Sadly, this was a dip in the series for me. The new characters introduced weren’t exactly memorable and didn’t really feel like they added much, and I felt myself sorely missing the characters that didn’t join the main trio in Japan. The book being in three parts makes it easy to outline my thoughts though:

Part one - An ok start, but nothing much that kept me wanting to read more.

Part two - My least favourite of the three, which is not ideal considering it was the biggest and held the bulk of the plot. It just really dragged and didn’t have much excitement for me.

Part three - I actually really enjoyed it, felt like a return to how the first two books were. It’s such a shame that this came in the last, and shortest, part of the book.

Given that the first entries in the series were so lovable and charming, I think this is more so a blip than an indicator of where the series is headed. Or at least that’s what I’m hoping. I really do still love the characters and can’t wait to see them back again.