History YMMV / ChildrenOfTheRedKing

* FanonDiscontinuity: ''The Hidden King'' wraps up enough plot elements to feel like it could be the series finale, and the remaining three books don't drop in quality but do have an increasing number of WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids moments (often involving characters being KilledOffForReal) that may bother some readers.

%%* WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids: This series is darker than most people would expect for a kids' series. For example:
%%** Book 1 involves Charlie trying to find and rescue a girl who was abducted as a baby and put into a trance-like state. Said girl's life with her foster family is very dull and unhappy, and she cries over it once she comes out of her trance. Also it's strongly implied that the Bloors murdered her father, Mostyn Tolly, not long before the book begins. There is a romantic subplot in the book which deals with Paton asking Julia Ingledew out on a date (which goes disastrously), and Charlie has to try and convince Miss Ingledew to give Paton a second chance. In addition, the beginning of the book implies that Charlie's father may have been murdered by the Bloors years ago (though later reveals show that he's still alive and in a trance-like state).
%%** Book 2 opens with a boy disappearing from his time and reappearing in another, while his little brother wakes up to find him gone. The rest of the book focuses on the disappeared boy who's being hunted by his now ancient cousin and the evil endowed children and the good endowed's efforts to keep him safe and reunite him with his brother. At one point Henry is captured and imprisoned in a pit, and he's ''not'' in a very good state when he's finally rescued. Also, Charlie's uncle is run over by a car. At one stage Paton actually offers Charlie wine to drink (cider in the American edition) one evening while they're talking in the kitchen in Number 9.
%%** The victim of the Bloors' evil in book 3 is an invisible boy who's been locked in the attics for months (if not years), [[spoiler: and he's in a horrible state when he's finally made invisible again]]. There's also what Yolanda does to Mr Boldova...
%%** Book 4 has Billy being adopted by a cruel and sadistic couple, a new teacher who is extremely sadistic and dangerous (and also a scary shape-shifter out to get revenge on Paton for killing his daughter), and the Bloors trying to create a sadistic and monstrous horse to scare Charlie and make him work for them. [[spoiler: Also Gabriel is hospitalised after trying on a bewitched cape.]]
%%** Book 5 has the villain trying to ensure that [[spoiler: Lyell never wakes up from his trance]], by bewitching said man's wife into forgetting him and falling in love with the villain. Amy forgetting Lyell causes Lyell to weaken and start dying, which is the villain's plan all along. The villain also plans to take Amy back into the past, essentially making Charlie an orphan.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: Paton says that his sisters were hypnotized by Yolanda for most of their lives, but after her death, none of them snap out of it and pull a HeelFaceTurn.

* CompleteMonster: ''Charlie Bone and the Castle of Mirrors'': [[TheTrapParents Florence and Usher de Grey]] are an endowned couple, who share a cold marriage with no signs of affection. Florence's gift allows her to create enchanted "[[MagicallyBindingContract binding oaths]]", which she makes unknowing victims sign whenever they are indebted, and when the vow is broken will cause debilitating pain. The oaths never being destroyed even when the debt has been fulfilled and kept protected by Usher's ForceField endownment, whereby the present day they have repeated this process on potentially hundreds of victims. The de Greys are assigned by the Bloors to be Billy's adoptive parents in order to better control him, where they [[WouldHurtAChild make him sign an oath to be adopted]]. After Billy is rescued and steals the oaths, he gets hunted and attacked by the cursed papers.

** Paton. His mother was murdered by Yolanda in Yewbeam Castle when Paton was only seven years old; his sisters turned to evil at the same time. His endowment made him a pariah in society and his own family, as he couldn't go outside in daylight. Also because of his endowment he's pretty much a loner, as not many people are brave enough to befriend him. His only friend Lyell disappeared under mysterious circumstances in 1994, and Paton blames himself for it because he didn't meet Lyell when Lyell asked him to. Paton meets a nice lady who he really loves, and who loves him back, but ''something'' always seems to crop up to stop them from progressing their relationship into something more.

* ShipTease: Emma/Charlie in the third book, until [[spoiler: Emma's found to have a crush on Tancred.]] Also Charlie/Olivia.
** There's a ''huge'' ShipTease between [[spoiler: Henry and Ankaret]] in ''Henry and the Guardians of the Lost''.

* CharacterizationMarchesOn: Three pretty shocking cases, frankly:
** The first is that of Eric Shellhorn. In his first book, he appears, like his sister, to be an unfortunate little boy, with Venetia for a stepmother. [[spoiler: Venetia manages to find spells that turn him evil. The later books treat him like he's evil beyond any hope, which is VERY questionable.]]
** For the first five books, Miss Crystal appears to be a delight, beautiful, sweet, kind, generous, and trustworthy. [[spoiler: The fifth book reveals her to secretly be an evil Enchantress. But... She doesn't even seem to retain her superficial charm, which makes her seem like a completely different character. Indeed, it could almost be believed that the real Miss Crystal has been kidnapped, and Mrs Tilpin is, in fact, not her at all]].
** Dagbert Endless persistently switches between an [[ManipulativeBastard evil]] [[JerkWithAHeartofJerk personality]], and a [[TheAtoner benevolent]] [[JerkWithAHeartofGold personality]]. This is explained as being a side-effect of his tide related powers.

