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4.04 AVERAGE
4.04 AVERAGE
Fantastic, amazing, WHY CAN'T THE THIRD ONE BE OUT ALREADY?
Okay, this gets three stars because I hate Mae. Hate her. I hated her in Lexicon, I really hated being inside her silly head. But the other parts of this story were interesting. The Ryves brothers (aside from both having a strange desire to snog Mae) are complex and interesting as usual, and the introduction of Daniel's story was great. I like Jamie and Annabel, Sin and Merris, Liannan and Anzu, even Gerald and the other magicians. I'll definitely finish the trilogy and just hope that the other characters are the focus of the story.
"But I am in full possession of the amazing power of being sarcastic." (Nick Ryves)
The Demon's Convenant is narrated from Mae's POV. This POV does show an entirely different perspective, but there's something about Mae's narration that I don't like.
In The Demon's Lexicon, Mae is strong and independent and she's capable of doing what she has to in order to protect the people she loves, but her reasons behind doing things are partly due to the fact that she wants to defy authority. After experiencing a world of magic, danger and blood, Mae finds it extremely difficult to deal with normality. In The Demon's Covenant, I understood Mae as a character, but I missed her strength. I also found some elements of Mae's personality to be hypocritical and she also lets Nick push her around and take advantage of her good nature. However, I do appreciate the love and protectiveness that she has towards her brother, Jamie. Her interactions with him are so real and shows what she's all about.
The strength of The Demon Lexicon is definitely the complex relationship between the Ryves brothers. Alan and Nick are extremely interesting characters. Alan's a kind, sensitive and nerdy guy but he's also a liar and a manipulative schemer who will go to the ends of the earth to protect his brother. In The Demon's Covenant we see how much Alan loves Nick and how Nick struggles to return the love that Alan feels for him because he can't comprehend what love is. While Nick might have a sociopathic personality, he cares about Alan in his own way and will do anything to keep him safe. The glimpses of young Alan caring for baby Nick from Daniel Ryves journal cement their strong sibling bond. However, because Mae's the narrator, we only get brief glimpses of the Ryves brothers and her interactions with them to further the plot are contrived. I WANT TO SEE MORE OF THE RYVES BROTHERS!
The romance in The Demon's Covenant is complicated and by that I mean, people liking people who like other people and those other people like other people. There are a few random things that I want to mention about the romance. I appreciate that Nick's emotionless personality doesn't change just because he's a love interest. Mae isn't a suitable love interest for either of the Ryves brothers. Also, the romantic relationships in The Demon's Covenant feel forced and contrived. Maybe Brennan is better at writing about sibling and family dynamics.
The Demon's Covenant has my type of humour: dry, sarcastic and silly at times. I especially love Jamie's quips especially when he's interacting with his new 'friend' Nick.
The world that Brennan has created in The Demon's Lexicon series is magical, dark and dangerous, but I expected to find out more about the magicians and their power source in The Demon's Covenant and I'm still confused about what that's all about.
I don't really click with Mae as a narrator, but I'm invested in The Demon's Lexicon series - especially the Ryves brothers. Sarah Rees Brennan has a talent for writing complex characters and believable, heartfelt family and sibling relationships.
""In two worlds," said Alan quietly, "there is nothing I love half as much as you.""
I was skeptical about this one. Mae as the main character? I didn't necessarily like her that much in the first book. But I really enjoyed seeing things from her perspective, especially the relationship between Nick and Alan. I'm very curious about who will be the main character will be in the 3rd book.
oh this book. this book was absolutely wonderful. It was perfectly paced and I enjoyed every single page of this book. Especially the last 30 pages. :o) I'm very excited for the last book.
I didn't like it. Mae was so useless in this book and they wanted to make it seem like she did something amazing. Well, I could've bought it if it weren't for the fact that she was always failing and being humiliated along the way. Nick was as obnoxious and annoying as in book 1. Well, he kinda sorta 'redeemed' himself at the end, but still. And don't let me get started on the Mae-->Nick Mae/Nick thing. I really, really, really don't like them together. He's always so mean and rude to her and doesn't even give a sign that he cares for her (to me, anyways. And come on, the kiss scene looked so fake, I was expecting something horrible would happen any moment and she would end up being put down or yelled at by him yet again) and she is there just pining and being useless and she even has enough face to talk big about feminism and stuff. I mean, come ON. They make such an uneven couple, they just don't fit together, like at all (well, he doesn't fit with anyone actually).
