The Dark Portal (The Gryphon Chronicles, Book 3)

The Foleys are a brilliant duo and very creative! My great niece loves to read fantasies, and I am reading this series with her. Jake's adventures are really complex, and that is what makes them exciting! I feel that this series is great for young and old alike.

This is the third book in the series and it did not disappoint! I love to see the characters grow and learn life lessons through out the books, while being entertained. I highly recommend you read this series!

I could not put it down. It was adventure after adventure. A must read and great for all ages. Best book of the series.

ordered same time as the second book

still reading may change rating. This one is a little bit spooky, so if you are reading with a youngster I'd read it first and then decide on which parts they should read when. We tend to read at night, and that was a mistake in a few spots....my 11yr old had some trouble falling asleep. I guess that's the trouble w excellent writers...lol...the story is written so greatly that you can easily see the story or become immersed.UPDATED; CHAPTER 20- Well this being a younger adults book, Im slightly surprised by how little action there is in this book and how long the writers take to describe certain things, like the dwarves town, the mine, how everyone was dressed. It seems like they put more thought into making you picture the characters and scenes than thought into the action or how the story would play out. This hurts me to say because I have always greatly enjoyed G.Foley's books and to give a semi bad review to a book of hers....im sorry. The story starts out kind of higher in action-really great actually and then it goes down to mundane things, one right after the other. Rushed through quite a few chapters, even though there was plenty of describing how the valley and church and yard and tree and bug etc looked. But no high or mild notes of action until now, and for a boy who used his powers in the first 2 like a pro, almost,and then had training by great people and more and more training... and now he misses and oops and whoops and oh drat and oops and he SOMEHOW GOT AWAY.....makes it tedious reading. Finishing just to dare I hope it finishes with a grand finale and to see if it gets any better....more to come for final conclusion

great series and clean language no foul language. I loved it!

I really had hoped to like this one enough to give it four stars... This journey takes Jake and his comrades to Wales to visit the Evertons' property and mine. While there, Jake battles a disembodied villain set first on feeding on human souls, and then a unicorn to regain his body and strength. This villanous dark mage has cast a spell to "magically separate your spirit from your body. You can then store your soul in some inanimate object for an indeterminate length of time, to be brought back later." Sound familiar? During the course of the book Jake visits hell, not only once, but twice. The first time through, the ghostly free-floating-head of a decapitated friar comes to his aide. The evil, evil villain's minions are gargoyles that have to be petrified with spells--so they can be smashed--to be conquered (a little cliche). I like gargoyles, personally. I'd like to see more cute, lovable ones working for the "good guys" in literature. Again, with this book, there is quite a bit of point-of-view shifting (to the authors' credit most of it is a bit smoother this time). This installment was a bit heavy-handed on the Christian religious-isms again (angels to the rescue!). Jake and his friends need a little more depth-defining character development, because they're all characters that could be so great and lovable.There was some good stuff in this one: The concept of the Inkbugs was charming. I really liked the Fingles and the more prominent dwarfs. There are pixies, Gladwyn (a faerie), and so on. Some of the setting descriptions and descriptions of magic were charming. But, alas, those weren't enough for a hearty four-star rating. I honestly don't know if I'll continue on to buying and reading the holiday novella and the fourth book. Maybe some day, but not any time soon, at least. That makes me sad, because I really do want to love Jake, Archie (who is adorable), Dani, and Izzy. I gave the first two books somewhat generous four-star ratings and had better hopes for this installment and the series' future as personal reading fodder.

I loved this light hearted read. It's a great story that a person at any age can enjoy. It has tons of excitement and adventure that keeps you on your toes the whole time. I can't wait to read the next one!