Reviews

The Place of No Stars by Erin Hunter

cobycoyle's review against another edition

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3.0

I really like this arc...and that’s why I’m disappointed with this one.
I was very pumped when this finally came out, and now that I finished it I feel underwhelmed. The book just seemed like it was moving slow, this one took me significantly longer to get through than past Warrior books. It seemed like they had cats just sit around until Willowshine and Shadowsight went into the Dark Forest for the first time, and even that was a little underwhelming. Willowshine also seemed like a random choice for the cat that had to go to the Dark Forest, but oh well.
I’m also confused why everyone seems fine with Bristlefrost and Rootspring’s not-relationship relationship. Any other time every cat would tear them apart...but I guess they’re a tad distracted.
Also I thought I’d get a big Bramblestar and Squirreflight reunion scene. But NOPE.

What I did love was Tigerstar and Shadowsight’s heart to heart. I feel like Tigerstar had a lot of character growth just from that one scene, and it has reaffirmed his place as one of my favorite characters.
I love to see Snowtuft getting...not “redemption” necessarily, but helping out. I want to know more about him.

dyyyni's review against another edition

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adventurous dark medium-paced

3.0

randomvlogs_withme's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

greenbean28's review against another edition

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4.75

the parallel between shadowsight and tigerstar and rootspring and tree......
"“I never thought I would lose Rootspring this way.” Bristlefrost started at the sound of Tree’s voice. (...) “Coming to the Clans as an outsider, I had to prepare myself for the possibility of losing my son in battle. But not like this, not to the Dark Forest, or to StarClan.”"
"“I don’t like it,” [Tigerstar] growled brusquely. “No father could. But I suppose I have to accept that you are special.”"


& tigerstar and shadowsight getting the chance to have a genuinely emotional, touching, open conversation near the end,
while tree must face the fact that his son is not coming back.
if i had a physical copy of this book, it would be a crumpled ball of paper after that.

in connection w/ the father-son duo parallel, there's this other tigerstar quote, which he said to shadowsight
"i haven't been a special cat for quite some time" or sthing of that sort. that specialness is present in tree and rootspring as well: it's what helped those two connect, while it was what drove a slight edge between shadowsight and his father (tigerstar's overprotectiveness,  shadowsight feeling powerless, etc). and the fact tigerstar wishes shadowsight didn't have to deal with all this destiny stuff,
while tree helped rootspring embrace his powers in the previous books, and sees their value, sees how much good rootspring can do thanks to them.
But they're also what doomed rootspring in this instance, since i assume willowshine wouldn't have been able to drag him into the moonpool, had he no ghost powers??
i just think that's crazy!!! learn to embrace who you are, only to have that be the end of you!

anyway, i liked both tree and tigerstar, and rootspring and shadowsight in this book. also, the dynamic that bristlefrost and tree have is fun, the similarities between their situations, the contrasting personalities, the shared love for rootspring. (tho their convos also shone a light on how underdeveloped bristle and root's relationship is lol. she has a more well-defined dynamic with her crush/bf's dad than with rootspring himself. imo)
i liked that despite tree's wish to save rootspring, he also didn't want bristlefrost or shadowsight to risk their lives.
i just love tree. mwah

if bristlefrost had any of her early tbc charm (ergo any personality trait that isnt "loving rootspring") this book would've been a 5 star for me. spooky setting
ashfur's psychologycal torture island or whatever??
, actually interesting conversations, exciting confrontations, stupid magic!!!<3

ann_s's review against another edition

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mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

nct's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

chamomiledaydreams's review against another edition

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3.0

I know that this book is literally called "The Place of No Stars," but I honestly wasn't expecting the setting to last for the entire story. I grew fatigued of the seemingly endless plot points of, "Now So-and-so is trapped, so we need to go back in and save them!" and I was more frustrated with the protagonists than supportive (especially when they spent so long arguing over who should do what and then settled on a decision based on what seemed to be like arbitrary standards).

Still, shout-out to Mothwing, my beloved, for being much nicer to Shadowsight than in previous books. I enjoyed seeing her as a no-nonsense, older aunt figure, who says things disapprovingly but has a loving glint in her eyes all the same. My biggest pet peeve about her in this book is how the narrative took place over such a short stretch of time, yet other characters made comments like, "It seemed like she was still grieving So-and-so," or "The pain was still fresh in her eyes." So-and-so (whose name I am censoring for the sake of not spoiling anything) has barely been dead for 48 hours! I don't think that anyone should be surprised by the strength of Mothwing's emotions.

Anyway, I also enjoyed meeting Snowtuft in this book. I've heard a lot about him, and I'm genuinely more interested in learning new stories from the Dark Forest (such as his) rather than revisiting old antagonists (such as Darkstripe). I'm glad that the action has been steadily building across this series of six and seems prepared to boil over perfectly in the final installment. I know some vague spoilers that make me nervous, but I'm excited to see exactly how they play out for myself.

littleflowerly's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

taava's review against another edition

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5.0

I have really enjoyed this arc so far! I felt like this particular book moved a little slower than some of the previous books in this arc. However, it was still enjoyable!

kenmakozumehq's review against another edition

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3.0

This book was alright, though it was the worse of TBC so far.