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4.23 AVERAGE
4.23 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
funny
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:
No
The Bone Season was a favourite book of mine for a very long time but this book just did not live up to it for me unfortunately.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I feel like my main problem with this series is that there's a lot of telling and not showing. Jaxon is supposed to be this badass crime lord of the area but we don't really see him doing cool crime lord things, the way imo Vargo (from the Rook & Rose series) did. We'd see Vargo putting in the work to broker deals and charm the pants off his partners, but then we'd see the hard side of him as well when he needed to lay down the "law" or mete out punishment. And all this happens with actual dialogue!
The seven seals house being the way it is, it just seems like reality tv rather than a house with dangerously strong voyants. I can't tell anyone apart either really, the series had introduced a ton of characters in London and then a ton of characters in Oxford. And Paige is supposed to be this cold and badass mollisher second in command but is clearly ashamed of being a criminal - despite the fact that you never see her doing anything you'd expect a second in command to do anyway. She just seems like an older sister in the house who gets walked over because she doesn't actually have any bite with her bark.
Part 3 was the best part of the book. I also wish it was the only part of the book. I remember feeling the same way about book 1 - that I struggled through most of it but enjoyed the ending and wanted to see where it would go so decided to continue on to book 3. It also helps that I already bought 5 books in the series so I have a vested interest to continue and justify my purchase lol. I have to admit that I'm strongly tempted to read book 3 because it's so much shorter than all the others - clearly something very important happens and they decide to save it for book 4. But I also recognize that I am a completionist to my own detriment.
This world would be such a cool manga or comic series! I love the different orders and types of voyants etc. Alas it is not one and we are made to experience the book through writing from Paige's POV. I gave book 1 2.5 stars and book 2 I feel was worse even though I was frustrated with book 1 in lots of places, because nothing was happening (2.25). We spent time with (a lot of random) characters but I just don't feel like the dialogue characterized any of them. If I were to see their dialogue on paper without their names, the only ones I could tell apart are Nick for saying that one barfingly cute nickname he has for Paige, and Jaxon, because he calls people "darling" and "lovely".
All that said, I am making the difficult decision to DNF the series. I hope that when I finally read A Day of Fallen Night or Among the Burning Flowers that I really enjoy them! because if nothing else, TBB do some amazing editions of Shannon's books. Looking back on Priory of the Orange Tree and now also the first 2 books of Bone Season, it's apparent to me that Shannon has a big issue with pacing (in my opinion of course). But obviously she's written these other 2 books much later in her literary career, so I will stay optimistic!
The seven seals house being the way it is, it just seems like reality tv rather than a house with dangerously strong voyants. I can't tell anyone apart either really, the series had introduced a ton of characters in London and then a ton of characters in Oxford. And Paige is supposed to be this cold and badass mollisher second in command but is clearly ashamed of being a criminal - despite the fact that you never see her doing anything you'd expect a second in command to do anyway. She just seems like an older sister in the house who gets walked over because she doesn't actually have any bite with her bark.
Part 3 was the best part of the book. I also wish it was the only part of the book. I remember feeling the same way about book 1 - that I struggled through most of it but enjoyed the ending and wanted to see where it would go so decided to continue on to book 3. It also helps that I already bought 5 books in the series so I have a vested interest to continue and justify my purchase lol. I have to admit that I'm strongly tempted to read book 3 because it's so much shorter than all the others - clearly something very important happens and they decide to save it for book 4. But I also recognize that I am a completionist to my own detriment.
This world would be such a cool manga or comic series! I love the different orders and types of voyants etc. Alas it is not one and we are made to experience the book through writing from Paige's POV. I gave book 1 2.5 stars and book 2 I feel was worse even though I was frustrated with book 1 in lots of places, because nothing was happening (2.25). We spent time with (a lot of random) characters but I just don't feel like the dialogue characterized any of them. If I were to see their dialogue on paper without their names, the only ones I could tell apart are Nick for saying that one barfingly cute nickname he has for Paige, and Jaxon, because he calls people "darling" and "lovely".
All that said, I am making the difficult decision to DNF the series. I hope that when I finally read A Day of Fallen Night or Among the Burning Flowers that I really enjoy them! because if nothing else, TBB do some amazing editions of Shannon's books. Looking back on Priory of the Orange Tree and now also the first 2 books of Bone Season, it's apparent to me that Shannon has a big issue with pacing (in my opinion of course). But obviously she's written these other 2 books much later in her literary career, so I will stay optimistic!
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Well I tore thru the five hundred pages in three days. And I loved it. Does this mean I'm one of those people who likes fantasy? Is this even actually fantasy? Still too many grammatical errors for a world filled with people who get paid to fix that shit, but despite that, she's a pretty solid story teller. I think I liked this more than Bone Season...but I can't actually remember most of Bone Season. So who knows. I had to take to the Google to refresh myself on the first book- who was who and what had actually...happened? But other than that, solid three point five. Can't wait for the next one!
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
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