📕 Title: Relic of Thieves
✏️ Author: Shana Targosz
📖 Genre: Children’s Fiction / Fantasy
⭐ Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
📝 Sequel to The Underwild / First Person POV

After her best friend Lizzie moves away, Anya finds herself lonely and without purpose. One day, Anya stumbles across a classmate visiting the woman who everyone in town believes is witch—and discovers the existence of magical keys that can deliver a person anywhere they want to go. Believing that the keys could reunite her with Lizzie, Anya steals them but unexpectedly lands both of them in The Underwild. When Lizzie is stolen away by a magical creature there, Anya must team up with her classmate Senka to rescue her.

REVIEW

Thank you @SimonKids for the digital copy!

I loved the first book so I was excited to travel back to the Underwild in this sequel, especially with the return of Senka! Incorporating Greek mythology, this story is magical and perfect for fans of Percy Jackson.

Anya is joined by her classmate Senka on her journey into the Underwild, and together they must take on high stakes quests and face mythological figures, magical creatures, and even Greek gods to save Lizzie. The story quickly jumps into the action and is full of adventure and fast paced. I loved that we get to revisit some characters from the first book but also explore new places and and meet new faces. Even what is familiar to the reader from the previous book still has a sense of novelty as we view it fresh through Anya’s eyes.

There are some heavy themes in this book; Anya lives with negligent parents and an abusive brother, and often feels like she is a burden, making her reluctant to reach out for support. Throughout the story, the quests help Anya work through her fear of being abandoned and rejected, allowing her to ultimately learn to confide in others and ask for help. She also discovers the concept of chosen family, recognizing that family is the people who care about you and not necessarily blood relatives. I loved Anya and her friendship with Senka was heart-warming!

This was a wonderful sequel and I’m excited to read more by this author.