Fablehaven Book One - 4.5 stars

Well, to start with, the Fablehaven series is really one of my favorites. The author, Brandon Mull, has a unique way of explaining things without ever sounding boring. The humor is delightful, the villains are impeccable, and the storyline is exquisite.

Being one of my favorites, I'll try not to ramble on...

This story of demons, trolls, magic, and fairies takes place in modern-day North America on a preserve governed by Stan and Ruth Sorenson.
The preserve is called Fablehaven. (Ta-da!)

The Sorenson's grandchildren are to visit this summer, unaware of the dangers occupying their grandparents' estate. But when evil arises and their grandfather is taken, the children (Kendra and Seth) must overcome perilous obstacles to save him, in the aftermath proving themselves to be respectable future caretakers.
And, (spoiler alert) unfortunately, there is also a catch with their grandmother to deal with.

My magic rating:
This book -- this series, in fact -- is based on magic. Its foundation is magic.
I personally do not believe that magic is real, and see nothing wrong with reading stories about it. Hopefully, our readers will eventually learn Noodle's writing style and my writing style and figure out for themselves whether or not they'd like to put to use our review suggestions. For this book, I would have to rate it a 9 out of 10.

My gore rating, or nastiness rating:
With a 1 representing a bleeding paper cut and a 10 representing a body-blasting explosion, I'd say this book earns a well-deserved 2 out of 10.
It's really not bad at all in my opinion, but I don't get disgusted very easily. Each person reacts differently. There are dire situations and definitely some bloodshed, but nothing so bad as, say, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

All in all, I'd definitely recommend this book and this series to a friend -- or even multiple friends! It kept me intrigued until well after the end of the final book.

Link to author/Fablehaven website: http://brandonmull.com/site/fablehaven-books