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4.06 AVERAGE
4.06 AVERAGE
OH MY GOD
*ENDLESS SCREAMING*
*RUNS FOR THE NEXT BOOK*
(I'm terrified to read Book 4 because once I do, that's it, I'm stuck waiting the ENDLESS WAIT until the final book's release in the fall. And if Book 4 ends anything like Book 3...OH GOD.)
*ENDLESS SCREAMING*
*RUNS FOR THE NEXT BOOK*
(I'm terrified to read Book 4 because once I do, that's it, I'm stuck waiting the ENDLESS WAIT until the final book's release in the fall. And if Book 4 ends anything like Book 3...OH GOD.)
I seriously love the ingenuity of these kids! Whilst imprisoned in Philadelphia, they somehow manage to get out of a bad situation with scraps that they turn into cool inventions, as well as brain power. I love the way the characters all work together as a team and can't wait to see where the next book with take us.
Pros:
+ Jess and his family are so interesting and complex in this novel
+ BRENDAN!!
+ Philadelphia was definitely interesting, being a city under siege for so long
+ Santi and Wolfe were, as usual, wonderful
+ Jess will always be my baby and I will STAND BY HIM, GOOD MAN
Cons:
- ughhhhh
- The pace meandered
- The romance was Not Good I’m so sorry, because I love them, but it just wasn’t
- WHY does it need to be five books. Why.
- THE AMOUNT OF TELLING. DO YOU THINK I DON’T KNOW WHO THESE CHARACTERS ARE???
Four stars from me. Really, I’m just being … so generous at this point. I really don’t believe the latter two Great Library books that have come out deserve four stars, as I’ve rated them. Every year, I hope the series will regain momentum and reach the impeccable standard set by their predecessor, Ink and Bone, and every year, I’ve been let down.
This series (*COUGH*it used to be a trilogy but got extended to a 5-book series. i’m not mad at this flagrant display of greed by extending a story that already feels like too little butter scraped over too much toast. not mad at all.*COUGH*) started its life as one of my all-time favorites, but it’s like Rachel Caine thinks it’s not. The amount of telling in this book—from basic character trait descriptions that I’ve known for THREE BOOKS AND THREE YEARS to basically all of Jess’s reactions to how cool his friends are—is staggering and appalling. It’s like she thinks I don’t know who I’m reading about? She either doesn’t feel like digging any deeper with her characters, or insists on rehashing everything because she thinks her readers won’t get it if she doesn’t.
I can’t figure it out, though. Is it the time restraint? Is she surface writing because she’s lost interest? Does she not remember anything about her characters? Is her writing just falling in quality?
But then, the real kicker is, that the climax of the book and Jess’s uber-secret grand plan is NEVER FULLY EXPLAINED. I’m still scratching my head over what even happened and WHY it needed to happen that way? I’m completely lost, and where Rachel Caine could’ve used her love of telling in that section to EXPLAIN WHAT WAS GOING ON, she never did. So, the reader is smart enough to read the character’s minds and GUESS what they’re doing without ever explaining the plan and its necessity ONCE, but we’re not smart enough to realize what the characters are feeling without it being observed ad infinitum in the prose.
And speaking of what the characters were feeling—excuse me, but where was the ROMANCE? I don’t want it to take over the plot. I loved the subtlety of Jess and Morgan’s budding romance in the first book, as with Dario and Khalila’s. Santi and Wolfe were also a fantasticly lovely pair in their own right, and it’s so refreshing to see an adult (basically)-married couple who love each other so intensely take a huge role, without any petty teen drama. BUT aside from Santi and Wolfe, the other couples are a complete mess here. Jess and Morgan constantly, constantly have to reiterate What Feminism Is. I swear, that’s their entire relationship, and it makes NO SENSE. It’s so pointless!! So basically, Morgan is literally killing herself to do odd magical jobs to “help out” with escaping their imprisonment in Philadelphia. Jess is upset that she’s killing herself. They argue. They hide things from each other. Everybody gangs up on Jess, saying that it’s Morgan’s right to try and kill herself, because feminism, and he can’t tell her what to do!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This happens a lot.
It’s so annoying. It’s like, basic human decency to not push someone to their death for your own benefit. I really don’t see that he’s doing anything wrong. And so Morgan goes on, and basically destroys herself. She now has this pathetic arc where she’s ALL DARK and DEPRESSED because she’s warped her powers TO KILL and it’s just so emo, I can’t. Bitch! Don't complain to him! He tried to stop you!
It’s like they don’t even like each other. There’s no chemistry or love, they’re just kind of … there? They fight, sometimes they make out, but it feels so teen hormones when that happens, not real love. Dario and Khalila aren’t much better. They did have a cute moment at the end, which was adorable, so I forgive them.
