Tuesday, February 11, 2025

Once a Castle by Sarah Arthur

 


Once a Castle sweeps readers into a dual universe with a clever take on traveling between worlds. The book definitely gave me vibes of the Chronicles of Narnia with its own version of the White Witch intent on unleashing evil magic upon her world.

As young people from each world intermingle, they slowly piece together secrets their parents and grandparents have kept hidden and come to the realizion that it's up to them to work together to overthrow the enchantress, Mindra. Easier said than done when some of the players have been turned into animals. It's a race against time as Mindra seeks to take absolute power. Can she be stopped? Will everyone get back to their own world? If they can return, will their worlds be the same when they return?

Even though this was the second book in the series, readers will still enjoy the plot and race through its pages to find out the fate of each character. I loved the character development and the world built by the author. This would be an exciting middle grade read-alone or an excellent family read-aloud for ages 8 and up. Highly recommend!

Disclaimer: I received a free digital copy of Once a Castle through NetGalley for the purpose of review. No other compensation was received.

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