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violetmoonie's review
4.0
(Warning for very minor spoilers)
A Storm In The Making
Despite its shorter length and lighthearted nature, Before The Dawn was one of my most anticipated books of the year. As a long term fan of the series who also fell in love with everything After The Fall, I can safely say that this book brought all the joy I’ve expected from it to my life and more. Myers has an excellent understanding of the characters which he also executes masterfully through his writing style- The narrative may appear a bit simplistic at first glance but it doesn’t take too much time see how none of the character’s depths or the tone of the story is lost to it, which makes up a pretty immersing and fast-paced read.
I know that logically I should begin with actually happens in the book, but the characterization is the first thing I genuinely want to mention as it is completely blew me away in its prequel. Despite the cover creating a sense that the spotlight is going to shine on team SSSN this time, team CFVY is the heart of the story this time as well and they are charmingly well fleshed out and compelling as you really get to see them as one whole now. Even at the times they’re seperated, their understanding of each other shows their full potential as a team who has truly put in the effort to work things out and to embrace one another family. This doesn’t mean that there isn’t any room for growth left for any of them, however it does place them as a pretty clear contrast to team SSSN and all the other teams we encounter throughout the story who are haven’t figured out how to be more than a group of students put together by the world. Yet even without the narrative purposes of their newly developed teamwork, simply having them together and watching their interactions was a blessing (I could read an entire book about Coco and Fox having late night conversations). In terms of SSSN, we also get a deeper look into Sun and his relationships with people both in and outside of his team as well as the consequences of all the times he made the decision to go off on his own. Even though it felt like these problems were concluded a bit too abruptly in the end, seeing more of the way he thinks about relationships, belonging and community as well as how they are rooted in his upbringing really made him even more genuine to me. For the rest of team, all I can say is that I wish we could have seen more of them: Scarlet got the most spotlight with his righteous anger towards Sun, Neptune was well, Neptune and I think Sage gave a nod once.
In terms of the plot itself, this is where Before The Dawn paled in comparison to After The Fall for me. Some parts feel rushed and out of place- the ending battle seemed too big of an event to have been introduced to and dealt with it on such short notice. Some of the incidents that introduced a lot of potential to explore new dynamics and world building aspects felt wasted such as the whole arrangement of new teams. (Yes there are a lot of more intelligent and coherent narrative aspects I can give as an example for this, yes I’m also simply sad that we didn’t get to see Coco and Scarlet being the gay best friend duo we deserved) But such execution criticisms aside, the overall direction the story had in terms of The Crown was very appealing and a delight of a ride, and in the end that’s how I feel about this book. A character driven story that instantly grasps you and offers some of the best elements of RWBY whether it is its very well established setting and history, nuances of its magic system, the greatly paced adventure and immensely lovable characters. I have officially adopted Team CVFY and I already feel their absence. Whether it be with another sequel or the show itself, I can’t wait to see them again and thank E. C. Myers for bringing them to life.
A Storm In The Making
Despite its shorter length and lighthearted nature, Before The Dawn was one of my most anticipated books of the year. As a long term fan of the series who also fell in love with everything After The Fall, I can safely say that this book brought all the joy I’ve expected from it to my life and more. Myers has an excellent understanding of the characters which he also executes masterfully through his writing style- The narrative may appear a bit simplistic at first glance but it doesn’t take too much time see how none of the character’s depths or the tone of the story is lost to it, which makes up a pretty immersing and fast-paced read.
I know that logically I should begin with actually happens in the book, but the characterization is the first thing I genuinely want to mention as it is completely blew me away in its prequel. Despite the cover creating a sense that the spotlight is going to shine on team SSSN this time, team CFVY is the heart of the story this time as well and they are charmingly well fleshed out and compelling as you really get to see them as one whole now. Even at the times they’re seperated, their understanding of each other shows their full potential as a team who has truly put in the effort to work things out and to embrace one another family. This doesn’t mean that there isn’t any room for growth left for any of them, however it does place them as a pretty clear contrast to team SSSN and all the other teams we encounter throughout the story who are haven’t figured out how to be more than a group of students put together by the world. Yet even without the narrative purposes of their newly developed teamwork, simply having them together and watching their interactions was a blessing (I could read an entire book about Coco and Fox having late night conversations). In terms of SSSN, we also get a deeper look into Sun and his relationships with people both in and outside of his team as well as the consequences of all the times he made the decision to go off on his own. Even though it felt like these problems were concluded a bit too abruptly in the end, seeing more of the way he thinks about relationships, belonging and community as well as how they are rooted in his upbringing really made him even more genuine to me. For the rest of team, all I can say is that I wish we could have seen more of them: Scarlet got the most spotlight with his righteous anger towards Sun, Neptune was well, Neptune and I think Sage gave a nod once.
