While I enjoyed the first book in this series, The Return to Finkleton was an altogether unsatisfying book. I was not actively engaged in the plot because it was so predictable. The plot may be fine for younger readers, but for me, it was conventional and dull. The Return to Finkleton focused too much on Robert and not enough on the other kids. The time traveling is confusing and is introduced with Robert coming back from his time travel journey. This raises many quandaries that are never satisfactorily resolved in the book. In addition, Mr. Lowsley, the villain, should be, to quote the author, more "Mr. Bad Guy". Robert is too timid and scared sometimes. He needs to grow up just a little. Lizzie should loosen up just a bit, and Jack is too fatherly to the other kids. While Miss Caroline is an interesting character, I wish she would admit that she knows about the magic and help the children. This is very frustrating. From the distinct drop in quality between the two books, I believe that the author should have left out the time traveling clock that concluded the first book and not attempted to continue this story. She should have stopped at one book.

One thing I did like about it was how it alternated between perspectives.The author summed it up nicely, but left me hanging, not in a good way, for the next book. The little fairy/imp twist at the end is awesome, but the children should all do it together. The magic books in the hidden library were probably the most awe-inspiring part. I can picture the scenes well, and very vividly too.