Starting with Evil Librarian and continued by Revenge of the Evil Librarian, the Evil Librarian series comes to a satisfying conclusion (or is it?) with this book. Combining musicals and dark fantasy, the series was one I loved, so I hope it does continue in some fashion.

Les Misèrables is the musical for the high school this year and our duo of Cyn and Ryan plan on being totally involved. Of course, Cyn's friend Annie is back in school as are Leticia and Diane. Peter, a demon who actually likes the human world and humans (and not for breakfast or torture) is also in school, but one far enough away to not be in their daily affairs. Well, until ...

And that is the story. Will John Gabriel, the Evil Librarian, finally be put to rest? Will our intrepid gang make it through intact? Will Ryan play Javert? I loved finding out the answers.

Highly recommended, although readers really need to start at the beginning of the series. ( )

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher through LibraryThing as part of the Early Reviewers program — thank you!

So, full disclosure, I read and loved the first book in the Evil Librarian series, couldn’t track down the second book, and now here I am with the third book. There may be some things I missed, but overall, I think I’ve caught up decently well.

This is a fantastic addition to the Evil Librarian trilogy. The characters seem like they have grown a lot over the course of the series — but the humour, teenage drama, and musical theatre that sucked me in the first time around are still there.

This is a fun read, a fast read, and one I’ll be recommending for any teen readers looking to dabble in horror. ( )

I won an advance reading copy of Curse of the Evil Librarian through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program. My local library had the first book, Evil Librarian, so I checked that out. It was fun, Alas, none of our county libraries had book two, Revenge of the Evil Librarian, but I know the basics of what happened in it from this book. The first book took place the previous Fall. The second book took place the following summer.

Our main character, Cynthia 'Cyn' Rothschild, is now a high school senior. The first chapter opens with a funny comparison of her Italian class with a well-known clichè. I've had classes like that. Her best friend, Annie Gibson, her boyrfriend, Ryan Halsey, and friends Leticia and Diane (each other's girlfriend), are all still alive. So are two characters introduced in Revenge of the Evil Librarian, William (Annie's boyfriend), and a demon called Peter who would rather live a nice normal human life than waste his time on Evil Schemes.

As far as Cyn is concerned, Peter is definitely in the friend zone (except for a teeny, tiny traitorous part of her that finds Peter sexy). Peter would rather have Ryan's place in Cyn's heart, even though he's playing at being the platonic friend. Naturally, Peter and Ryan don't like each other. Luckily, Peter is attending a different high school. Just as Ryan talent is an actor with an amazingly good singing voice and Cyn is a talented stage technical director, Peter has a theater-related talent: writing and composing musicals.

The school play this year is going to be 'Les Misèrables'. Cyn is looking forward to it, but Ryan is nervous. His heart is set on playing Javert, but a new student named Jeff might actually beat him for the part.

As if that weren't bad enough, Cyn's dream of a demon-free (except for Peter), senior year is destroyed when what's left of John Gabriel, the evil librarian, puts a curse on Ryan. Yes, the supposedly safely-locked away John Gabriel is free and looking to get his body back. If Cyn doesn't get him the item he needs, Ryan will die. She can't expect aid from Ms. Královna, the demon queen, because she's still injured from a big battle. Her originally-human mate, Aaron Litske, is even more unhelpful.

It's back to the demon realm for Cyn, never a fun jaunt. John Gabriel's younger brother, whom she met in the second book, is back. The brother, who has a head like a bull bug and hairy spider-like limbs, isn't particularly intelligent. He's just called 'Little Brother'. Still, he can do something that would be very helpful if he's interested -- considering the way John Gabriel is foolish enough to treat him.

NOTES:

Chapter 4: We get a hint of what Peter looks like in his demon form.

Chapter 5: We meet a demon who was apparently in book two. His smile reminds Cyn of watching the 1982 'Poltergeist' film at a third grade sleepover.

Chapter 9: Peter gives John Gabriel's Little Brother a nickname.

Chapter 10: I do hope that among the movies and bad TV shows Cyn has watched that have featured blob monsters, she's seen the 1958 Steve McQueen classic, 'The Blob'. It's fun.

I think Curse of the Evil Librarian is even better than Evil Librarian. It's so nice when a trilogy doesn't fizzle out at the end. It's still a blend of humor and horror, a combination I really like. I also like Cyn's description of her anxiety as 'panic beetles' inside her. She has plenty to be anxious about. The interactions among the main cast are good. This is teen horror that an adult can enjoy. I'd like to thank the author for prompting me to listen to Philip Quast as Javert. ( )

Curse of the Evil Librarian by Michelle Knudsen is the third book in the Evil Librarian series. Just as Cynthia sets her sights on a demon-free senior year and is all ready to design sets for the school production of Les Miserables, Mr. Gabriel is back, in a sense, and causing trouble for Cyn and her friends.

The third book is a satisfying conclusion (maybe) to the Evil Librarian series. The story is full of funny moments to offset the darker parts, and more mundane teen problems, like wondering if you're good enough for your chosen career path. I enjoyed the dialogue and story. My one complaint is that I feel like Cynthia should have already learned that she can't protect everyone and needs to let her friends make their own choices and take their own risks, but the author does a good job of getting the minor characters to step up and prove they are as capable as Cynthia.

By itself, Curse of the Evil Librarian might be difficult to follow for someone who hasn't read the other books. In all, I think this is a great addition to the series and will be well received by fans of the first two books. ( )

A satisfying conclusion to the Evil Librarian trilogy, and a well written piece of quirky high school YA. It never (as was the same with the other two books) had me gripped in emotion over the characters or quite on the edge of my seat in anticipation, but did keep my attention and always wanting to turn the page enough to finish it in one sitting. The book has just the right amount of action and drama to be a light hearted, enjoyable story. Michelle Knudsen continues the bitterly sarcastic humor that made the other books so enjoyable, as well as stays treading the perfect line between explaining how things work in the demon world, while also leaving enough mystery that the explanations don't unravel themselves.

The human main characters returned to the high school teens that they are supposed to be and were in the first book, as opposed to the caricatures of single-minded, brand new to puberty middle school kids they were portrayed as in Revenge. This was a welcome change, as that was my only real detracting note about the second book. The demons are, well, they're still demons. They're still what you expect of them.

Overall, anyone with an interest in YA fiction, competent female characters, and fighting giant creepy demons should like this book, as well as the rest of the series. ( )