In terms of the plot itself, this is where Before The Dawn paled in comparison to After The Fall for me. Some parts feel rushed and out of place- the ending battle seemed too big of an event to have been introduced to and dealt with it on such short notice. Some of the incidents that introduced a lot of potential to explore new dynamics and world building aspects felt wasted such as the whole arrangement of new teams. (Yes there are a lot of more intelligent and coherent narrative aspects I can give as an example for this, yes I’m also simply sad that we didn’t get to see Coco and Scarlet being the gay best friend duo we deserved) But such execution criticisms aside, the overall direction the story had in terms of The Crown was very appealing and a delight of a ride, and in the end that’s how I feel about this book. A character driven story that instantly grasps you and offers some of the best elements of RWBY whether it is its very well established setting and history, nuances of its magic system, the greatly paced adventure and immensely lovable characters. I have officially adopted Team CVFY and I already feel their absence. Whether it be with another sequel or the show itself, I can’t wait to see them again and thank E. C. Myers for bringing them to life.
aemilova's review
5.0
I'm gonna miss them all so much! Also.... is this where Volume 9 is gonna pick up with Nora, Ren and Winter???
I don't really know what else to say other than I fucking love having RWBY content in books. I love seeing more of teams CFVY and SSSN and I love that they are giving us more to them and to the story throughout books! Members of both teams are very loved by the fandom so getting to know them and their team mates makes me extremely happy. Plus filling gaps of the story this way feel very fulfilling to me.
Maybe I'm just too biased because I love the show and the characters so much but I had such a blast reading this one too, and now I can't wait for the next one!
I don't really know what else to say other than I fucking love having RWBY content in books. I love seeing more of teams CFVY and SSSN and I love that they are giving us more to them and to the story throughout books! Members of both teams are very loved by the fandom so getting to know them and their team mates makes me extremely happy. Plus filling gaps of the story this way feel very fulfilling to me.
Maybe I'm just too biased because I love the show and the characters so much but I had such a blast reading this one too, and now I can't wait for the next one!
silverjarp's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
m_rain's review
adventurous
fast-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
4.75
rosecoloredbooks's review
5.0
I love Velvet ! And Sun ! And Fox ! And Neptune ! This was great and I'm super excited to see if these teams will come back onto the show when RWBY and ORNJ/JNPR go to Vacuo!
chasethefictionfanatic's review
5.0
Rating:5 Stars
I love that in the show we are following Team RWBY and in the books, we are canonically following our favorite side character teams and what's going on in other areas of Remnant. Team CFVY is amazing. I already loved Velvet and Coco from the show but in the first book, we got to know their team a little better. I love the relationship between Yastsu and Velvet and Fox has quickly become one of my favorite characters. In this book, we also feature Team SSSN. Sun is hilarious as always. I liked getting to see Shade Academy and the people of Vacuo. It was interesting meeting new students, professors, and headmasters and seeing what fairy tales they related to. There were some new characters I really enjoyed and others not so much. There were definitely some twists I did not see coming. Some of them threw me for a loop and had me worried. Overall, this was a great story that I enjoyed every minute of reading. I highly recommend both the TV and book series.
Happy Reading my Friends.
I love that in the show we are following Team RWBY and in the books, we are canonically following our favorite side character teams and what's going on in other areas of Remnant. Team CFVY is amazing. I already loved Velvet and Coco from the show but in the first book, we got to know their team a little better. I love the relationship between Yastsu and Velvet and Fox has quickly become one of my favorite characters. In this book, we also feature Team SSSN. Sun is hilarious as always. I liked getting to see Shade Academy and the people of Vacuo. It was interesting meeting new students, professors, and headmasters and seeing what fairy tales they related to. There were some new characters I really enjoyed and others not so much. There were definitely some twists I did not see coming. Some of them threw me for a loop and had me worried. Overall, this was a great story that I enjoyed every minute of reading. I highly recommend both the TV and book series.
Happy Reading my Friends.
kitcatbooks's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
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
4.25
shadowcay's review
adventurous
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Kidnapping
Minor: Death of parent
sealbrecht's review
4.0
I liked this a lot more than the first book! The main highlight is that we got WAY more character development, and I've fallen even more in love with Team CFVY and their great family dynamic. While I thought that some parts of the plot were rushed, I had fun with the climax battle chapters and the fight choreography was really well written once again. It's nice that Myers is able to translate those scenes that make the RWBY show so amazing into the book, and this also goes for the intricacies of the World of Remnant and the magic system. Of note, we didn't get as much time with Team SSSN as I expected, but honestly, I liked it better that way ;)
bremna101's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
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