thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Tor-Forge for providing me with an e-ARC, in exchange for an honest review.

full review to come.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me access to the free advanced digital copy of this book.

Into the Windwracked Wilds is the third book of the series. For me, the most memorable part of this installment was the character development. I felt like the pace definitely picked up a lot more in the second half, and it ended me be a really engaging story!

Into the Windwracked Wilds by A. Deborah Baker (pseudonym for Seanan McGuire) is the third book in the Up-and-Under series. When we left Avery, Zib, Naimh, and Crow Girl at the end of book two, Along the Saltwise Sea, they had just left a pirate ship after restoring the Lady of Salt and Sorrow from a curse. The Improbably Road has once again appeared for them, and they follow it as it winds along above the ocean back towards land in the form of distant cliffs.

Unfortunately, Crow Girl has lost too many crows and gone through too many things to hold her temper any longer. She stomps angrily on the Improbably Road which promptly disappears beneath them, plunging them all into the sea. They all swim ashore at the foot of huge cliffs on the edge of the Land of the Air. By now, they are all tired, wet, and hungry. Zib wishes they had some food, which is the wrong thing to do in a land that just might grant that wish.

Food appears, by literally dropping on their heads, but regrettably, so do the lackeys of the Queen of Swords, leader of the Land of the Air. Avery, Zib, Crow Girl, and Naimh are quickly captured and taken back to the Queen's castle. Once there, the Queen demands payment for her hospitality. She made food fall from the sky, and she is willing to let them stay in her castle overnight. However, Avery and Zib have learned by now that this strange world exacts payment in equally strange ways. The question then becomes how will they pay their debts and escape without becoming monsters forever?

I'll be honest. I had to take a break from this book for a while. The first half of the story is very similar to the previous two books, which I enjoyed, but it had a pattern that I don't necessarily like in stories. A whole lot of stuff kept happening to Avery and Zib without them really demonstrating that they learned from it, and the story seemed to be happening to Avery and Zib rather than either character moving the story forward.

For example, as soon as the main quartet of characters makes it to the beach beneath the cliffs, Naimh goes into explanation mode. She explains how the boundaries between kingdoms and areas works in the Up-and-Under, and how wishes can be granted for a price. It just felt like there was a lot of telling instead of showing in the first part of the book.

Luckily, this changed around the 60% mark when Avery and Zib are trying to figure out how to escape the castle without fulfilling their debts to the Queen. They are both finally realizing how some of the rules of the Up-and-Under work. Avery quickly figures out a way to find a secret room that may hold the key to their escape, and Zib even has a moment where she stops to think about the price of something (in this case breakfast for all of them) and how paying it might affect them before offering payment of something she owns. She learned that while she could give away something else, like the shine on Avery's shoes, she shouldn't have.

By far, Into the Windwracked Wilds ended up having the most character development for Avery, Zib, and Crow Girl. Each of them learned something about each other and themselves that will help them be better friends to one another. Hopefully, learning more about how the Up-and-Under operates will help them in the concluding book set to come out later this year. I wasn't sure I wanted to continue this series, but the last half of this book definitely made me want to read more.

I gave Into the Windwracked Wilds by A. Deborah Baker three out of five stars. The first part of the story almost made me give up on the series, but the last half saved it. There's nothing I enjoy more in a story when characters are finally given agency to make things happen on their own. Avery and Zib definitely had some help in escaping the Queen of Swords' castle, but I feel like, in the end, they made the decision to ask for and act on the help they received. I look forward to reading the conclusion of their story in Under the Smokestrewn Sky when it releases October 17, 2023.

I was so eager to read this book as soon as I finished the last; as with the others, this still doesn't wrap the story up neatly, and instead there's obviously more to come. The journey's not yet over. Still, each book is a tidy little episode, so I'm not saying don't read the series -- just be aware that you won't come to a neat ending, but a "to be continued".

In this one, the group venture into the kingdom of Air, and face the Queen of Swords, picking up a new companion along the way. We discover more about the Crow Girl's nature and past, which is exciting, and we keep on seeing the consequences of Zib and Avery's early decisions.

Although it's written in a fairytale-like way, or like someone else mentioned, with more than a few shades of Peter Pan... I wouldn't say this series is really for children. It's perfectly readable by them, but the arch comments the narrative makes feel much more aimed at an adult audience.

A. Deborah Baker, AKA Seanan McGuire has done it again!

I will never not be so utterly entertained and wrapped up in the worlds and stories McGuire so magically conjures up. It is always a delight to be back in this world with Avery and Zib. This is such a magical, beautiful, easy, fantastical middle-grade series. I am always thrilled to snag the next new release from McGuire.

Thank you NetGalley and MacMillan for an eARC of this one!

In this third chapter of the A. Deborah Baker books, I found the story memorable and fantastic. The story sets up the narrative in fairy tale style but immediately jumps into action with our main characters. Each step of the way, we learn more about both Avery and Zib as we follow their adventures. The best part of the writing is the real depth to the challenges that face the children and that neither is left untouched by the darkness and dangers they face. Even as you hope they escape unscathed, you know the truth. That childhood and growing up are about facing risks and changing. 