** Dagbert Endless persistently switches between an [[ManipulativeBastard evil]] [[JerkWithAHeartofJerk personality]], and a [[Atoner benevolent]] [[JerkWithAHeartofGold personality]]. This is explained as being a side-effect of his tide related powers.

* TheWoobie: Billy Raven has this ''hard''. Each book introduces some new torment that the poor kid has to go through.

%%* AngstWhatAngst: Lyell recovers surprisingly quickly from being hypnotised, considering that he spent ten years trapped in Bloor's Academy without any of his memories,

- The first is that of Eric Shellhorn. In his first book, he appears, like his sister, to be an unfortunate little boy, with Venetia for a stepmother. [[spoiler: Venetia manages to find spells that turn him evil. The later books treat him like he's evil beyond any hope, which is VERY questionable.]]
- For the first five books, Miss Crystal appears to be a delight, beautiful, sweet, kind, generous, and trustworthy. [[spoiler: The fifth book reveals her to secretly be an evil Enchantress. But... She doesn't even seem to retain her superficial charm, which makes her seem like a completely different character. Indeed, it could almost be believed that the real Miss Crystal has been kidnapped, and Mrs Tilpin is, in fact, not her at all]].
- Dagbert Endless persistently switches between an evil [[ManipulativeBastard]] [[JerkWithAHeartofJerk]], and a [[Atoner]] [[JerkWithAHeartofGold]].

- The first is that of Eric Shellhorn. In his first book, he appears, like his sister, to be an unfortunate little boy, with Venetia for a stepmother. [[Spoiler: Venetia manages to find spells that turn him evil. The later books treat him like he's evil beyond any hope, which is VERY questionable.]]
- For the first five books, Miss Crystal appears to be a delight, beautiful, sweet, kind, generous, and trustworthy. [[Spoiler: The fifth book reveals her to secretly be an evil Enchantress. But... She doesn't even seem to retain her superficial charm, which makes her seem like a completely different character. Indeed, it could almost be believed that the real Miss Crystal has been kidnapped, and Mrs Tilpin is, in fact, not her at all]].

* DespairEventHorizon: There are a few of these.
** In the first book, Paton goes into this after his disastrous date with Miss Ingledew.
** Paton also goes through this in the third book when Ms Ingledew is dying from wearing a bewitched belt. The look on his face when he realises he can't save her is heart-wrenching. Luckily Charlie and his wand are able to revive Ms Ingledew.
*** There is also another one in the same book when Paton is ill from whatever Yorath did to him in Yewbeam Castle.
** Amy seems to go through this for a moment at the end of ''Hidden King'', after Manfred smashes the bottle of King's tears onto the floor to stop Charlie from awakening his father.

* WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids: This series is darker than most people would expect for a kids' series. For example:
** Book 1 involves Charlie trying to find and rescue a girl who was abducted as a baby and put into a trance-like state. Said girl's life with her foster family is very dull and unhappy, and she cries over it once she comes out of her trance. Also it's strongly implied that the Bloors murdered her father, Mostyn Tolly, not long before the book begins. There is a romantic subplot in the book which deals with Paton asking Julia Ingledew out on a date (which goes disastrously), and Charlie has to try and convince Miss Ingledew to give Paton a second chance. In addition, the beginning of the book implies that Charlie's father may have been murdered by the Bloors years ago (though later reveals show that he's still alive and in a trance-like state).
** Book 2 opens with a boy disappearing from his time and reappearing in another, while his little brother wakes up to find him gone. The rest of the book focuses on the disappeared boy who's being hunted by his now ancient cousin and the evil endowed children and the good endowed's efforts to keep him safe and reunite him with his brother. At one point Henry is captured and imprisoned in a pit, and he's ''not'' in a very good state when he's finally rescued. Also, Charlie's uncle is run over by a car. At one stage Paton actually offers Charlie wine to drink (cider in the American edition) one evening while they're talking in the kitchen in Number 9.
** The victim of the Bloors' evil in book 3 is an invisible boy who's been locked in the attics for months (if not years), [[spoiler: and he's in a horrible state when he's finally made invisible again]]. There's also what Yolanda does to Mr Boldova...
** Book 4 has Billy being adopted by a cruel and sadistic couple, a new teacher who is extremely sadistic and dangerous (and also a scary shape-shifter out to get revenge on Paton for killing his daughter), and the Bloors trying to create a sadistic and monstrous horse to scare Charlie and make him work for them. [[spoiler: Also Gabriel is hospitalised after trying on a bewitched cape.]]
** Book 5 has the villain trying to ensure that [[spoiler: Lyell never wakes up from his trance]], by bewitching said man's wife into forgetting him and falling in love with the villain. Amy forgetting Lyell causes Lyell to weaken and start dying, which is the villain's plan all along. The villain also plans to take Amy back into the past, essentially making Charlie an orphan.
** Book 6 implies that Lyell still hasn't fully recovered from being hypnotised, and at one point Charlie fears that he'll never again be the brave man who stood up to the Bloors years ago.
** And finally, Book 8 involves the villains trying to murder Amy and Lyell who are believed to have gone whale-watching.