Reviews tagging 'Gore'

Call Down the Hawk by Maggie Stiefvater

11 reviews

trintrin's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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

5.0

I think this is genuinely the most fun I've had reading a sequel series. Sequel series are always in that weird grey area of scratching the same itch that only your favourite characters from the main series could, but also either risk going overboard with additional world-building, new characters, and plot devices, or risk going stale with same old characters, and same old world. This book hits a sweet, sweet spot.

I was kinda indecisive seeing this is gonna be about Ronan (and by extension, Adam, who would obviously be a major part of his life) because Ronan Lynch is my absolute favourite character and I do not want to tarnish the perfect image I have of him in my head. I didn't know what other adventures little old Henrietta offered, seeing that the quest for Glendower is over, I didn't know what the focus is going to be in Ronan and Adam's relationship, seeing as he would've gone to college. But, boy, oh, boy, did the Lynch brothers deliver.

The Characters

Sure, this book doesn't have the ride-or-die friendships like the Gangsey, but it does have interesting characters. Absolutely head over heels in love with Jordan and Hennessy, I would sacrifice myself to the ley-line to protect these girls. DECLAN LYNCH!! I knew he would pull through, always had faith in him. Someone needs to give this boy a hug, some warm cocoa, and peace. Also, fuck Niall Lynch. I used to think he wasn't that bad, just a very absent father, but good lord. A very interesting side to Matthew which I didn't even consider was possible. Hopefully we get to see more of that. Still kinda lukewarm on Farooq-Lane. Interesting character, certainly, just not sure how much I like her. Parsifal

, too soon, my boy, too soon

. Bryde, the ever-mysterious Bryde. Excited to get to know him better. Lilliana too, I have high hopes for her.

The Plot

The plot is darker than TRC, which is expected considering four teenagers going on a hunt for a dead Welsh King is going to be more on the friendshipy-adventurous side, while organisations that hunt down dreamers and dreams would be significantly darker and grittier. The world is much bigger than a small, rural town in Virginia, whaddayaknow. Especially when you throw the Lynches into the equation, as it's both about their messed up family history and narrated by them. The introduction of new characters was perfect, the pacing was perfect, the development of both the plot and the characters was perfect, the unexpected

Mór Ó Corra

plot-twist which I totally should've seen coming was perfect, Stiefvater's beautiful writing in all her glory was perfect, all in all, perfect. :D

Should you read this if you loved The Raven Cycle?

I would say it depends on which part of TRC you loved. TRC had a good plot, but the phenomenal characters were what carried the series. Whereas, this series has incredible characters, but the amazing plot is the focus. Fair warning though, there's little to nothing of Gansey, Blue and Noah, and only crumbs of Adam, if that's what you're looking for. If Ronan, Chainsaw, Orphan-Girl, Matthew, Declan, and the Lynch family history mystery with some cool new characters sounds like your thing, definitely give it a try!

Content Warnings

booksandstardust's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

adamparrishlover's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark funny tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

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toopunkrockforshul's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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

5.0

This was a reread and wow I love this book it was so good. Super excited to read the next two right afterwards. Just absolutely love the writing and complexity of the characters, as well as Will Patton as the narrator in the audiobook is just fantastic.

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imds's review against another edition

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Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

Content Warnings

em_of_swags's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Content Warnings

onemamareads's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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

Read my full review here: https://onemamassummer.weebly.com/book-reviews/call-down-the-hawk

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msradiosilence's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad tense fast-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? It's complicated

4.5

Tldr; Ronan and company are back and better than ever, and the cast, the writing, and the stakes are *chef’s kiss*.

Read my full review at: https://www.rainyreader.com/single-post/call-down-the-hawk.

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theespressoedition's review

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I believe that it's saying something, that this book could receive a higher rating than any one of the novels in The Raven Cycle. It was never that I "disliked" those books, so much as I was so incredibly baffled by them that I never really grasped what was happening, which made it so that I never got the chance to really love them. However, I could see myself truly loving The Dreamer Trilogy, so long as the next two books are as good as this one!

Because this is a spin-off of The Raven Cycle, we already know all about Ronan Lynch and his dreamer abilities. While he's one of the most popular characters in the original series, I never really found myself connecting with him, and I much preferred the other members of the cast. In this book, I was a huge fan. There was a vulnerability and intrigue to him that didn't exist for me before and I loved that he became a leader of sorts in this story.

In addition to that, there's a much larger focus on the other Lynch brothers, who I was always incredibly curious about. Declan was this kind of shady, shifty shadow figure in the other books, but this one gave him a story and a purpose. I was very drawn to him and could understand why Jordan Hennessy was as well. And of course, who doesn't love Matthew? I mean, that's literally his biggest personality trait: he's lovable. So, it came as no surprise that I found myself tearing up a bit during certain moments with him towards the end of the book.

JORDAN HENNESSY. This girl is a new favorite character for me, for sure. I am completely and utterly fascinated by her. She's the result of OG Hennessy's dreams going awry (or really, the fact that Hennessy has no idea how to dream in the first place, something that was also fascinating) and she has her own personality and life outside of her creator. I longed for her to experience freedom and I'm hopeful that at some point, she achieves that during this trilogy.

Honestly, I flew through this book because it had the same "edge of your seat/what's going to happen next" quality of The Raven Cycle, but with a lot more explanation - something I really, really needed! I can't wait to pick up Mister Impossible to see what these characters get up to next!

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claudiamacpherson's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I love Maggie Stiefvater’s writing so. much. I obviously love fantasy as a genre, but the way Stiefvater writes it is unlike any other writer I know. It’s part of her stories—an important part—but they still feel so <i>real</i> and close to the real world. I’m often turned off by (what I feel to be gratuitous) grittiness or violence in stories, but Stiefvater always makes me care enough about the characters that I’ll power through those parts. I loved the Ronan/Adam scenes, though they were few and far between, and I enjoyed getting to know Declan better (shockingly, he’s not nearly as annoying as he seemed). However, I definitely missed the characters and found family from the The Raven Cycle.

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