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3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Kinda feeling like this one could easily have been the last in the series, but apparently it's still going. I think I have paranormal/steampunk fatigue as every time I think I have a handle on this world, Callihan introduces something new. Often it's something that would have come in really handy in a prior plot. Oh well.
I feel justice was done to both Poppy and Winston in this story even if I think that the decision to make a story about them unnecessarily wrecked their marriage.
Also what a cheap way to say that Winston was a liar too, except y'know he didn't even REMEMBER that he was "lying".
Spoiler
If book 2 hadn't led into Poppy's secrets all of Winston's actions in the past wouldn't have happened so I refuse to consider that as an argument for why this book happened.Also what a cheap way to say that Winston was a liar too, except y'know he didn't even REMEMBER that he was "lying".
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It started out good but I feel like it kind of got predictable and over the top once the great plot was revealed.
SPOILERS
Even though this series are not one of my favorite, I was really looking forward to read this book. Poppy seemed quite cold in the previous books, and Winston wasn’t a noticeable characters, but their story appeared interesting. So I read it. What can I say… During the first part of the novel I expected both of them to become a bit more gentle, intimate (in feelings, not in bed), more approachable, but that didn’t happen. I understand that Poppy is a strong, modern women, with her own opinion and tough character. I have read heroines like that and liked them, but I didn't like her. Winston claimed that he was the only one she showed her true, gentle self, but I didn’t feel it at all. She was hard with him, claiming to love and want him, but barely making any attempts to restore what they had lost. She was wrong not to tell him the truth for 14 years, but she didn’t say sorry in a way that I could feel she meant it. The author wrote that she felt guilty, but I also didn’t feel that guilt. I have nothing against her being tough and a bad-ass, but I wanted to see her a bit more mellow, at least with Winston.
Winston. He was a character I could understand. He made mistakes and he tried to redeem himself even though it was quite hard. No, he wasn’t perfect, but he really loved Poppy. I could feel his affection through the whole book, especially during the parts that told their past. I couldn’t feel Poppy’s love. Winston accused her of caring more for SOS than anything else and he was right. She even admitted that if it wasn’t for the deal Winston made with the demon, she wouldn’t have married him.
Now, I understand that she has a great sense of duty. She had accepted the role of Mother and is responsible for lots of lives. She has to be strong, unyielding, sometimes cruel. She bears such a burden and still she wouldn’t let go even for a minute. I wanted to see her melt a bit, feel her love and caring for her husband.
All of this was the impression that the first half of the book gave me. Then, literally when I reached 50% on my kindle, things changed. Poppy became warmer, more likable. There were some nice moments between her and Winston and they didn’t feel forced, but natural. I learned more about Poppy, understood her better. I even could feel her love for Winston (But, still, I think he loved her more than she him). All of this wasn’t exactly an abrupt change, which makes me think that Poppy from the first part of the book wasn’t the real character. It was just a woman who realized how many mistakes she made and didn’t know how to make them right.
The second part of the story was much more interesting more me, more honest . The thing I couldn’t understand was the demon's ultimatum “you have 4 days to give me what I need” . These 4 days seemed too long and the characters not ones were worried that the time was running out. They did what they should in a calm manner with no hurrying, which is strange. London is a big city, surely only traveling through it a couple of times will take lots of time?
Anyway, I give it 3 and a half stars, the half one gained because of the second part of the book.
(By the way, I wrote the first part of the review (where I mention all the time that I don’t like Poppy) when I was in the middle of the novel, on that 50% of my Kindle. Then, I finished writing and started reading and for some reason I found Poppy more likable. I have no idea how this happened. What I know is that from now on, no matter how much I need to express my rage of what the characters did, I will wait until I read the whole book until starting to write, because apparently everything could change.)
Even though this series are not one of my favorite, I was really looking forward to read this book. Poppy seemed quite cold in the previous books, and Winston wasn’t a noticeable characters, but their story appeared interesting. So I read it. What can I say… During the first part of the novel I expected both of them to become a bit more gentle, intimate (in feelings, not in bed), more approachable, but that didn’t happen. I understand that Poppy is a strong, modern women, with her own opinion and tough character. I have read heroines like that and liked them, but I didn't like her. Winston claimed that he was the only one she showed her true, gentle self, but I didn’t feel it at all. She was hard with him, claiming to love and want him, but barely making any attempts to restore what they had lost. She was wrong not to tell him the truth for 14 years, but she didn’t say sorry in a way that I could feel she meant it. The author wrote that she felt guilty, but I also didn’t feel that guilt. I have nothing against her being tough and a bad-ass, but I wanted to see her a bit more mellow, at least with Winston.
