Kindle Edition The Chronicles of The Virago Category:  Young Adult/Teen Publisher: Granny Cake Type: Fiction Pages: 353 Copyright: 7/9/22 ISBN-13: 9798650066088 Makenna Gold is the Virago. At barely thirteen-years-old, she has been entrusted by the forces of good to protect her twin siblings Emi and Noah from the evil forces that seek to destroy them. The infant twins are destined to lead our world into its next age of Hope and Enlightenment: if and only if they survive Makenna Gold is the Virago. At barely thirteen-years-old, she has been entrusted by the forces of good to protect her twin siblings Emi and Noah from the evil forces that seek to destroy them. The infant twins are destined to lead our world into its next age of Hope and Enlightenment: if and only if they survive. In this follow up to the series, the stakes have just gotten higher. Makenna's dad's soul has been captured and is being taken to the lowest level of Hell. Makenna must stay on Earth to protect her siblings, while her two best friends Stephen, a gifted clairvoyant and Sam, a genius level Game-master, traverse the nine levels of hell to rescue her dad's imperiled soul. The heroic efforts of these three friends will be tested to their limits, while the entire World is at stake. Will their combined gifts be enough to save the world, or will it cost them their own lives?

Kirkus Review
This final book in a middle-grade fantasy trilogy sees a young teen and her friends protect her twin siblings while trying to save her father's soul.
In her previous adventure, 13-year-old Makenna Grace Gold defeated a seven-headed Red Dragon in China. She's the Virago, a "Protector of Protectors" who shares a heroic lineage with Joan of Arc. However, a Souler has taken her father Michael's soul to the Under Realms. It's the work of Sir Malvado Seaton—the Dark One—who wants to keep Makenna's infant siblings, Noah and Emi, from spreading a sense of hope around the world. Marigold Frith, the fairy Prelate, sends Makenna's classmates Sam Taylor and Stephen Levine down to the Under Realms to retrieve Michael's soul. Fairies Bree and Dee Delphine stand in as magical doppelgängers of Sam and Stephen on Earth while they're away. And to keep Makenna's mom, Misty, from worrying about her husband, the fairies secretly turn Fluffy, the Virago's loyal worm, into Michael's double as the Gold family visits China. The heroes must be ready for anything as Seaton flies in his private jet to Shanghai; his wicked, two-tailed cat, Savannah, arrives early and tries to attack the twins in their room at the Pudong Shangri-La Hotel. Meanwhile, the real Sam and Stephen infiltrate the underworld after giving DuGaiman, a half-troll bouncer, the runaround. Thanks to Sam's knowledge of a particular video game, they manage to track the Souler through hell's numerous levels. The danger for Makenna increases when Ms. Creante, an Alghanii Demonesse, heals from her last battle and reenters the fray.
In Bialys' third series installment, the author performs a narrative victory lap, securing his trilogy a permanent place on his readers' shelves. The tale expands the cast but maintains an excellent pace and a perfect balance between comedy and drama. Self-doubt torments the principal characters as much as any vampire cat might; indeed, Ms. Creante reminds Makenna, "you have yet to win a battle all on your own." Later, in the Under Realms, a being named Orsin feeds Stephen from the tree of knowledge, and the boy experiences a vision in which Sam and Makenna get married as adults. Stephen and Sam nearly have a falling out over this possible future, and Bialys offers a potent illustration of young love. Seaton eventually tempts Makenna with a vision of herself as the most popular, graceful student at school (even the obnoxious Heather Stern worships her); the vision could be reality—if only she'll give up the twins. Fluffy, in the guise of Michael, provides comedic relief as he struggles with being human. Bialys also offers plenty of quick jokes for adult fans, as when Marigold threatens to withhold DuGaiman's tickets to a Celine Dion show. Such consistently entertaining details keep the story fresh and buoyant despite the darker themes. The sparkling prose never bogs down, and it's a joy to meet creations with clever names, such as Ms. Judged. In the end, Virago's adventure ably delivers a fine message of selflessness.
A nuanced and grand fantasy-series finale.

Online Book Review
Makenna Gold has just emerged triumphant in a fierce battle against a seven-headed enormous dragon when she realizes she lost her father to a souler (an eater of souls) in the process. To retrieve her father's innocent soul from the souler, Makenna's friends (Stephen and Sam) offer to undertake the perilous journey into the underworld. With a little help from fairies and a troll, they successfully carry out their mission.

The Chronicles of the Virago by Michael Bialys is a young adult fiction fantasy involving fairies, trolls, and other supernatural creatures. Although it is the third book in the series, it can be read as a standalone. In this book, some characters represent biblical characters, but with altered names. For example, the Dark One (Malvado Seaton) represents Satan; the Enlightened One represents God. Prevalent themes in this book are war, destruction, love, hate, betrayal, good and evil.

Makenna Gold is the Virago; she was anointed by a fairy to be the defender of the future of the world. Although she is the principal character, I find some other secondary characters interesting. The most interesting to me is the elder fairy, Elnora. I find her interesting because she makes rhymes with her sentences; this adds spice to the book. Another fascinating character is Fluffy, the earthworm. He is jovial and cheers people up in melancholy situations; he's a splendid worm.

I appreciate the writer's thoughtful gesture to go over past occurrences so they do not seem confusing when readers are reading, especially if such a person hasn't examined the previous books. A praiseworthy feature I like about this book is the artistic manner in which the author entertains his audience. He mixes some historical events with the events that occur in this book, and this makes it more engaging. When Makenna's friends were in the underworld to retrieve her father's soul, they encountered various difficulties as they advanced. One of the challenges they endured was recovering Joan of Arc's sword, and the author briefly explained the history of the great weapon. I find this educative and enlightening. Another quality I admire in the book is the creative way the author names the characters. For example, Sam and Stephen met the ingenious inventor and overseer of the Devil's workshop, Idel Hanz, when they were in the underworld. The author creatively named this character based on a common expression, "Idle hands are the Devil's workshop." There are several other inventive creations like this in the book; they add spice to it and make it more enjoyable. I also commend the author for the minimal use of profanities. Since his target audience are young adults, I find it appropriate that the book is not filled with vulgar languages.

I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars because I observed up to ten errors, which indicates poor editing. Apart from the errors, there is nothing I dislike about the book. I hope the author revisits these mistakes and corrects them. I heartily recommend this book to lovers of heroic fantasy. If you're looking to read something light, this book is just right.