Everglade: The Lost Prince by Kitty Black

Title: Everglade: The Lost Prince

Author: Kitty Black

Genre: Fantasy

Publisher: Affirm Press

Published: 26^th May 2026

Format: Paperback

Pages: 352

Price: $17.99

Synopsis: Wren Westerly is enjoying the peace and quiet of Meadow Court. And why wouldn’t she? Wren embraced her destiny as a fire-witch to defeat the Eater and save magic. Hurrah!

But a cryptic warning from Wren’s mother about the Everglade Witch has Wren thinking that magic is not as saved as everyone thinks it is.

Guided by a dream about a goblet and a lesson from a mer-teacher, Wren and her friends embark on a dangerous quest to uncover the truth about the Everglade Witch and what is happening to magic. 

It turns out that defeating the Eater was the easy part … 

Welcome back to the world of Everglade, where magic-kin are asleep, monsters are waking up and the fate of magic hangs by a thread.  

~*~

Wren, Blue, Wish, Pippin and May have made it to Meadow Court, which is quiet and peaceful after the mayhem of the adventures that got them there. Yet there’s a cryptic warning from Wren’s missing mother, Arabella, hanging over their heads.

Magic hasn’t been saved, because they still need to worry about the Everglade Witch, Mr Grey and a dream that Wren keeps having about a goblet. Then there’s the mysterious lesson from a mer-teacher that complicates things as Wren and her friends embark on the next leg of their journey to find out what is happening to magic. And find out who the Everglade Witch is.

Defeating the Eater was the easy part. Now comes the real quest. Which has fun side quests, secrets and the discovery of new identities that drives the majority of the novel, bringing together what we have learnt so far in the first book, and then moving into what is going to build the rest of the mystery and quest for the final book.

Things aren’t as easy as they thought though, and one of them falls ill during the journey. Everyone rallies together to help them and get somewhere safe, but they have to question everything they are being told. They don’t know who they can trust, and the bear, May, and squirrel, Pippin, are loyal, adorable and amusing as they help Wren, Wish and Blue find their way through the world of Everglade to solve the mystery and quest that they are on.

It’s a great continuation of the trilogy, and whilst slow at times, it does help build the narrative. And it also alternates between Wren and her friends, and Mr Grey, the diabolical octopus from the first book who is odd and questionable. And I never know where I sit with him, or where he is going to turn up. Slippery sucker. Although, he does make for an interesting villain who has his own motives, but may not be able to always do what he wants.

Not only that, but there is also a new enemy to contend with, determined to stop Wren and make sure she doesn’t find her mother or solve the clues her mother has left. And who toys with people, trying to get them to do her bidding or give her what she wants. It complicates things and brings the danger to life. It shows that nothing is easy, everything is slightly complicated and there are always things that are going to test us in our lives, which this book captures very well.

This is a great sequel, and it sets up what is to come next so well. I was engaged throughout reading it, and could see there was more to what we knew about our intrepid trio than we already knew. This adds to the story and builds on everything. It gives it depth and I loved the way everything unravelled and was revealed. I especially loved May and Pippin, who were chaotic and fun, responsible and brave in their own ways that made them characters you can really cheer for.

I am looking forward to seeing how this series ends, and what it means for everyone and magic in this world.