Reviews

The Girl and the Mountain by Mark Lawrence

jenhurst's review

4.0

Now this book is back to the mark Lawrence books I know and love.

skycrane's review

4.0

I think I enjoyed this book even more than the first one. The Girl and the Stars was exciting and interesting. So much stuff happened, with Yaz plunging from one intense, dangerous situation into another, with massive new revelations about the world coming in between. If it had a flaw, it was that the book was too exciting. I felt like it could've used more downtime, since 400 pages of intense danger gets a little exhausting. Maybe that's just me; I might've just read the book too fast. But it was so hard to put down...

The Girl and the Mountain is still a very intense read, but it feels better paced. A lot of that is down to the fact that it takes place over weeks or months, instead of just a few days. But also, the books shifts perspective from one chapter to the next, spending more time developing the characters through their viewpoints. There's still a lot of new information coming in that expands the world, showing the situation to be even more bleak and terrifying than before.

There's something I need to say about the ending.

Spoiler

Not only does the book end on a frustrating cliff-hanger, it ends on the exact same frustrating cliff-hanger as the previous book. I get that that's the whole point. It's another moment where something clicks into place and you realize that what you thought was the whole picture is actually just a small piece of a much larger picture. But endings like this don't make me eager for the next book. I'm too busy being annoyed by the lack of closure to feel any interest. Fortunately, this is a time-limited problem. Years from now, nobody will care about the non-ending ending, since they'll be able to just go straight to the next book until they finish the series

lunamystry's review

adventurous mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

It is a book that tries to combine different things but not very well for my liking. Maybe they were explored in the first book which I didn't read. I liked some of the characters but the bad guys are kinda weak. 

Random list of things that made me think "okaaay...":

They didn't moan Maya, there was crying for like 2seconds then they just talk about how they should feel bad and how she was instantly replaced. They just insta-teleport to the end. I don't understand the power scaling. I didn't notice the danger even when they fought the demon possessed person-thing. The Lord of the underworld was sweet talked into letting them go. Is Theseus the most powerful or just bluffing? Seus and his fellow wannabe gods seem childish and not scary at all. Theseus was bad now good or misunderstood or still bad should I care? The fantasy_sci-fi_mythology thing doesn't really work for me, I think it is not explored enough, just sci-fi and mythology on its own could be rather interesting but... then is it philosophy when erris wonders if he is real? I think more could be done to explain how strange life for Thurin outside the caves would be or seeing trees for the first time or being pulled into a world of just ice. How did they end up just walking around with no food again? This an itcha thing?

annamcc_reads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad 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

4.5

lauraowen's review

mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.5

kelsis_book_nook's review against another edition

adventurous 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

3.5

rebeccas_in_book_love's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious sad 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

5.0

The Girl and the Mountain by Mark Lawrence was amazing! The second book in his Book of the Ice Trilogy, it takes off from the first page. I loved it! I enjoyed this even more than the 1st book - the world building, the character building, and the plot was all executed flawlessly. I cannot wait to read book 3 and see how the series concludes. Also, the tie in to Book of the Ancestor - I am HERE for it! 5 Stars!

stephclaw's review

adventurous dark sad tense slow-paced

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

3.75

crispy98's review

2023- I had no doubts I would enjoy the latest installment from Mark Lawerence which proved correct throughout this enjoying read. It feels as if this book could be divided into two distinct sections which are fleshed out fantastic. The character payoff in the beginning of the novel stands out composed to the back half where they are on the ice and the book, especially character development, seemed to simmer down. The end has me reaching for the next installment and the tie in with his other series is fantastic without being dominating.

lee25's review

3.0

I loved The Girl and the Stars and I loved the Book of the Ancestor series by Mark Lawrence, but I struggled with The Girl and the Mountain. It seemed to drag and I found myself skimming page after page.
I'm not a person who must have action on every page, but I need to feel that "the journey" is taking us somewhere or we are learning something. In this case quite a lot of the story felt more like "filler" than a journey.
I'm sure that I will love The Girl and the Moon and the Book of Ice series - just not this book.