The pacing of this book also … oh boy. A mess. So I mentioned the imprisonment in Philadelphia, right? Well, they’re stuck there, dilly-dallying, more than half the novel. Then the second half of the novel, they’re stuck in Jess’s father’s secret Scottish estate, dilly-dallying! Where’s the pacing? Why has this trilogy, which has struggled the last two books to stretch plot threads to barely-passable novel length, been extended to five books? Ash and Quill alone was just over 300 pages—very small in my opinion, for an alternate history fantasy world rich with description and historical research.
There WERE good things about this book. The very few times I felt cutting emotion were when Jess deals with his family, which were among my absolute favorite parts of the series. Jess, when he and the gang are being held by his father, has to steal some jewels for the Plan from his mother. He thinks stealing is the only way to get them from her. But, Wolfe asks beforehand, and she gives them freely for her son. Jess is mortified, and hurt, and angry, and so conflicted. He has to constantly guess his family’s motives, because that’s all he knows how to do because of his upbringing, and the fact that it could be upended and his mother really loves him enough for that is a huge deal for him. But it’s not cut-and-dry mommy loves me. Jess is so angry, with himself and his family, and it’s WONDERFUL. It’s that kind of writing and emotional depth I know this series is capable of. Jess and Brendan also have a fantastic dynamic which was explored really well in this novel. I just wish the Grand Final Plan had been freaking EXPLAINED so I didn’t leave off the novel with a goddamn cliffhanger I don’t even understand.
You know, it hurts to write these kind of reviews for one of my favorite series. It really does. I love these characters, this world—I love it. And that’s why I’m so hard on it. I want it to live to its full potential, because I’ve seen how Rachel Caine can turn out some badassery! (See, Ink and Bone, OXFORD) But until they start living up to that potential, I can’t praise blindly.
+ Jess and his family are so interesting and complex in this novel
+ BRENDAN!!
+ Philadelphia was definitely interesting, being a city under siege for so long
+ Santi and Wolfe were, as usual, wonderful
+ Jess will always be my baby and I will STAND BY HIM, GOOD MAN
Cons:
- ughhhhh
- The pace meandered
- The romance was Not Good I’m so sorry, because I love them, but it just wasn’t
- WHY does it need to be five books. Why.
- THE AMOUNT OF TELLING. DO YOU THINK I DON’T KNOW WHO THESE CHARACTERS ARE???
Four stars from me. Really, I’m just being … so generous at this point. I really don’t believe the latter two Great Library books that have come out deserve four stars, as I’ve rated them. Every year, I hope the series will regain momentum and reach the impeccable standard set by their predecessor, Ink and Bone, and every year, I’ve been let down.
This series (*COUGH*it used to be a trilogy but got extended to a 5-book series. i’m not mad at this flagrant display of greed by extending a story that already feels like too little butter scraped over too much toast. not mad at all.*COUGH*) started its life as one of my all-time favorites, but it’s like Rachel Caine thinks it’s not. The amount of telling in this book—from basic character trait descriptions that I’ve known for THREE BOOKS AND THREE YEARS to basically all of Jess’s reactions to how cool his friends are—is staggering and appalling. It’s like she thinks I don’t know who I’m reading about? She either doesn’t feel like digging any deeper with her characters, or insists on rehashing everything because she thinks her readers won’t get it if she doesn’t.
I can’t figure it out, though. Is it the time restraint? Is she surface writing because she’s lost interest? Does she not remember anything about her characters? Is her writing just falling in quality?
But then, the real kicker is, that the climax of the book and Jess’s uber-secret grand plan is NEVER FULLY EXPLAINED. I’m still scratching my head over what even happened and WHY it needed to happen that way? I’m completely lost, and where Rachel Caine could’ve used her love of telling in that section to EXPLAIN WHAT WAS GOING ON, she never did. So, the reader is smart enough to read the character’s minds and GUESS what they’re doing without ever explaining the plan and its necessity ONCE, but we’re not smart enough to realize what the characters are feeling without it being observed ad infinitum in the prose.
And speaking of what the characters were feeling—excuse me, but where was the ROMANCE? I don’t want it to take over the plot. I loved the subtlety of Jess and Morgan’s budding romance in the first book, as with Dario and Khalila’s. Santi and Wolfe were also a fantasticly lovely pair in their own right, and it’s so refreshing to see an adult (basically)-married couple who love each other so intensely take a huge role, without any petty teen drama. BUT aside from Santi and Wolfe, the other couples are a complete mess here. Jess and Morgan constantly, constantly have to reiterate What Feminism Is. I swear, that’s their entire relationship, and it makes NO SENSE. It’s so pointless!! So basically, Morgan is literally killing herself to do odd magical jobs to “help out” with escaping their imprisonment in Philadelphia. Jess is upset that she’s killing herself. They argue. They hide things from each other. Everybody gangs up on Jess, saying that it’s Morgan’s right to try and kill herself, because feminism, and he can’t tell her what to do!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This happens a lot.
