Fall Reading 2018 Twilight of the Elves (The Adventurers Guild #2)

Zed, Brock, Liza, Micah, and Jett are back to survive dangers and deceptions. Spoiler Alert - At the end of the first book in the series the elves arrived to report that their city had fallen. The town of Freestone allowed the refugees inside its walls, but the situation is uneasy (and that is putting it mildly). The Rangers of the elves have taken shelter with the Adventurers Guild and their youngest member, Fel, has joined the five friends in their training. When a party is sent to scout a possible return to the elven city of Llethanyl, the youngsters find themselves outside the safety of Freestone and in the wilderness where Dangers could be behind every bush or stone.

Besides the creatures who try to kill them(ranging from shapeshifting things with really large teeth to deadly spores and even banshees), there are also plenty of intrigue and cross-purposes to ruin everyone's day. The shadowy figure who wants Brock to discover secrets, Zed's desire to learn more about his elven father, the prejudices within the elven party against some of their own people, the elven queen's true agenda...all of these push and pull at the characters and influence their actions. And within this fantasy setting, there are still everyday themes of friendship, family, belonging, identity, prejudice, and the stirrings of teenage romance as the adventurers make their way toward Llethanyl.

Readers who enjoyed the first outing and have been waiting for the next installment in the series will be glad to reunite with the characters they know and to learn more about the newcomers. Those who are just discovering the Adventurers Guild can jump in and give this a try, and then they will probably want to go back and read about how this crew got their start once they reach the end of the book.

Highly recommended for middle grade readers who enjoy fantasy adventure. I read an e-book provided by the publisher through NetGalley.