Reviews with content warning for Blood - Call Down the Hawk

5 ⭐ CW: Violence, gun violence, murder, descriptions of blood, suicidal thoughts, suicide

Call Down the Hawk by Maggie Stiefvater is book one in The Dreamer Trilogy. I don't even know how to start this review. Maggie has done it again, and apparently she has taken over my life this year. Now I just need to find a paperback edition of Mister Impossible.

This book takes place after the events in The Raven Cycle. Gansey and Blue have left on a road trip and Adam is at Harvard. Which leaves us with a very lonely, and more broody than usual, Ronan. We also get way more of Declan this book, and from the bland fun sucker that was the Declan we got in the Raven Cycle, we now have a reason to care about him. I am confused and conflicted, because now I care about Declan and just want him to be happy and without burden.

We also follow Hennessey, another dreamer, who only dreams copies of herself; and Farooq-Lane, a dreamer hunter who is searching for the dreamer that has been prophesied to end the world. It was fascinating getting a look at another dreamer and how that affected her. It was great seeing the interplay between Hennessey and Ronan, and you get the sense that Ronan is way more in control than we've seen him be.

I love Maggie's writing so much. She's so good at writing about abstract concepts and dreams in a way that makes you visualize them without even understanding what that would look like in reality. There are just so many themes and messages in this book, that I can't list them all. I don't even know if I understand them. I seriously need to get my hands on Mister Impossible, which I'm told will destroy me. Bring. It. On.

Content Warnings

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.

Content Warnings

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!

Content Warnings

limiwh's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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

4.5

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jenarae's review

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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

4.75

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epicecho's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark funny inspiring mysterious 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

5.0

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miagw962's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective 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? Yes

4.5

"I know you feel anxious on sunny days," Bryde remarked.
"You haven't said it out loud. You barely think it. They love the sunny days, after all. They love a naked sky with a savage white sun set in it like a killer jewel. It doesn't worry them. It's a string of rainy days that makes them grow languid and unsteady. Energy draining, depression eating the marrow out of their bones. Rainy days aren't for them. Do you think a tree hates a rainy day?"

MAGGIE, I am in absolute awe of the way you write. To quote BTS, 'smooth like butter'. It's like drinking a really nice chocolate milkshake, it just goes down so smoothly and it's so easy to drink some more (that is such a bad analogy but it's fine hahaha). The way she writes characters is so unbelievably powerful. AHHHHH, I can't get enough of her writing about these characters and the stuff they get up to.

I don't have much else to say except Ronan was always my favourite so I'm so glad we get to explore his relationships, particularly with his brothers. Such an interesting dynamic has been built up over The Raven Cycle series and I'm so glad to see it here again. The story itself didn't affect me as much as some of those books but it was still really intriguing, very much making me want to pick up the next book. Also, making me want to reread The Raven Cycle which could be dangerous for meeeeee.

Content Warnings

seanamcphie's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad 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

5.0

Content Warnings

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