Reviews

A Wild Light by Marjorie Liu

nickystrickland's review

4.0

I really enjoyed the unfolding of the world(s)building in Maxine's adventures as well as my continued enjoyment of Liu's style of writing.

laurla's review

4.0

maxine kiss wakes in the blood of her grandfather jack's dead body, with no memory of what happened. and somehow she's forgotten who grant is as well. meanwhile a messenger has been sent to find jack and bring him back to the aetar, and in the fight against her, she manages to tear a hole in the veil holding back the demons.

-4 stars. i enjoy this series, and maxine's 'boys' zee, raw, aaz, dex, and mal. and how they can cover her skin and protect her.

"you can't make everything right. sometimes, you just have to let it go and have a little faith that the world will keep spinning, and the sun will rise, and that life will be okay."

"don't make me be the optimist in this family."

"sometimes i think i'm losing my mind."
"race you."

"you've got the good heart, baby. never forget that. not when the world falls down, not when the worst happens. the worst always happens. but you'll be fine."

carol26388's review

4.0

Three and a half stars. I think Ms. Liu is improving with each book. One of her strengths is the beautiful prose and well-drawn characters, from the small role Mary and Rex play in this book, to the demons that love and guard Max. Like other readers, I found the confusion surrounding Max to be a barrier to a whole-hearted endorsement of earlier books. I understand that Max herself was also confused, but when the reader is plopped into a world that doesn't have many explanations, it creates an even greater sense of disorientation with the protagonist's identity crisis. In A Wild Light, much of the confusion becomes clear. By the end, we know more about her heritage as a Warden, how and why Wardens were created, and more about her mother's history. Although in the interest of keeping character mystery developing, we are given a teaser between Max's mom and her as-yet unknown and powerful father.

Near the beginning of the book, Max suffers a selective bit of amnesia that causes her to forget Grant. This unusual plot point works beautifully in giving us a chance to experience their relationship almost as if it was happening as a "first time" meeting. As previously mentioned, this also helps clear up more of Max's personal history and gives the reader a stronger sense of Max's character and decision-making.

jackiijackii's review

4.0

Maxine wakes up one morning with a dead body next to her, and absolutely no memory of Grant whatsoever. I know this premise sounds like some kind of literary trick, but I have to admit, it turned out pretty fantastic. Where "Darkness Calls" was confusing, "A Wild Light" is illuminating, and I'm of the opinion that it's the best book in the series so far. Maxine losing her memory forces people to tell her things as quickly and clearly as possible, so we don't have to wait an entire book to put together the pieces of what she finds out. Zombies, demon battles, time-and-space-jumping, and a whole lot of new info about demons, Grant, and the Hunter line, and I'm very happy with this story.

kaysal's review

3.0

the story felt too jumbled and everything was dramatic. if u don't have lows, the highs don't feel as dramatic