Reviews with content warning for Injury/Injury detail - The Bone Season

why in the WORLD WAS THIS PITCHED WRONG. the blurb was literally the first 3 chapters and then it pivoted so hard and i hated it. the plot was just icky and about halfway i noticed the urgent need for an editor because things just didn't make sense. the plot climax was not good and i hate the 'romance' please no. i definitely won't be continuing with the series.

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bookishchef's review against another edition

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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? Yes

3.25

Okay. So.

Up until about 60-70% of this book, I was ready to give it five stars.
I absolutely loved it.

But then it slowly but steadily started shitting the bed.

1. The gold cord plot point thing came out of nowhere and was never really explained. It just seemed like a convenient plot device that did not feel like it belonged in the grim world the author has created.

2. The rebound turned SA scene was completely unnecessary, and seemed like a weird attempt to bestow the main character with more trauma than she already had (and make her be pitied by Warden and the reader).

3. Loss of virginity being described as "an uppercut to the stomach". I hate this trope so much. No, having sex for the first time does not feel like dying. It might hurt (for many people it does not even do that). But it won't feel like being torn in half god dammit.
The average period cramp feels way way way worse unless you have a medical condition like vaginismus.

4. The main character falling in love with her captor/slave master does not sit quite right with me. Even if he treated her nicely, that is still a weird power inbalance that should never lead to a relationship.

5. Teenagers falling for century old creatures just makes me roll my eyes at this point. It weirds me out a bit, and it has been done so so so many times at this point.
Maybe I could deal with it if both characters seemed to be at the same level mentally, but Warden is practically a deity compared to Paige. Not immortal, but infinitely more intelligent and quite obviously so so so much older (and not to forget, her literal owner). From the way he behaves, to the way he speaks: it has middle aged man dating teenager vibes.

So yeah. This was a fun but very mixed bag. I ordered book 2 when I was about 60% into the book because I was sure I would love it at that point. But now that love has become a begrudging like.

I enjoyed this book for the most part, but some things cannot be unseen once you see them.

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shannonbooks's review against another edition

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adventurous funny mysterious 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

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stwriter92'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? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This book was recommended to me by my flatmate, who ended up loving it so much that she bought the entire series (sans the fourth book, which she will be getting soon). I already had another book by Samantha Shannon on my TBR list (The Priory of the Orange Tree), and decided that this would be a good way to see her writing style before I dived into that behemoth of a book.

The series takes part in the year 2059 during an alternate reality in which those who can use clairvoyant powers (voyants) are persecuted by those that cannot. Our protagonist, Paige, is one of the rarest and most hunted form of voyants: a dreamwalker. She can break into the dreamscapes of other people, and does so at the behest of her employer and head of the Seven Dials (a criminal voyant underworld gang) to gather information on other gang leaders. However, the inevitable happens and Paige is found out, kidnapped, and taken to a place that does not exist on any maps. A penal colony where she is taken as a slave to an otherworldly race called the Rephaite. She is assigned to Warden, a higher up and consort of the Queen Nashira. Paige must use her wits, her resources, and help from unexpected quarters to escape a life of eternal slavery to the ruthless Queen.

There were many things I loved about this book. The characters were well written and fleshed out really well. I actually cared for the characters and found myself second guessing others. I could feel everything the characters were feeling, which of course meant I had my heart ripped out of my chest on more than one occasion. I could feel the homesickness Paige felt as well as the distrust she felt towards he captors. I was also a fan of the worldbuilding. I thought it was very interesting to see that each of the criminal sectors in London were sort of “stuck” in the era they were created. It made for a very interesting mesh of Victorian slang, fashion, an mannerisms with the technology of the modern world.

This book was definitely a page turner and I oftentimes could not put it down. I am really looking forward to starting the second book soon. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of dystopian fantasy, found family tropes, and the feeling of getting one’s heart unceremoniously ripped out and stomped on.

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amyp3's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

5.0

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