These stories' strengths are in the themes of childhood lost that are explored in the narrative. We see it over and over, not just with Avery and Zib but also with the Crow Girl and Niamh. We see it again with Jack Daw. Even as he helps the children, Jack Daw’s humanity is presented as flawed and the question becomes, will Avery and Zib escape the improbable road and make it home with their humanity intact or will they become monsters in the process? Just like in real life, the choices we make impact who we will become, for good or bad. 

If you love fairy tales, adventure, and realistic themes, I highly recommend this novel, especially if you’ve read the first two. If you love A. Deborah Baker or her pseudonym Seanan McGuire, you will love every aspect of this novel. It is memorable and fantastic.

I always enjoy revisiting the world of Up and Under and seeing Avery and Zib. There is always something fantastical about it. I also liked getting the background story of the Crow Girl who I always found interesting. I think McGuire's writing is always so lyrical and perfect for a magical world.

I received an ARC of this this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

* Thanks to Macmillan-Tor/Forge and Netgalley for an advance copy for review purposes *

This series is such a delight! This particular adventure takes place in the land of the Queen of Swords, and is filled with vivid, colorful imagery - windy coastlines, an airy castle in the sky, and a variety of the Crow Girl's kin.. I enjoyed this book's imaginative creations and the pervasive sense of danger as the protagonists tried to navigate the fickleness of the Queen of Swords and her domain; I also enjoyed seeing a little more fleshing out of the Crow Girl, my favorite character. Book 2 was a little more mundane by setting most of the action in a pirate ship (and didn't advance the plot much), but this book brought back all the whimsy that I could wish for and more. I found this a particularly relaxing read at bedtime, maybe because of the heaps of imagination required to envision the Up and Under.

This was a solid outing down "The Improbable Road", but for whatever reason this series doesn't hold my interest as well as some of McGuire's other series. I loved Middlegame, but have yet to read the second book in that series, so I'm wondering if that would reignite my interest here.

This book is still full of McGuire's trademark prose; her writing really is beautiful and she does an amazing job of painting a picture for the reader. I do think that she spends a little too much time in an already very short book reminding the reader of what happened in previous books, where I'd be more than happy to just pick up where we left off. Worldbuilding is definitely a strong suit here, just as it is in McGuire's other novella series (Wayward Children). Overall, I would read another book in this series (and it looks like there's another coming based on the Goodreads page).

This is a really solid addition to the series. I absolutely cannot get enough of Seanan McGuire's writing, and I found this installment felt a little darker and less nonsensical, which is my preference.

I really loved the addition of Jack and I'm excited to learn more about him going forward. My only issue is that this series does feel a bit repetitive, and perhaps a little too similar to the Wayward Children books. It doesn't really feel like the series is going anywhere. Which, perhaps it's not, and it's just serving as a companion series to Middlegame without needing to go anywhere, but it doesn't always make for the most exciting reading experience.

I'll definitely be continuing the series, and I'm looking forward to seeing how these continue to tie into the Alchemical Journeys books.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this novel. I encourage you to check this one out! Please, check out this series it is wonderful!

ARC received by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoy this series every time I pick it up. It is always so fun to see how this world is built and runs. I really enjoyed actually getting to see what one of the rulers lives and acts. My one problem with it is that it is such a short novella and has so much repetition of what happened in the last two books. I get it people forget easily and I am certainly one of those people. Where the problems start is when it takes up a vast percentage of the book to just describe what happened in the last one. Either give us a short recap or not at all because I really wanted more of this world and less of what I already knew.

4 stars

This was great! I had a great time with book one, which was fun and whimsical, and had less of a good time with book two, which seemed to get a bit too nonsensical and also involved. This book married those two in a much better balance, while also adding an element of a character we've known for a while now that suddenly made this series make sense and become more emotionally/character driven. I really enjoyed that added element--since it is book three, I cannot really give away what it is.

However, I, like many people, expected book one to wrap up and was startled when it didn't, and then felt like book two barely moved the needle. This third book actually made this series make sense--I saw its direction. It no longer felt aimless and dragged out. I feel like this will likely be a quartet because of the occurrence of fours in this book--four elements, four suits, four kingdoms, etc.

I do think that this book gets in the weeds a little bit with this world, though. For a book that is so focused on nonsense, the world has very strict structures that are built and built over again and built on top of each other. Each book fills out the Up-and-Under a little bit more, and where I found it confusing and boring last book, I was actually interested (if confused) this book.

One thing I will say--I have been confused about the age range for this. Now I'm sure--it's not for kids. I thought maybe it could be a middle grade--nope. This is a middle grade style, children's classic style book entirely for adults. The writing style is like if Lemony Snicket and Lewis Carroll combined, and wrote for adults. The themes are absolutely for adults. It is for grown up people about childhood and growing up and change. I can't see it appealing to kids, and I can't see them understanding all of what it's going into--or putting up with the purple prose, for that matter.

OVerall, I thought it was a good book. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an arc of this. Sorry it took so long to review--but I am glad I read this on a day where I could come home from a long day of teaching and just devour it.

