The last book in the Hollow Kingdom trilogy and I wasn’t disappointed. First off, this is the first book without an overly gruesome prologue. Which I’m almost sad about since I felt bound to continue reading the others to discover the reason for such horridness. This prologue begins with our beloved Marak getting ready to pass away and leave his kingdom to his son – not as gruesome and to tell you the truth not as intriguing either but still good. Back to the story: Old Marak has been raising a human girl, Miranda, to become the bride of his son for her entire life a fact which has left her ostracized from humans her entire life. Miranda has faced cruelty, disappointment and is now ready to finally take her place as the new Marak’s bride – only the arrival of a new and powerful elf turns her entire world upside down and she is caught between two strong rulers who both believe she belongs to them. This was the most emotionally developed of all three books in my opinion. There was so much love, loss, humor and growth that I couldn’t stop reading. I wasn’t sure how she would make the ending work out and to my amazement, I was completely happy with all that occurred. Such a great series I would recommend to anyone.This little section had me in stitches. This is when Miranda (a human) is trying to explain to Hunter (an elf) why she is reading a book – Robinson Crusoe:Hunter was astounded. “You’re learning the history of a man who didn’t exist?” he demanded. “Why would you bother to do that?”“Because it’s interesting,” said Miranda. “When I think about his troubles, I forget mine for a while.”“You want imaginary troubles to forget real troubles?” asked Hunter. “I don’t have to read a big long chronicle for that. I’ll just imagine I have a stomachache.”He rolled around on the floor, moaning and holding his middle. Miranda was disgusted. She headed back to her room to enjoy her book in peace. Hunter sat up laughing as she passed.“Wait! My stomachache’s gone!” he exclaimed. “I feel wonderful.” But she marched up the stairs without looking at him. “She’s mad at me,” he sighed. “Now we’ll never find out what happened to the man who didn’t exist.” ( )

Don't let the weird/spooky cover and slightly odd beginning of the first book scare you away!! I LOVED these books! They're completely different than most books I read and that's what made them so great. Make sure you read the first two books before this, it will make more sense! ( )

Marak has raised Til's daughter Miranda to be the next goblin king's wife. Now Marak is dead, and Catspaw becomes king. But he is, to his shock, offered an elf bride. ( )

Compelling reading, but the "marriages" are disturbing to me ( )