Okay, so I will be reviewing the whole Menagerie series together. I have already reviewed The Menagerie, the first book but this will just be an overview of all the books together. You can find my review of the Menagerie HERE!
Title: The Menagerie
Author: Tui T. Sutherland & Kari Sutherland
Series Name: Menagerie
Genre: Middle-Grade Fantasy
Publication Date: March 12th, 2013
Pages: 288 (Hardback)
Publishers: HarperCollins
Rating:
Logan Wilde is accidentally drawn into the mysterious, dangerous world of the Menagerie when he discovers a griffin hiding under his bed . . . and it leads him straight to the weirdest girl in seventh grade, Zoe Kahn.
Zoe is panicking. Her family has been guarding the Menagerie for centuries. If they don’t get the cubs back fast, the whole place will be shut down. To save the griffins’ lives, she’s willing to break all the rules, even if it means letting an outsider like Logan help. But the real mystery remains: Is someone trying to sabotage the Menagerie?
Who let the griffins out…and why?
Title: Dragon on Trial
Author: Tui T. Sutherland & Kari Sutherland
Series Name: Menagerie
Genre: Middle-Grade Fantasy
Publication Date: March 11th, 2014
Pages: 304 (Hardback)
Publishers: HarperCollins
Rating:
The mysteries and adventure are back and bigger than ever in the second book in the Menagerie trilogy! With the magic of Brandon Mull’s Fablehaven and the charm and humor of Carl Hiaasen, The Menagerie #2: Dragon on Trial is perfect for young readers who love myths, fairy tales, and magical creatures.
Someone or something has murdered the goose who laid the golden eggs, and the evidence points to a dragon named Scratch. But this mystery won’t be that easy to solve. . . . Zoe and Logan are back on the case in another exciting fantasy adventure from authors—and sisters—Tui T. Sutherland (Wings of Fire) and Kari Sutherland.
Title: Krakens and Lies
Author: Tui T. Sutherland & Kari Sutherland
Series Name: Menagerie
Genre: Middle-Grade Fantasy
Publication Date: March 10th, 2015
Pages: 272 (Hardback)
Publishers: HarperCollins
Rating:
The Menagerie trilogy comes to a fantastic conclusion in Krakens and Lies, the third magical and mysterious adventure from Tui Sutherland (New York Times bestselling author of the Wings of Fire series) and Kari Sutherland. Young readers who love mythological creatures and series like Fablehaven, the Spiderwick Chronicles, and Spirit Animals won’t want to miss the Menagerie.
Someone has been sabotaging the Menagerie, and Logan and Zoe are on the case. But their troubles only get worse when the basilisk escapes its enclosure and the merpeople go on strike—leaving the kraken to its own devices. The race is on to solve the mystery and save the Menagerie in this riveting, action-packed finale!
I love the covers of these books. They are so colourful and fun as most Middle Grade covers are. Each cover also represents each book really well and gives you an idea of the type of creatures and things that will be dealt with in each book.
I really enjoyed the writing. It was so easy and fun to read. The books are really quick to read too which was good and bad. Good because they go by quickly but bad because I want more!! I love the friendships in this book so much and also the families. We have some awesome family dynamics in this book which I love! It is so rare to see awesome families in books. There is a very strong friendship/family theme to these books as well as caring for creatures and helping people/animals that can’t help themselves. These were all great messages/themes and made the book extremely enjoyable.
The plot is so fun! There is always something going on in these books. There are tonnes of twists and turns to keep you engaged in the story. For the most part, I didn’t find these books too predictable. There were a couple times I guessed but it was usually just before the truth was revealed anyway. It didn’t affect the enjoyability of the books at all though. As all three books involve a mystery it is fun trying to guess what is going on.
There is a tonne of characters in these books and I love all of them except the ‘bad guys’ obviously, but I can also see how well done those bad guys were done. For my opinions on Zoe, Logan & Blue have a look at my review for The Menagerie. As for the other characters I enjoyed most of them, as there are so many I will just do a sentence or two for each. Just be warned some of these characters kinda give away spoilers for the series as there is a tonne of mystery around some of these characters. I won’t talk about any of the bad guys though as that will completely spoil the books.
Marco was such an amusing character, I loved his humour and his obsession with Keiko.
Keiko is exactly how you would expect a proud mythical creature that can turn human to act. It still really funny watching her react to people.
Jasmin was bitchy at the start, but I get it, she was still angry and confused and reacted accordingly. But in the end, she was fun and just took everything in her stride.
Elsie we see very little of but I enjoyed her a lot. She is Aussie for one thing!
Matthew, I was suspicious of at the start but he was also an interesting character and was always there for his family and the animals.
Ruby was just a stuck up, up herself, delusional character.
Mr. & Mrs. Kahn, Zoe’s parents, are awesome, you already know I love the family in these books. Mrs. Kahn is fun, determined and very loving. Mr. Kahn was just as cool and loving.
Mr. Wilde, Logan’s Dad was a cool addition to the story. He loved his son, but his main focus was on finding his wife who disappeared. He was loving, caring and a little obsessed.
Abigal is a kinda badass mythical creature tracker, which is awesome!
Miss Sameera is funny and a little crazy at times. She is really amusing though and I enjoyed her in the end.
Melissa is always serious and proper and it’s so funny when shit doesn’t go correctly and she starts worrying and getting new paperwork ready to fix the problem.
I also LOVE all the magical creatures. So many of them have really amusing and fun personalities which just added so much to the story!
These books are amazing! They are so fun and adventurous. The books are so quick and easy to read. The world is amazing and the characters are superb. The friendships and family relationships are the best! I really wish there was more to this series! I want to see everyday life with all the characters looking after the menagerie creatures!
You can buy the series at the links below!
The Menagerie:
Book Depository
Dragon on Trial:
Book Depository
Krakens and Lies:
Book Depository
HAVE YOU READ THIS BOOK? WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON IT?!
IF YOU ARE GOING TO SHARE SPOILERS IN THE COMMENTS THEN PLEASE WARN IT SO OTHERS DON’T GET SPOILED!
Dusk Angel Reads 
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