It’s so annoying. It’s like, basic human decency to not push someone to their death for your own benefit. I really don’t see that he’s doing anything wrong. And so Morgan goes on, and basically destroys herself. She now has this pathetic arc where she’s ALL DARK and DEPRESSED because she’s warped her powers TO KILL and it’s just so emo, I can’t. Bitch! Don't complain to him! He tried to stop you!
It’s like they don’t even like each other. There’s no chemistry or love, they’re just kind of … there? They fight, sometimes they make out, but it feels so teen hormones when that happens, not real love. Dario and Khalila aren’t much better. They did have a cute moment at the end, which was adorable, so I forgive them.
The pacing of this book also … oh boy. A mess. So I mentioned the imprisonment in Philadelphia, right? Well, they’re stuck there, dilly-dallying, more than half the novel. Then the second half of the novel, they’re stuck in Jess’s father’s secret Scottish estate, dilly-dallying! Where’s the pacing? Why has this trilogy, which has struggled the last two books to stretch plot threads to barely-passable novel length, been extended to five books? Ash and Quill alone was just over 300 pages—very small in my opinion, for an alternate history fantasy world rich with description and historical research.
There WERE good things about this book. The very few times I felt cutting emotion were when Jess deals with his family, which were among my absolute favorite parts of the series. Jess, when he and the gang are being held by his father, has to steal some jewels for the Plan from his mother. He thinks stealing is the only way to get them from her. But, Wolfe asks beforehand, and she gives them freely for her son. Jess is mortified, and hurt, and angry, and so conflicted. He has to constantly guess his family’s motives, because that’s all he knows how to do because of his upbringing, and the fact that it could be upended and his mother really loves him enough for that is a huge deal for him. But it’s not cut-and-dry mommy loves me. Jess is so angry, with himself and his family, and it’s WONDERFUL. It’s that kind of writing and emotional depth I know this series is capable of. Jess and Brendan also have a fantastic dynamic which was explored really well in this novel. I just wish the Grand Final Plan had been freaking EXPLAINED so I didn’t leave off the novel with a goddamn cliffhanger I don’t even understand.
You know, it hurts to write these kind of reviews for one of my favorite series. It really does. I love these characters, this world—I love it. And that’s why I’m so hard on it. I want it to live to its full potential, because I’ve seen how Rachel Caine can turn out some badassery! (See, Ink and Bone, OXFORD) But until they start living up to that potential, I can’t praise blindly.
messily melodramatic in a way that the first two managed to avoid. every single thing that happens to Jess is *gasp* the biggest decision he's ever made and *swoon* going to change the fate of the world. there's really only so many times i can believe that the next big plot twist has the fate of the world riding on it when the last six plot twists failed to do so.
the writing felt hasty and the plot is chaotic. the archivist is a two dimensional bad guy whose epistles are all nearly identical to each other. all he can say is rawr, kill them all! but this ostensibly most powerful man in the world doesn't seem to be able to kill or effectively capture our ragtag band of plucky heroes, of course not.
I'm hoping this is just a severe case of middle book syndrome and the last two books will pick back up.
the writing felt hasty and the plot is chaotic. the archivist is a two dimensional bad guy whose epistles are all nearly identical to each other. all he can say is rawr, kill them all! but this ostensibly most powerful man in the world doesn't seem to be able to kill or effectively capture our ragtag band of plucky heroes, of course not.
I'm hoping this is just a severe case of middle book syndrome and the last two books will pick back up.
Wow! To be reviewed on/near release date at literaladdiction.com.
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
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
Sigh. This book moved along like wildfire (pun intended), and shortly after beginning, it made me realize that this series SHOULD NOT BE A 5-BOOK SERIES. After reading the first three, I've decided that book 1 is a good standalone, #2 & #3 (and at this point, the future #4) should all actually be combined as sections of book 2, and the final book should be standalone. Not five short and fast novels, but three longer books with precise endings.
So either the editors of this series wanted to milk more money out of readers by spreading it waaaayy out, or the author isn't good at deadlines and decided to portion the books into shorter sections that all bleed together. I feel very meh, as I loved the first book...I remember it being described as "the next Harry Potter-esque series craze," though the series is certainly not living up to that title now.
So either the editors of this series wanted to milk more money out of readers by spreading it waaaayy out, or the author isn't good at deadlines and decided to portion the books into shorter sections that all bleed together. I feel very meh, as I loved the first book...I remember it being described as "the next Harry Potter-esque series craze," though the series is certainly not living up to that title now.
adventurous
dark
emotional
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
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
Like I continue to love this series! But I feel as though the beginning of the book was almost unnecessary as they just ended up back where they started with more trauma!! I would have been so mad reading this book and having to wait for the next one because the shit that goes down at the end as me biting at the bit to pick up the next one! So sally forth my friends of book lovers! Let's go fuck this up!