ARC Review--Greta and the Lost Army by Chloe Jacobs

After spending the last four years trapped in a place of monsters, demons, and magick, the last thing the fierce teenage bounty hunter Greta expected was to ever be back on Earth. But a rare opportunity gives her and the Goblin King Isaac the opportunity to do just that. Now she’s home. With a boy in tow. And her parents have lots of questions.

Although Greta finally has her heart’s deepest wish—to see her family again—every step she takes to reconnect with them drives her further away from Isaac. Greta and Isaac planned for her to return to Mylena and become his queen, but she’s not sure if she can go back to that harsh world, though staying on Earth means giving up the boy she loves.

But a powerful enemy refuses to let Greta escape. A demon who will stop at nothing to destroy her and everything she loves. Even if it means following her to Earth and forcing her to face a fate as unavoidable as love itself.

I received this eARC from the publisher, via Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review. I was in no way compensated for this review.

The long awaited finale to Chloe Jacobs’ Mylena Chronicles is here at last!! Greta and the Lost Army brings us an amazing and shocking and heartrending ending to the trilogy that grabbed me from the pages from the getgo.

When we last saw Greta, she, the “lost boys”, Siona, and Isaac had managed to return to her world. But the battle is far from over, while they all needed to return to the world Greta once called home, she knows that she, Siona, and Isaac will have to go back to Mylena and defeat Agramon once and for all. But, for the meantime, she feels good to be home.

Naturally, there was a heartfelt reunion between Greta and her parents, though her brother Drew was a little shell-shocked at her arrival and was kind of MIA for her stay. Which was sad in a way. It’s been too long since I read the first book, because I can’t remember how old Drew was when he was almost taken and Greta rescued him and how old he should be now. He’s obviously school age, but I felt like he should’ve been around more than he was, even if he was a minor character.

Greta helps all the boys reconnect with their parents and sees them all home. It was an amazing feeling for her. Only Isaac and Siona remain, for even Wyatt went back home. And soon enough she had to see them off to a foster family, because her parents weren’t able to take care of them as well. It was a bit odd to see everyone disbanding so early on, yet I can understand in some sense that Greta’s parents want to rebuild their family without having new members thrown temporarily in.

For the first half of the book we basically watch Greta try to adapt to human life again. For four years she lived a very different kind of life, and now she’s suddenly expected to go back to the way things were before. She and the boys told her parents a variation of the truth, minus the “other world” part because the last thing they needed was to have to deal with psychologists as well.

Greta struggles to decide whether she wants to go back or not as well. At first, she was all willing to go back to Mylena with Isaac to save his kingdom, but then she starts adapting to her old life for a bit, and wonders, would it be so bad to stay?

Although you do suspect, that at some point she will go back to Mylena, we still have Agramon to deal with. And that’s what the second half of the novel deals with. And what a battle of struggles it was!

Pacing wise, I’d say that the first half was a little slow. I mean, it was filled with great family style moments and all, but there was little else going on. When we return to Mylena, that’s when the action really starts happening as Greta and Isaac start to build their army to take down the enemy. And then that ending…omg…I was scared for a bit! Totally scared! No matter how many times you try to tell yourself that Ending A is likely going to play out, there’s always the possibility of seeing Ending B or some other such letter! But with the way the ending came about, you realize that Greta made the right decision.

I am already sad to see this series come to an end! It has such a Labyrinth feel to it when I first started the series and I still can’t help but see a little of Jareth in Isaac, and what with David Bowie’s passing just a few weeks ago, I’m still left a little melancholy over everything!

The romance was spot on! I love Isaac! He loves Greta so deeply and with his whole heart! He’s totally swoonworthy. And the moments he and Greta share together always leave me grinning like a lovesick fool! And the romance isn’t even a key point in the story. Yes, Greta and Isaac are in love, but they have a kingdom to save and they are actively trying to do that. So seeing them steal a few moments alone together just makes it all the more gushy and swoony! Lol!

Greta is definitely a headstrong heroine! She’s gutsy and brave, and yet still totally human. She bleeds easily and whatnot but that never stops her from fighting for what she wants and you gotta love her tenacity!

Greta and the Lost Army was a truly fitting end to the series! It’s a magical and extraordinary read and I am happy to have read it!

Overall Rating 4.5/5 stars

Greta and the Lost Army releases February 1, 2016