother is still alive. She begs him to return with her, but he thinks she's losing her mind just like her mother and great grandmother before her and doesn't believe a word. Esme has no choice but to run away back to Esperance on her own, lest her father send her to a sanitorium, and she lose her chance to return before it's too late to finish what she started.

The following paragraph implies light spoilers of the previous book:

We follow Esme's adventures both as a high school student in a new world and as a brave young hero venturing near and far on dangerous missions to retrieve items needed to revive her mother. We meet a few new characters at school with Esme, Lillian, and Daniel, and we learn a lot about convict Nathan Mare and historical Tyrian war leader Mann, but there are still plenty of loose ends left to tie up in book three.

I dare say I enjoyed this book even more than book one! This book really explored its fascinating world, the creatures that live there, and the magic system. The characters we already met in book one continued to be developed, and the new characters introduced were blended into the cast flawlessly.

My only complaints are that the book wrapped up rather quickly (but I usually say that about books that don't linger past the conclusion, so perhaps ignore that), and partway through this book, I realized that the names Mann and Mare are far too similar for two notorious men who people tend to refer to by surname only.

I truly can't wait for the third book, and I would be honoured if I get the chance to review it pre-release. This trilogy has been compared to Narnia, and I believe that's apt. This is one of those middle-grade/YA novels that makes me look forward to a time when my daughter is old enough to enjoy books like this.

Let me start by classifying this book. This is a middle grade- younger adult book. As such, I will keep that in mind jn my review.

The first book was excellent. This second book was excellent as well. The author makes the characters likeable and relatable. The main character Esme faces new challenges in this second installment in the series.

Esme searches for a way to help her mother, while avoiding the primary antagonist. Both books have been focused on helping her mother in this wondrous, magical world, that is less than perfect. Her friends she made in the first book stand steadfast beside her in her adventures, no matter how dangerous they may be.

Esme faces dragons, sirens, oracles, and enemies, to try to reach her goal. She has to discern who are friends and who are friends. She navigates mysteries of the past in this magical world, which has secrets long buried.

Esme’s gift is a well written, imaginative book that I would highly recommend for those of us who still love magic.


I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.



Also posted on amazon and goodreads