This review can also be found at Goodreads.

Having discovered the ruins of the headquarters in the mountains the siblings are quite literally left drifting at sea. After being rescued by the crew of the Queequeg the Baudelaires join the quest for the mysterious sugar bowl and its contents.

As always we're left with plenty of questions, especially when it comes to the importance of the sugar bowl and at the insistence of Captain Widdershins that there are something too dark and upsetting in this world for young children like the Baudelaires to know. After using tidal charts Klaus tracks a possible location of bowl to location, the Gorgonian Grotto, and with the help of a fellow crew member Fiona they discover there's something deadly lurking in there.

As with all of these books everything and everyone is tied together, which means betrayal isn't far behind. It nice to finally see Klaus finally taking more of a spotlight role, so far the books have felt more Violet and Sunny driven with their skills proving more helpful.

More and more the children have been trying to do what's noble and help VFD, even if it means not always getting the answers they deserve and at times doing something bad for the greater good. With only one place to go, it's a race to the last safe place where both villains and volunteers all gather.

Happy reading.

xx

It takes a village to raise a child, or three. With this motto in mind the village of VFD is the newest home to the Baudelaire orphans, a home filled with bizarre, not to mention ridiculous, rules and a counsel of elders who all wear crow hats. The town of VFD is home to nesting crows and their devotes, none of which actually want to raise the children. So the orphans are placed into the care of Hector the handyman, although useless when it comes to helping when it comes to the counsel he does care for the children and is even willing to look after Isadora and Duncan Quagmire if they find them. Hector is willing to spend any free time he and the children have to locating the kidnapped triplets.

Picking the town seemed like the fairly obvious choice to the Baudelaires as they still don't know what VFD means, for them it's a risk. It could answer so many questions but could also lead them straight into danger. Although the town turns out not to be as they had hoped soon poetic clues turn up and they can only be from one person.

This book once again follows the hunt for the Quagmires and the Baudelaires poor lives living with a new guardian. We are now at the half way point in the series and Snicket has been dropping more clues in regards to the bigger picture and the conspiracy that has led the Baudelaires down this journey. As always there are more questions that need to be answered, who's Beatrice?? What happened to her, what stopped her and Snicket from being together.

And most importantly, who is Jacques Snicket and why does he have that tattoo?? 

Happy reading.

xx

Once again the life of the Baudelaire orphans is put in danger. 667 Dark Avenue is their new home, Esme Squalor, the city's sixth most important financial advisor don't you know, and her husband Jerome are their new guardians. Living in the penthouse apartment that seems to defy the laws of any rational architect, a 71 bedroom apartment, the Baudelaires seem to have found themselves in a decent home.

Esme is all about what is in and what is out, the only reason the children didn't end up with the couple who knew their parents was due to the fact that orphans were out and now their in. Jerome seems genuinely happy to take the three of them in, of course like any adults in this series they all have faults. In Esmes case she is utterly self absorbed and only cares about being the most fashionable, whilst Jerome on the other hand doesn't really care, anything for an easy life. But although he is kind natured he has his own traits that make him just as useless as any other adult. He hates to argue. Which means Esme always gets her way, even if it means going to restaurants that serve food he doesn't like, climbing the stairs to the penthouse because elevators are out or when Olaf makes his inevitable return.

For me what has made this series so far enjoyable is that Olaf doesn't have to be there all the time. Plus with the addition of the Quagmire triplets the story has shifted focus onto helping Duncan and Isadora, for me this is best move Snicket could make. These books have the potential to get boring real quick but he's given the reader something new to read, whilst Olaf and his money grabbing plans are still the main plot there is a new driving force behind the series which means it isn't the same old story: orphans get relocated and Olaf follows. The same story over and over.

The change in direction with this book came at the right time, there is only so many times you can keep having the same plot. We've hit the turning point in the books and the real truth is beginning to emerge.

Happy reading.

xx

I meant to post this way sooner after Jan, but once again things did not go as planned. But here we are!! My January reads :)