Winston. He was a character I could understand. He made mistakes and he tried to redeem himself even though it was quite hard. No, he wasn’t perfect, but he really loved Poppy. I could feel his affection through the whole book, especially during the parts that told their past. I couldn’t feel Poppy’s love. Winston accused her of caring more for SOS than anything else and he was right. She even admitted that if it wasn’t for the deal Winston made with the demon, she wouldn’t have married him.
Now, I understand that she has a great sense of duty. She had accepted the role of Mother and is responsible for lots of lives. She has to be strong, unyielding, sometimes cruel. She bears such a burden and still she wouldn’t let go even for a minute. I wanted to see her melt a bit, feel her love and caring for her husband.
All of this was the impression that the first half of the book gave me. Then, literally when I reached 50% on my kindle, things changed. Poppy became warmer, more likable. There were some nice moments between her and Winston and they didn’t feel forced, but natural. I learned more about Poppy, understood her better. I even could feel her love for Winston (But, still, I think he loved her more than she him). All of this wasn’t exactly an abrupt change, which makes me think that Poppy from the first part of the book wasn’t the real character. It was just a woman who realized how many mistakes she made and didn’t know how to make them right.
The second part of the story was much more interesting more me, more honest . The thing I couldn’t understand was the demon's ultimatum “you have 4 days to give me what I need” . These 4 days seemed too long and the characters not ones were worried that the time was running out. They did what they should in a calm manner with no hurrying, which is strange. London is a big city, surely only traveling through it a couple of times will take lots of time?
Anyway, I give it 3 and a half stars, the half one gained because of the second part of the book.
(By the way, I wrote the first part of the review (where I mention all the time that I don’t like Poppy) when I was in the middle of the novel, on that 50% of my Kindle. Then, I finished writing and started reading and for some reason I found Poppy more likable. I have no idea how this happened. What I know is that from now on, no matter how much I need to express my rage of what the characters did, I will wait until I read the whole book until starting to write, because apparently everything could change.)
I received this book in a goodreads first reads giveaway. This book is the 3rd book in the Darkest London Series. I absolutely loved Poppy and Winston's story. I read alot of PNR/UF and it's rare that I find a character as likeable as Poppy. I wish I had read the first two books before starting this one but luckily I did not have any difficulty getting into the story.
OMG. i was not expecting to like poppy's story at all, and i didn't like it. i'm head over heels in love with it and with her. i was not expecting anyone in this verse to be more badass than miranda but HELLOOO, POP. first daughter, ass-kicker, knowledgeable AF paranormal nerd queen, totally and always in control, yet with such an intense capacity for feeling and morality in her brain and her heart and her hands (and feet tbh 'cause oh shit poppy can kick ass).
let me be clear, poppy is a flawed as HELL character. her introduction in firelight made sure the readers were aware of that. nothing, nothing excuses the way she kept the paranormal world from miranda despite miranda's powers. she rationalizes it in the book, but you can't really forgive or forget that kind of manipulation by omission, no matter how solid the reason or how clearly your own parent manipulated you as a child.
and yet given all of that, given how stupid winston could be in so many parts of the text, i appreciated this novel much more than i did firelight. how to articulate this? firelight was an ideal space. archer was a type, built ideal to the point of almost an other even to himself. and in a way i suppose that was his struggle too - becoming an other in his own skin and to miranda. but the framework of firelight was such that there was no space for us to move beyond miranda and archer's observations of their circumstances and their past. there was feeling, yes. immense feeling. but it was a kind of framework that i think can only be sustained with a certain levity of spirit on miranda's behalf. archer is controlling to the point of me wanting to punch him in the face even though i love him immensely. the two don't have to be mutually exclusive deals.
winston is not archer or ian ( <3 u ian you communicator, you're the best of all of us). even in ian there is a certain... character. so to speak. a construction of a character that i personally feel would not exist irl because, well, seriously? men. winston is such a guy . like there is no other way to describe him. he's a little too real. his errors are real. he oscillates between unbelievably generous and stupidly selfish. his love for poppy is palpable and there is a certain understanding that i associate with wrt the fact that maybe you can't love without a certain amount of obsession involved in it. depends on your perspective, i suppose. if you believe in things like 'healthy' love and whatnot. i find it difficult to categorise things in that sense without experiencing them or watching them unfold in front of me in a narrative. there is no necessary spectrum of health for love. and winston, even if there were a spectrum tbh, would be quite healthily on the positive side of it, given how much he cares for (and by cares for i mean the physical care he provides as well for) poppy.
