[Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes & Sophie Quire and the Last Storyguard]: A Double Review

Hi y’all!

Hope you are enjoying a beautiful fall wherever you are! Our leaves are changing, pumpkins are everywhere and the air is crisp. I am loving it!

Today I am thrilled to be sharing my review of Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes and its sequel–Sophie Quire and the Last Storyguard by Jonathan Auxier. Thanks to my nephew for the recommendation. I had seen these books around but hadn’t taken time to read them yet. I am so glad I did! I love these books! They are filled with fantastic characters, clever storytelling, and lovely bookish details. This is a classic adventure series!

Book Summaries: Peter ~ “One fateful afternoon, Peter steals a box from a mysterious traveling haberdasher—a box that contains three pairs of magical eyes. When he tries the first pair, he is instantly transported to a hidden island where he is presented with a special to travel to the dangerous Vanished Kingdom and rescue a people in need.

Along with his loyal sidekick—a knight who has been turned into an unfortunate combination of horse and cat—and the magic eyes, Peter embarks on an unforgettable, swashbuckling adventure to discover his true destiny.”

Sophie ~ “It’s been two years since Peter Nimble and Sir Tode rescued the kingdom of HazelPort. In that time, they have traveled far and wide in search of adventure. Now Peter and Sir Tode have been summoned by Professor Cake for a new mission: find a 12-year-old girl named Sophie Quire.

Sophie knows little beyond the four walls of her father’s bookshop, where she works as a bookmender and dreams of leaving the confines of her city walls. But when a strange boy and his talking cat/horse companion show up searching for a rare and mysterious book, she finds herself pulled into an adventure beyond anything she has ever read.”

The characters are unique and very well developed. I loved the characters. Peter Nimble himself is a favorite. Loved his journey to discovering who he really is and seeing him do what is right despite his and others mistakes. His goodness and determination were fantastic. I loved Sir Tode too, a great sidekick on the adventures. His journey is also compelling and shows him grow into his best self. The supporting characters in Hazelwood were also well developed — Princess Peg, Mrs Molasses turned Lillian, and Simon the old raven. Enjoyed seeing the complexities of Peter and Sir Tode in the sequel, especially Peter post-quest and how he feels undefined as a thief. Then there are the complications with his eyes and not being blind — adding complexity that adds to his overall character. I also loved getting to know Sophie — her love of books and her determination to save stories. I really enjoyed the bookmending and her quest to save the world. Inquisitor Primm was so interesting! I was fascinated by his transformation and the ways he tries to attain power and how he sees magic. Also love the tiger (forget her name!) and intrigued by Taro the living mandrake.

The world building and storytelling are really incredible. The storytelling is fantastic. I loved the asides to the audience throughout and the clever descriptions of places and characters. It reads like a classic adventure tale and I loved that! The way the worlds are connected yet but also goes beyond our reality. The descriptions and connections between the just deserts and the chasm between the kingdom and the rest of the world. Then how the evil King Incarnadine controls his kingdom with “magic” locks, clockwork, drills, and poison. And then there are the fantastic eyes themselves. Discovering how they all worked and when to use each pair was so fun. Loved all the bookishness in the second book. The four questions that contain all the magic in the world. The great quotes about stories and their power. The way Sophie mends books. The bookcases leading into Professor Cake’s library. The way books both are magic and lead us to magic. It was all just fantastic! I loved the way the book guardians worked and the central role of reading and stories in this novel. Such clever stories!

The action in these books is fast paced and so clever. I couldn’t turn pages fast enough as I tried to keep up with everything happening. In the first book, the climactic scenes with battles underground and throughout the kingdom were intense and so cool! Seeing Peter and Sir Tode fight battles along their quest was exciting and clever. In the second, fast paced action is everywhere with the book search taking our heroes to many places including a hidden library and personal menagerie, a swamp with nixies who are a type of siren, and even the lighthouse at the edge of the world. All the while, Sophie searches for the four questions — books of who, what, where and when that can help save the world and solve the mystery of her mother’s death. I loved the search for the books and loved when she learns how to use them and the mysteries they reveal and conceal. The final battle for Bustleburgh is intense and heroic. Loved the quests at the end and the way magic returns to the town. Both of these books left me smiling and in awe of the incredible stories.

I absolutely loved these books! The characters are unique, the storytelling is clever, and the action is surprising and so much fun. Would love more books in the Peter Nimble universe!