ReviewERRZ: One True King by Soman Chainani (The School for Good and Evil #6)

Errz Cortes

Sept 30, 2022

After 5 books that strengthened Sophie and Aggie's friendship, Agatha and Tedros' love for each other, the Coven's skills and relationship, Hort's powers, and every teacher and student's view of Good and Evil, it's the final book to crown the One True King.

SPOILER-FREE SUMMARY

To prove Tedros' worth as the rightful King of Camelot, his father, the late King Arthur, decided to give a tournament. Against his 'self-proclaimed' brother, 'Rhian', Tedros needs his lover, friends, and teachers to trust him to pass three trials-tests of leadership, and let the Woods witness the reveal of the One True King.

INITIAL THOUGHTS AND IMPRESSIONS

Agatha seems eager and desperate to prove his prince's place, being the one who is used to leading and fixing problems (sometimes caused by her prince). And her attitude sometimes frustrates Tedros because it prevents her from relying on him. You might've read from the previous books how Tedros and Agatha's self-sabotage attitudes let them discover their true feelings towards each other, I enjoy reading that kind of dynamic, makes me feel how realistic it is.

Sophie's captivity from the previous book also worried me, hence my anticipation towards the Witch's 'grand' escape (you have to admit everything Sophie does has to be a bit more 'extra'). A part of me also wishes a greater and 'kilig' reveal on the SopHort ship. I've been shipping mysel--I mean Sophie and Hort since book 1! Let the ship sail already!

While reading the book, hints of different relationships and plot twists are smoothly given away and give you time to analyze the situation yourself. It feels like I was the one who figured it out before the other characters did! My nerves were filled with intrigue and excitement as I continuously read.

WHO IS THE BOOK FOR

I would definitely recommend this book to fiction, and fantasy lovers. The twists and turns make you feel like you're on a roller coaster ride, like the reveals in the previous books are not enough. The backstories of different characters were given a lot of thought and time.

Another thing is, it's listed as an '8 yrs and up' book but I'd probably give it to teens or people in their 20s. There are pretty romantic scenes and parts when I can't help but doubt the age standards. If you're a parent, I urge you to read the book first before you let your child read it.

CONTEXT ABOUT THE BOOK AND AUTHOR

The School for Good and Evil will be having a Netflix adaptation soon, and I'm stoked! I would love to see characters come to life, even if some of them do not look like how to characters are described (which dismayed me at first because I was looking forward to a cold-looking character as Agatha-Sofia Wylie looks beautiful as she is, she just echoes a 'warm personality' that I did not expect from Aggie).

When I was 14 or 15, Soman's YouTube blog with SGE updates used to be my everyday thing. I even watched episodes with Agatha and Sophie sock puppets haha! Soman has been an inclusive writer and presents different love languages, sexual orientations, cultures, and all of which I'm particularly fond of. My heart softens knowing that the fandom has grown since I read the 4th book from the series (like 4-5 years ago).

SPOILER CONTENT

(Stop reading this part if you haven't read the book yet, but feel free to come back once you finished too~)

FAVORITE QUOTES or CHAPTERS

I wasn't able to write my favorite quotes. But I'll update this soon.

My favorite chapters are 'Wizard Wish' (8), 'Love. Purpose. Food.' (18), 'Conversations with Friends' (20), and 'Samsara' (32). Sophie's change of heart in various aspects entertains and pulls my heartstrings. She's the Witch that deserves the ending given to her. Soman made me internalize my feelings and purpose when I read chapter 18, it makes a lot of sense, and I'm sure it's more impactful to people who sympathize with Sophie. Knowing everyone who sacrificed themselves wasn't able to see the ending saddens me, but at the same time, it all fits so well it aches my heart (Why author? Whhyyy?? Why are you so good at manipulating my emotions?!). Reading the end made me feel peace and overflowing love and gratitude. My love-hate relationship with a book's ending stings, it makes me wonder how Tedros and Agatha will raise their children, the future King, how King Teapea will live his days, the future look of the School for Good and Evil, if Sophie and Hort will actually last long and eventually bear a child, ugh! All in all, it's been a fun ride of emotions. I'm forever grateful for the existence of this book series, and I'm looking forward to Soman's future books as well!

MEMORABLE MOMENTS

Tedros' speech moved me, it's a speech spoken by the One True King, undeniable evidence of everything he learned and gained throughout the book.

The reveal of Tedros' real brother shookt me too! If Chaddick was still alive, I'm sure he'll be proud of his brother. And I'm glad all the misunderstandings were cleared up too.

I literally tear up when I read the last chapter of the book, the wedding preparations, the sitting arrangements that made me chuckle, the reveal of every character's chosen path, Sophie and Hort's ship finally smooth sailing, and lastly, the cherry on top, Tedros' and Aggie's heartfelt engagement.

OVERALL OPINIONS

I've been a fan of the series since I was 13, I just wasn't able to read book 5 and 6 as soon as it was released because it was out of my budget. But with a new movie series coming up, I can't stop myself from not reading the last 2 books I haven't read yet. To be honest, I want to buy/keep the book with the original book covers, and not the cover with the Netflix adaptation. I find my imagination more vivid and wild with the original covers, there's also a feeling of nostalgia when I look at the original book covers. I'm currently earning for an EverNever Handbook, and I'm hoping to buy one before the year ends.

I hope a lot more people will be fond of this book. I've relearned to accept how most of the time, it takes A LOT of mistakes before we get to our happy ending. And true love is accepting each other's flaws and helping each other grow while overcoming our weaknesses. If your partner doesn't look or love you the way Hort does towards Sophie (*ahem* Hort the greatest simp), or the way Aggie and Tedros protect each other, or the way Anadil is most comfortable with Hester, or isn't the same with Bodgen and Willam's chemistry, OR even Japeth's love for Aric (or maybe not that kind of obsession), then leave (haha! Just kidding, you do you).

That's all. Long live King Teapea!