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themosquitoqueer's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
aceinit's review against another edition
3.0
Longer review to follow, as time permits.
Mild Spoilers for plot elements, but no big reveals.
The short version:
Paige’s return to London does its best to not fall victim to middle-book-in-a-series-syndrome, but it is definitely slow to get the ball rolling. We get to see quite a bit of Paige’s daily life as she becomes Scion London’s most wanted, but unfortunately slices of life aren’t particularly interesting. The characterizations of The Seven Seals fall flat, and the more time you spend with them, you realize how largely interchangeable the members of Jaxon’s gang are. Though almost everyone is harboring their own little secrets, the characters are never sufficiently fleshed out enough for them to be interested.
Even as a larger conspiracy begins to unfold involving the Syndicate, the book had a hard time holding my interest. Even as the Rephaim slowly begin to resurface in London, the book had a hard time holding my interest. The mysteries remain a little too vague, for the sake of a big reveal towards the end, but even if you are only halfway paying attention, they aren’t that hard to figure out.
And when we get down to the Hunger-Games style battle royale that is the
The book ends on a whallop of a cliffhanger that will leave you wanting the third installment ASAP. And the ending does pack a whallop even though I’d figured it out the last big reveal before the halfway point.
I am hoping that the pace will increase a bit in book 3, and that we will get to see the Syndicate as something more than a gathering of thugs, and really delve into their powers. After being so pleasantly surprised by the first book, I can’t help but feel let down upon completing the second.
Mild Spoilers for plot elements, but no big reveals.
The short version:
Paige’s return to London does its best to not fall victim to middle-book-in-a-series-syndrome, but it is definitely slow to get the ball rolling. We get to see quite a bit of Paige’s daily life as she becomes Scion London’s most wanted, but unfortunately slices of life aren’t particularly interesting. The characterizations of The Seven Seals fall flat, and the more time you spend with them, you realize how largely interchangeable the members of Jaxon’s gang are. Though almost everyone is harboring their own little secrets, the characters are never sufficiently fleshed out enough for them to be interested.
Even as a larger conspiracy begins to unfold involving the Syndicate, the book had a hard time holding my interest. Even as the Rephaim slowly begin to resurface in London, the book had a hard time holding my interest. The mysteries remain a little too vague, for the sake of a big reveal towards the end, but even if you are only halfway paying attention, they aren’t that hard to figure out.
And when we get down to the Hunger-Games style battle royale that is the
Spoiler
Scrimmage...well, come on, we’re dealing with all kinds of interesting and powerful clairvoyants here. Couldn’t Shannon come up with something more inventive than a giant death-match brawl to choose the next Underlord? I mean really? That's all we get, the go-to dystopian YA horror plot device of the moment? Just stick them all in a ring and let them quite literally fight it out? Forgo all the cool types of voyants and what they can do, blame a lack of numa, and just let everyone beat the crap out of each other with the occasional dash of voyance thrown in, usually from Paige, whose gifts we are most familiar with? Really? The only thing that saves it is the trick used by the victor to eventually become the victor, because it was lovely to see that particular loser so brutally humbled.The book ends on a whallop of a cliffhanger that will leave you wanting the third installment ASAP. And the ending does pack a whallop even though I’d figured it out the last big reveal before the halfway point.
I am hoping that the pace will increase a bit in book 3, and that we will get to see the Syndicate as something more than a gathering of thugs, and really delve into their powers. After being so pleasantly surprised by the first book, I can’t help but feel let down upon completing the second.
tiggy1991's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
fantasynovel's review against another edition
5.0
4.5 stars. I loved this book, but it loses half a star for a few reasons:
1) When Paige dreamwalks, her mortal body stops breathing and it's heart stops beating. To combat this, she hooks up to an oxygen mask while she's AWOL. But if her heart is beating, that oxygen being pumped into her lungs isn't going anywhere. This discrepancy really, really bugs me. She also says that "all signs of life" stop while she's gone. Does that mean she's literally dead time and time again? Because that should be taking a bigger tole than it is on her. (And again, if she's really dead, an oxygen mask won't do anything.)
