Fablehaven  - Brandon Mull
Okay, okay, I'll be gentle because I know there are a lot of people who really like this series. In fact, I had high expectations for Fablehaven based on several recommendations.

I consider myself VERY forgiving when it comes to the writing skills of an author--if a story is engaging and has a happy ending, I'm sold. I mean, I thought the Inheritance Cycle was great!

Unfortunatly, this book has so many plot holes, hollow characters, sudden course changes, underdeveloped story lines, poor (no-- horrible) descriptions, juvenile use of language, and the like that the story—the most important part of all—suffered.

Like I said, I don’t want to be too hard on Fablehaven. It’s a children’s book, after all, and I think my kids will love it. I really shouldn’t try to make it into something it’s not. But it’s just that the premise of the story is BURSTING with potential. I wish the book had been three times as long, then there would have been enough time to properly develop the plot line and characters.

Fablehaven gets three stars—actually two and a half, but I’m rounding up—because if I were 10-14 I would love the book. As an adult, I didn’t love it. But the story has potential enough that I’ll be reading the other 4 books in the series right away—just with much lowered expectations.