Salter, Brett. Desperate Tides, Desperate Measures. 2022. 

The Talisman book 5

Guide to Categories : MS Review – review of books for older elementary-aged and middle school-aged children

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Summary

Looks like our heroes can finally put an end to the nightmare that was Scarabadon, The Juggernaut. And it seems everyone’s favorite Synergist Knight and Master Dragon have fixed their Talisman issue too. Having thwarted every attack The Tyrant King has thrown at them to this point, The Alliance believes that they can endure any challenge as long as they remain together. Now, having the upper hand seems like the perfect opportunity to seek out more allies and even more of the realm’s mystical Talismans. Could this be a “happily ever after” for our ensemble of motley heroes? Or is this peace just a fool’s hope and just as temporary as the changing tides?

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My MS Review

One of the things I enjoy about Brett Salter as an author is that his plot and characters are memorable. I have no trouble jumping into the next book in a series – everything from the previous books readily comes to mind. The story continues with the group of teens (who are dragons and knights) and their mentors as they continue to track down the talismans and fight the darkness and evil from the void in the process. Desperate Tides, Desperate Measures brings a bigger role for Julian and Camela’s father. We are also introduced to a new type of character which has a role to play in the resolution of the greater plot line of the series. 

Between the battles there is a budding romance between two of the characters which will appeal to the readers of this age group interested in such things but not detailed enough to chase away those who are not yet interested. 

Once again Salter ends the book with a cliffhanger – just when I thought things were starting to be resolved, readers are left with a desire to read more. I can’t wait for the next one. 

While I enjoyed this book, I’m not sure about its appropriateness for a K-12 Christian school library. Because of the presence of magic, sorcerers and witches I recommend that librarians read the books in this series before placing them in their library. The books are meant for a middle school audience. 

I received a complimentary copy of Desperate Tides, Desperate Measures. This is my honest review. 

Read my reviews of the other books in the Talisman series here and here.

Read more MS Review posts.

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