5/5 stars.

These books are just enjoyable snacks full of whimsy and childhood wonder. I really enjoyed this installment as Zeb and Avery find themselves in "Air", I can now see we're doing a bit of a tour of the elements with the previous book being "Water." I also just really enjoy the tie-in with The Alchemical Journey and knowing that this is a book within a book situation and it has a deeper meaning elsewhere but on the surface it's just a story of two children in an unfamiliar land trying to get home.

Thank you NetGalley for giving me an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Full transparency, I didn’t know this has preceding books so that may have been my downfall. How could I have not read the other books and still give this one a high rating? Because it was still really good.

It’s not often that the latest book of a series has been backtracking to catch up, but I loved this. The characterization and clear voice of the protagonists is so well done. I can’t say much about the story other than I was thoroughly confused and just along for the ride until around chapter 6. I feel like Justice for crow girl would have felt more surreal if I’d read the other books in the series, so I’m going to!

Another great adventure in the Up and Under. I enjoy this series almost as much as this author’s Wayward Children novels.

This is the third book following along as Zib and Avery journey along the Improbable Road with their companions, Crow Girl, and Drowned Girl. This might just be their most perilous adventure yet as they find themselves being swallowed up by a prehistoric sea creature and then being flushed out into the lands of the Queen of Swords. Along the way, they meet her son Jack Daw, who may or may not be the help they need to keep from being made into monsters.

I’ve read in other reviews that this series ties in with this author’s (Seanan McGuire) Middlegame series, so now I feel like I need to move those books up on my TBR. These are short, quick reads and might just be something you would enjoy if YA fantasy is your jam.

Into the Windwracked Wildss has a signature Seanan McGuire lyrical quality to the writing. There's always a sense of whimsy and gorgeous phrases mixed with sentences that kind of stop you in your tracks. They manage to be profound and simple all at once if that makes sense? Either way, it is what I've come to associate with Seanan McGuire and Into the Windwracked Wilds has it! Additionally, this sequel has that fairy tale quality and logic. The ways it will take you back in nostalgia to the rules you follow because it's a fairy tale world and why wouldn't you?

To all the things that just make sense without thinking? It's a world with rules none of us know and has an almost Alice and Wonderland kind of vibe. With this entire series, there's a hidden piece of wisdom hidden underneath quests, infinite falling, and magical creatures. To channel my inner story, "Into the Windwracked Wilds is a story that feels like a story". Throughout it also focuses on ownership and agency as a theme. This idea of who owns us, the power in a name. Additionally, the theme I loved the most was this idea of how does one become a monster and how do we remain ourselves.

Into the Windwracked Wilds by A. Deborah Baker
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Yet another step upon the improbable road. :)

I've been enjoying these quite alchemical books probably more because they're the actual fictional books showing up in the Middlegame series by Seanan, informing THAT series how to assume godlike powers, more than I enjoy it as a regular middle-grade YA adventure.

Of course, it's still fun as a middle-grade YA adventure and I'm always happy to see representations of heartless kids, crow girls, wind queens, and improbable roads. :)

Plus, this is Seanan, after all. I'm ALWAYS down for another Seanan because they're consistently wonderful. This is no different.

Seanan McGuire once again puts on her sunglasses and false mustache to publish a book as A. Deborah Baker. The Up-and-Under is a series of books mentioned in McGuire’s *Middlegame* (which I have not read, so I’ve no idea how exactly this ties in) that she has expanded on and published as standalone middle grade books.

For those unfamiliar, these books are in the *Alice in Wonderland* tradition: children swept up into a world of whimsy and wonder, but with plenty of monsters and wicked things about as well. In this case, the children in question are Zib (a child who avoids wearing shoes whenever possible) and Avery (a child who places a great deal of importance on his shoes being polished to a proper shine). After stumbling into the Up-and-Under on their way to school one morning, Zib and Avery met and befriended the Crow Girl (a girl with no name who is also an entire murder of crows) and Niamh (a girl who has lived in an underwater city of dead people ever since she drowned as a baby). For two books now they’ve been trying to follow the Improbable Road (which appears in the least likely of places) trying to get home.

For those familiar, in this book they encounter the Queen of the Air, she who creates all of the monsters in the Up-and-Under. Notably, these monsters include none other than the Crow Girl, who gave the Queen of the Air her heart and her name in exchange for being turned into a murder of crows.

This series remains, in my opinion, perfect for readers of the age where they’re just discovering Narnia and Prydain and Pern. As an adult, I am enjoying them as quick, whimsical, and nostalgic reads, though I’ll admit I found myself getting a bit bored by the Up-and-Under for about the first two-thirds of this. That didn’t really change until things really started coming to a head between the Queen and the Crow Girl, who is probably my favorite of the quartet.

Looking forward to book 4, though not quite as eagerly as I was looking forward to books 2 and 3. I’m assuming book 4 will wrap things up (with books 1-3 dealing with the monarchs of Earth, Water, and Air, that just leaves Fire). The journey has been delightful, but it’s time to wrap up, I think.