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justabean_reads's review
adventurous
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Is it weird that I enjoyed this more than The Flight of the Heron? I feel like that's definetely an Incorrect fandom opinion. However, it generally worked better for me as a whole story, rather than trudging through the story to get to the Extra bits. It's possible that I should reread The Flight of the Heron again with the context of the second one in mind, and also a little more slowly, as I might like it better then.
In part, I liked it better because it seemed to on at least some extent requite the somewhat one-sided ship from the first book. Which made it easier for me to ship them, as previously, I was kind of, "Oh, buddy," at Keith for being so extra. Ewen gets a nice dose of life-long heartbreak to match Keith's mono-focused devotion and death.
But more generally, I vibed more with the themes around struggling to find hope or at least a way forward when the world has shattered and continues to shatter all of your dreams. The grinding indignities of occupation wear down on Ewen and his family, and a lot of the highland pixie dreamboy shine is off, and the desperation ratchets up as the inevitable tragedy approaches, and Ewen has to figure out what matters most to him (spoiler: it's not his personal honour, let alone his dignity). But it's weirdly not depressing, despite losing again and again. As much as I joked about Ewen's kids being a metaphor, I liked the symbolism of the byplay between little Donald and Keithie and the Claymore hilt, especially as it did leave with the feeling that they would indeed find a new kind of hilt.
I was worried there'd be too many Jacobites, but while I really wish someone would explain what a sunk cost fallacy was to most of the characters, the sort of autumnal vibe worked better for me than the glory of the cause stuff in the first one.
I also really enjoyed Ewen sort of just plodging around the countryside being bad at plotting; the Ewen and Hector shitshow was especially entertaining, especially when they're both intensely not good at working the problem. There was a lot more comedy in this book, which I appreciated, as I thought the first one could've used a little more to balance out all the drama (though how intensely dramatic the drama was did have some humour in and of itself). The whole bit on Mull where Ewen was just hanging out with the Anglican preacher was one of my favourite bits. Lots of great scenery descriptions too.
The way Broster captures intensity of feeling is still spot on, especially in the later chapters, as fate became more clear, and everyone was just left to stew in them as their worlds fall apart.
If I have any criticism, it's that while I liked Keith's dad and brother, I found his mother to just be a stock wicked stepmom. I guess there are women like her, but she just felt really one note, and the tropes she fell into were kinda sexist, in my opinion.
I also felt like way too much of the plot relied on coincidences. I know that Britain is a small island, but way way way too many people just randomly happened to run into each other often while holding documents key to the plot that someone would just happen to discover. I think I said, "Oh come on!" out loud when Hector found the letter. Some of them worked for me, like Ewen running into the wounded officer, and Keith's brother, but then Broster just added too many more on top of that.
That's a quibble if it's anything, though, and I'll likely read the last book, because I've been promised me more of Hector being a shit show, and maybe reread the first one once I'm done just to see how my impressions change with context.
In part, I liked it better because it seemed to on at least some extent requite the somewhat one-sided ship from the first book. Which made it easier for me to ship them, as previously, I was kind of, "Oh, buddy," at Keith for being so extra. Ewen gets a nice dose of life-long heartbreak to match Keith's mono-focused devotion and death.
But more generally, I vibed more with the themes around struggling to find hope or at least a way forward when the world has shattered and continues to shatter all of your dreams. The grinding indignities of occupation wear down on Ewen and his family, and a lot of the highland pixie dreamboy shine is off, and the desperation ratchets up as the inevitable tragedy approaches, and Ewen has to figure out what matters most to him (spoiler: it's not his personal honour, let alone his dignity). But it's weirdly not depressing, despite losing again and again. As much as I joked about Ewen's kids being a metaphor, I liked the symbolism of the byplay between little Donald and Keithie and the Claymore hilt, especially as it did leave with the feeling that they would indeed find a new kind of hilt.
I was worried there'd be too many Jacobites, but while I really wish someone would explain what a sunk cost fallacy was to most of the characters, the sort of autumnal vibe worked better for me than the glory of the cause stuff in the first one.
I also really enjoyed Ewen sort of just plodging around the countryside being bad at plotting; the Ewen and Hector shitshow was especially entertaining, especially when they're both intensely not good at working the problem. There was a lot more comedy in this book, which I appreciated, as I thought the first one could've used a little more to balance out all the drama (though how intensely dramatic the drama was did have some humour in and of itself). The whole bit on Mull where Ewen was just hanging out with the Anglican preacher was one of my favourite bits. Lots of great scenery descriptions too.
The way Broster captures intensity of feeling is still spot on, especially in the later chapters, as fate became more clear, and everyone was just left to stew in them as their worlds fall apart.
If I have any criticism, it's that while I liked Keith's dad and brother, I found his mother to just be a stock wicked stepmom. I guess there are women like her, but she just felt really one note, and the tropes she fell into were kinda sexist, in my opinion.
I also felt like way too much of the plot relied on coincidences. I know that Britain is a small island, but way way way too many people just randomly happened to run into each other often while holding documents key to the plot that someone would just happen to discover. I think I said, "Oh come on!" out loud when Hector found the letter. Some of them worked for me, like Ewen running into the wounded officer, and Keith's brother, but then Broster just added too many more on top of that.
That's a quibble if it's anything, though, and I'll likely read the last book, because I've been promised me more of Hector being a shit show, and maybe reread the first one once I'm done just to see how my impressions change with context.
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