2) Sometimes characters will say things and they'll seem super random, but no one else in the book will think they're random. The author seems to be writing according to her internal logic, but that doesn't translate well to other people.
Reasons it still gets 4.5 stars:
1) Paige Mahoney is a chick with agency. I've heard her compared to Katniss, but she's totally different. Katniss has very little agency beyond saving her sister. She's a puppet of the resistance, a puppet to be dressed up in a costume. Paige is just a BAMF. She believes in her cause and she fights for her cause.
2) The amazing power system. Besides the annoying how-is-Paige-surviving thing, the powers are put together really well. And they're just plain fascinating.
3)This book is just FUN with a capital F. I loved it, loved it, loved it.
1) When Paige dreamwalks, her mortal body stops breathing and it's heart stops beating. To combat this, she hooks up to an oxygen mask while she's AWOL. But if her heart is beating, that oxygen being pumped into her lungs isn't going anywhere. This discrepancy really, really bugs me. She also says that "all signs of life" stop while she's gone. Does that mean she's literally dead time and time again? Because that should be taking a bigger tole than it is on her. (And again, if she's really dead, an oxygen mask won't do anything.)
2) Sometimes characters will say things and they'll seem super random, but no one else in the book will think they're random. The author seems to be writing according to her internal logic, but that doesn't translate well to other people.
Reasons it still gets 4.5 stars:
1) Paige Mahoney is a chick with agency. I've heard her compared to Katniss, but she's totally different. Katniss has very little agency beyond saving her sister. She's a puppet of the resistance, a puppet to be dressed up in a costume. Paige is just a BAMF. She believes in her cause and she fights for her cause.
2) The amazing power system. Besides the annoying how-is-Paige-surviving thing, the powers are put together really well. And they're just plain fascinating.
3)This book is just FUN with a capital F. I loved it, loved it, loved it.
seymone's review against another edition
4.0
Cliffhanger! ! I cnnot wait to read the next installation. I want to see Paige come into her powers. She is going to be a force to be reckoned wih.
ahart_4's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
lexn_bryant's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
mmidi's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
sweetsorrows's review against another edition
5.0
this book knew what it was talking about!! strong improvement and characterization from the first one :)
arrk33's review against another edition
4.0
2023 read:
I love this series! It’s fun, tense, and studded with action and just a hint of romance. I think it side-steps common trope flaws well and is just a really good read.
Paige is still a badass, learning more about her gifts and what she can do with them. She has to make tough decisions that feel real and weighty. Nick is just too pure for the world he’s in and loves Paige so much and is put into a terrible situation. I love that we get to see more of Eliza and Danica (one of my favorite names!) in this and how they all work together.
Lastly, Warden is still my only complaint in that he still seems very…one dimensional maybe? The naïve romantic in me loves him but he definitely doesn’t stand up to some other fictional men that I love (Jaime from Outlander, Rhys from ACOTAR, Matthias from SoC, etc) in terms of being a good partner. The make-out scenes in both this and the first book felt very out of place. The first one was very Tamlin-and-Feyre-under-the-mountain and this one, while less egregious, was still a little out of place?
These are minor complaints though and I still totally adore this series!!
I love this series! It’s fun, tense, and studded with action and just a hint of romance. I think it side-steps common trope flaws well and is just a really good read.
Paige is still a badass, learning more about her gifts and what she can do with them. She has to make tough decisions that feel real and weighty. Nick is just too pure for the world he’s in and loves Paige so much and is put into a terrible situation. I love that we get to see more of Eliza and Danica (one of my favorite names!) in this and how they all work together.
Lastly, Warden is still my only complaint in that he still seems very…one dimensional maybe? The naïve romantic in me loves him but he definitely doesn’t stand up to some other fictional men that I love (Jaime from Outlander, Rhys from ACOTAR, Matthias from SoC, etc) in terms of being a good partner. The make-out scenes in both this and the first book felt very out of place. The first one was very Tamlin-and-Feyre-under-the-mountain and this one, while less egregious, was still a little out of place?
These are minor complaints though and I still totally adore this series!!