Legends of Eerie-on-Sea Book 2 by: Thomas Taylor
Illustrated by: Tom Booth
Published on: May 26, 2020

No doubt about it, Gargantis is a highly sea-worthy book. Filled with its quirks and oddities, the Eerie-on-Sea series is just what the middle grade fantasy genre needs. Instead of wizards and magic, you get sea monsters and tall tales and legends. So, batten down the hatches because this story brings you a whale of a time!

I’ll admit it – I would love to visit this crazy and peculiar town that Eerie-on-Sea is. I want to smell the salt in the air and see Mrs. Kraken’s cameraluna in action or take a peek at Herbie Lemon’s Lost and Foundery cellar items dating 99.9 years back or consult the mermonkey for a book that is just perfect for me! I want to tell Mr. Mollusc at the Grand Nautilus Hotel that Herbie is here to stay and he needs to just get over it already. And I want to know where I can get fish and chips because reading this book really makes me want to go down to Seegol’s Diner and get some.

Gargantis is the second book in the Eerie-on-Sea middle grade series. It definitely doesn’t suffer from second book syndrome because I almost believe I might like it better than the first one, but it’s really a toss up because they are both terrific. Featuring Herbert Lemon, the Lost and Founder at the Grand Nautilus Hotel, and his friend Violet Parma, together they face “Deep Hood,” monster storms, an electrical fishing boat with a windmill, an inescapable whirlpool, and a fun take off of the Millennium Falcon’s kessel run quote, and many more that I would mention, but don’t want to spoil anything.

The story begins when Mrs. Fossil finds “the greatest beachcombing treasure.” It was an ancient looking bottle with an inscription on it that uses old Eerie script. Although Mrs. Fossil found it, when Dr. Thalassi sees it he decides he wants it for the local museum instead. A bit of fuss ensues about who has rightful claim to it when it is decided that Herbie should be the ultimate decider of who gets to keep it. After all, it was a ‘found’ item and he is the official Lost and Founder. So Herbie and Violet take on the quest to learn more about it, which of course leads them into more and more danger.

All in all this is a terrific addition to the series and one I recommend to anyone looking for a fun sea-faring and sea-side adventure type story that has come through with flying colors.

Thanks to Netgalley and Candlewick Press/Walker Books for the advanced reader copy and opportunity to provide an honest review.

Rating: 5 stars

Description:

In the second fantasy set in Eerie-on-Sea, Herbert and Violet team up to solve the mystery of Gargantis — an ancient creature of the deep with the power to create life-threatening storms.

There’s a storm brewing over Eerie-on-Sea, and the fisherfolk say a monster is the cause. Someone has woken the ancient Gargantis, who sleeps in the watery caves beneath this spooky seaside town where legends have a habit of coming to life. It seems the Gargantis is looking for something: a treasure stolen from her underwater lair. And it just might be in the Lost-and-Foundery at the Grand Nautilus Hotel, in the care of one Herbert Lemon, Lost-and-Founder. With the help of the daring Violet Parma, ever-reliable Herbie will do his best to figure out what the Gargantis wants and who stole her treasure in the first place. In a town full of suspicious, secretive characters, it could be anyone!