Act Three, Scene One
Betrie thinks her quest is almost done. With the help of Ariel and the rest of her friends, she has managed to find her father and rescue Nate from Sedna, the Sea Goddess. Now, all she has to do is reunite her father, the Scrimshander, with her mother, Ophelia, and she will finally have a true family of her own.
Exit Stage Right
However, things are never easy for Beatrice Shakespeare Smith. Her father has vanished, Sedna is out for revenge, her own actions have trapped the Théâtre Illuminata in a strange kind of limbo, and the stress of her in-between state is tearing apart the fragile threads of her mother's sanity. Bertie's best hope for salvaging the situation may lie in a summons by Her Gracious Majesty, Queen of the Distant Castle, and the hope of winning the magical boon given to the best performance.
Bertie is caught between her growing responsibilities to home and family, and the dream of flying free - just as her heart is torn between her two loves, Nate and Ariel. With so any forces pulling on her, how will Bertie be able to choose which wish to make come true?
So Silver Bright by Lisa Mantchev is definitely an amazing conclusion to the
Théâtre Illuminata series. Somewhat heartbreaking, but absolutely amazing.
Bertie has rescued Nate and is in search of a way to bring her family back together. The Scrimshander has disappeared though so that's a little difficult for Bertie. Not to mention things between her, Ariel, and Nate are as complicated as ever.
Personally, I've always been Team Nate. Sexy, rugged Pirates are kind of my thing. It honestly was never a question, even through most of book three. I always thought Ariel was cocky and arrogant and just a giant jerk. I hated the fact that he was pulling Bertie away from Nate. Hated it. But by the end of the book I was actually incredibly heartbroken that he was gone. I actually wished he'd come back. Don't get me wrong, I'm still totally team Nate... but it was a sad, sad ending.
Bertie is such a different person by the end of the series. At the beginning she seems a typical mischevious teenage girl up to no good but at the close of book three she's grown leaps and bounds beyond her years and I forgot she wasn't twice her age. From a bother to the Mistress of Revels who can bend and twist and move the earth with mere words, she's become one of my all time favorite characters.
Her silly little faerie companions are wonderful as always. And even seem to have grown up a tad themselves at times. But then they remember how hungry they are and all pretense of maturity is gone as they search for sweets to fill their bellies. I love them and their devotion to Bertie. They truly are wonderful little friends.
I think Nate has come to terms with the fact that Bertie isn't who she was before. She's not someone in constant need of a babysitter, a rescuer. Sure she gets in her fair share of seemingly impossible situations, but instead of fighting her battles for her, Nate has learned to fight along side her instead. He's there for her when she needs him and he knows to leave her be when she doesn't.
The series is, by far, one of my favorites to date. It ranks up there with the likes of
Harry Potter and the
Chronicles of Narnia,
The Wolves of Mercy Falls and
The Hunger Games, etc. I was incredibly sad with the knowledge that once I turned the final page of the book, there would be no more to follow it. That it was over.
I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for something fantastical and magical to read. And even for those of you looking for the complete opposite. I don't think you'll be disappointed in the slightest.