poppy herself is a whole other ballpark. i associated so, so hard with her oscillation between control and the lack thereof. and the narrative of this oscillation was balanced beautifully. her intellect, her accomplishments, her ability to compartmentalize and yet feel so keenly. tl;dr: poppy lane = (and i don't say this lightly) total goals (minus the lying. seriously, poppy. what were you thinking?).
and winston. winstooooon. how are you so immensely fucked up and yet so entirely real and true and grounded? i was not expecting a lot from this as a relationship, even if the book had been amaze (because clearly paranormal scifi/steampunk is callihan's playing field). but the marriage, and the intimacy and the affection was so on point. and despite all of that, the starting-over trope was handled so well. no idealistic flat decisions, neither character was cut any, any slack.
tbh this book got so real so fast, like. the problematics, the lying, the mistrust, the depth of feeling, it was such an intense read. i know a number of people who couldn't abide by the book, but for me it was probably the best of the darkest london series. even the flashbacks, dealing with the back and forth motion of the narrative and the characters' feelings in realtime vs flashback modes. it was a really really good balance to the otherwise super-tight four-days-ish in which the whole text is framed.
let me be clear, poppy is a flawed as HELL character. her introduction in firelight made sure the readers were aware of that. nothing, nothing excuses the way she kept the paranormal world from miranda despite miranda's powers. she rationalizes it in the book, but you can't really forgive or forget that kind of manipulation by omission, no matter how solid the reason or how clearly your own parent manipulated you as a child.
and yet given all of that, given how stupid winston could be in so many parts of the text, i appreciated this novel much more than i did firelight. how to articulate this? firelight was an ideal space. archer was a type, built ideal to the point of almost an other even to himself. and in a way i suppose that was his struggle too - becoming an other in his own skin and to miranda. but the framework of firelight was such that there was no space for us to move beyond miranda and archer's observations of their circumstances and their past. there was feeling, yes. immense feeling. but it was a kind of framework that i think can only be sustained with a certain levity of spirit on miranda's behalf. archer is controlling to the point of me wanting to punch him in the face even though i love him immensely. the two don't have to be mutually exclusive deals.
winston is not archer or ian ( <3 u ian you communicator, you're the best of all of us). even in ian there is a certain... character. so to speak. a construction of a character that i personally feel would not exist irl because, well, seriously? men. winston is such a guy . like there is no other way to describe him. he's a little too real. his errors are real. he oscillates between unbelievably generous and stupidly selfish. his love for poppy is palpable and there is a certain understanding that i associate with wrt the fact that maybe you can't love without a certain amount of obsession involved in it. depends on your perspective, i suppose. if you believe in things like 'healthy' love and whatnot. i find it difficult to categorise things in that sense without experiencing them or watching them unfold in front of me in a narrative. there is no necessary spectrum of health for love. and winston, even if there were a spectrum tbh, would be quite healthily on the positive side of it, given how much he cares for (and by cares for i mean the physical care he provides as well for) poppy.
poppy herself is a whole other ballpark. i associated so, so hard with her oscillation between control and the lack thereof. and the narrative of this oscillation was balanced beautifully. her intellect, her accomplishments, her ability to compartmentalize and yet feel so keenly. tl;dr: poppy lane = (and i don't say this lightly) total goals (minus the lying. seriously, poppy. what were you thinking?).
and winston. winstooooon. how are you so immensely fucked up and yet so entirely real and true and grounded? i was not expecting a lot from this as a relationship, even if the book had been amaze (because clearly paranormal scifi/steampunk is callihan's playing field). but the marriage, and the intimacy and the affection was so on point. and despite all of that, the starting-over trope was handled so well. no idealistic flat decisions, neither character was cut any, any slack.
tbh this book got so real so fast, like. the problematics, the lying, the mistrust, the depth of feeling, it was such an intense read. i know a number of people who couldn't abide by the book, but for me it was probably the best of the darkest london series. even the flashbacks, dealing with the back and forth motion of the narrative and the characters' feelings in realtime vs flashback modes. it was a really really good balance to the otherwise super-tight four-days-ish in which the whole text is framed.
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
A good second chance romance, Darkest London is a well built urban fantasy world. The story dragged at times, but a clever resolution.
This book made my heart sigh. Probably because I’m an old married woman.