Anyway. The plot was decent enough, hence the two stars, but the characters annoy me (well, except maybe Jamie and Sin. And maybe Annabell, but I knew she was going to get killed as soon as she joined them in the battle thing) And I couldn't connect with them, at all. And no matter how amazing a book is (which this one isn't) if I don't like the characters, I won't like it.
I know I'll have to read the third one, though. Because I'm masochistic like that. And I hear it's from Sin's POV, which sounds interesting. More effective girls and less abusive relationship, please and thanks.
Anyway. The plot was decent enough, hence the two stars, but the characters annoy me (well, except maybe Jamie and Sin. And maybe Annabell, but I knew she was going to get killed as soon as she joined them in the battle thing) And I couldn't connect with them, at all. And no matter how amazing a book is (which this one isn't) if I don't like the characters, I won't like it.
I know I'll have to read the third one, though. Because I'm masochistic like that. And I hear it's from Sin's POV, which sounds interesting. More effective girls and less abusive relationship, please and thanks.
Yet again, all the teasing forshadowing is perfectly clear only in retrospect. The morbid humor is also highly quotable.
This is a great read. It's just as absorbing & compelling as the Lexicon. Having loved Nick's narration in the first book, I did start out a little disappointed to be getting Mae's, but that didn't last long. Viewing things from inside the other important sibling pairing gave us a lot of new information about their family and it was great to see a female POV and one which was new to the magical world.
There are new characters and new perspectives on old characters. The plot was great and the Goblin Market even more beautiful and magical. I highly recommend this series as a light read when you need to escape and feel that this book maintains the high quality of the first one.
So this'll be me off to buy the third one, then. It's unavoidable.
There are new characters and new perspectives on old characters. The plot was great and the Goblin Market even more beautiful and magical. I highly recommend this series as a light read when you need to escape and feel that this book maintains the high quality of the first one.
So this'll be me off to buy the third one, then. It's unavoidable.
Hey this book taught me what a dandelion clock is.
I got kind of far into this book to have to DNF but I was so bored.
Sarah Rees Brennan's books are like an otome game. In a bad way.
I'm super glad that Jamie got more screen time in this book because I was kind of dying in the last book to know what on earth was up with him. Apparently what is up with him is that he has Sarah Rees Brennan's signature goofy sense of humor. Sorry, humour.
"where did you learn to dance?"
"Oh. I learned to dance wearing a lace frock at Madame mimsy's exclusive seminary for young ladies. They thought I was a good girl. They were wrong on both counts."
But as per usual there is no explanation for how flirtatious these siblings are with each other despite the fact that one of them is gay. I just don't even know what to do with the awkwardness. Did Cassandra Clare's weird incest disease spread to her or something? It's very creepy. I hope Holly Black doesn't also catch it.
What can I say? It doesn't seem like the author had any plot in store for us that I cared about at all. I stuck in there for as long as I could because the last one was not bad at all, though it was also a little draggy on the plot. The author's strength is definitely not long-form narrative. I really wanted to like it, but.... It can't be redeemed if nothing's happening.
I got kind of far into this book to have to DNF but I was so bored.
Sarah Rees Brennan's books are like an otome game. In a bad way.
I'm super glad that Jamie got more screen time in this book because I was kind of dying in the last book to know what on earth was up with him. Apparently what is up with him is that he has Sarah Rees Brennan's signature goofy sense of humor. Sorry, humour.
"where did you learn to dance?"
"Oh. I learned to dance wearing a lace frock at Madame mimsy's exclusive seminary for young ladies. They thought I was a good girl. They were wrong on both counts."
But as per usual there is no explanation for how flirtatious these siblings are with each other despite the fact that one of them is gay. I just don't even know what to do with the awkwardness. Did Cassandra Clare's weird incest disease spread to her or something? It's very creepy. I hope Holly Black doesn't also catch it.
What can I say? It doesn't seem like the author had any plot in store for us that I cared about at all. I stuck in there for as long as I could because the last one was not bad at all, though it was also a little draggy on the plot. The author's strength is definitely not long-form narrative. I really wanted to like it, but.... It can't be redeemed if nothing's happening.