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emmad's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
eldritch_elder's review
4.0
Decent ending novel. Was it the best of the series? Nope. Did it tie up in a good manner? Yup
sarah_moynihan's review
3.0
Hessians and Hellhounds is the sixth and final full-length book in Tilly Wallace’s Manners and Monsters series, which is a historical mystery series set in a London in which supernatural and magical beings co-exist within society.
Books that fit into this genre are few and far between and so I am sad that this series is ending. I would gladly read more of it but this brings the arc of the series to a natural conclusion and so it is for the best. I had a pretty clear idea of where I thought this series would end and for the most part, I was correct, but there were still a couple aspects that were an interesting surprise to me. But those surprises also left questions in their place as the ending was quite abrupt(which was odd since the middle felt so long). I really enjoyed learning more about the origins of the Afflicted and how it was possible.
I’m not sure if I am the only one that felt that way, but this book almost felt like two separate plots put together in the same book and neither were entirely resolved. Therefore the epilogue novella will be doing double-duty to bring everything together and be a cozy Christmas novella showing Wycliff and Hannah settled at Mireworth.
I don’t want to give any spoilers, but I was very disappointed by how the wheelchair situation was handled and my reasoning is two-fold. One: it was based off the Egyptian mythology, but this directly contradicted it. And two: it was handled in an insensitive and highly abilist fashion, which I found shocking considering how the representation was handled previously in the series.
Tilly Wallace is writing a spin-off series, focusing on Hannah’s mother and her path to asserting herself as the only female mage and fighting to not allow herself or her abilities to be restricted due to her gender. I plan to read it at some point, but I’m going to catch up a bit on my TBR before doing so.
Books that fit into this genre are few and far between and so I am sad that this series is ending. I would gladly read more of it but this brings the arc of the series to a natural conclusion and so it is for the best. I had a pretty clear idea of where I thought this series would end and for the most part, I was correct, but there were still a couple aspects that were an interesting surprise to me. But those surprises also left questions in their place as the ending was quite abrupt(which was odd since the middle felt so long). I really enjoyed learning more about the origins of the Afflicted and how it was possible.
I’m not sure if I am the only one that felt that way, but this book almost felt like two separate plots put together in the same book and neither were entirely resolved. Therefore the epilogue novella will be doing double-duty to bring everything together and be a cozy Christmas novella showing Wycliff and Hannah settled at Mireworth.
I don’t want to give any spoilers, but I was very disappointed by how the wheelchair situation was handled and my reasoning is two-fold. One: it was based off the Egyptian mythology, but this directly contradicted it. And two: it was handled in an insensitive and highly abilist fashion, which I found shocking considering how the representation was handled previously in the series.
Spoiler
I get that the whole miracle with the shards was ancient magic and creative license to not wholly follow the mythology, but why would the legs return after amputation? They didn’t simply rot, they were intentionally severed. And the mythology dictates that if something happened to alter the preserved body that the soul would not be able to find its way back so either she shouldn’t have been restored or at the very least those legs should not have come back. I will admit that my love of mythology is likely getting in the way here. And now to address the second point, obviously Lady Miles would notice a difference between her two forms when they visited the Duat, but she comments on it multiple times and it focused negatively on being disabled, valuing able bodies over disabled bodies. And then her disability was erased for a happily ever after?Tilly Wallace is writing a spin-off series, focusing on Hannah’s mother and her path to asserting herself as the only female mage and fighting to not allow herself or her abilities to be restricted due to her gender. I plan to read it at some point, but I’m going to catch up a bit on my TBR before doing so.
lashakas7's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
amheaton's review
3.0
I seem to be in the minority, but I had a really hard time with this final book in the series. It didn't hold my interest NEARLY as much as the rest of the series. A large part of that could have been that I had to read it instead of listening to it like I did the others. I think I missed the crime-solving angle that the other novels had. (There was a crime here, but it just felt like filler until they cured everybody at the end.)
meiko's review
4.0
Actually finished this a couple days ago... Neglected to update.
I have one gripe about this series. I suspect the author is USAnian which isn't a fault on its own. The stories are set over the course of... I'd say half a year or so, maybe eight months in 1816-ish England, and for the first couple books she seems to have remembered that and gave them tea to drink. But in latter books they all started drinking hot chocolate and coffee for breakfast and whilst it may be a done thing now, I doubt it was in 19th century England.
That shakes the suspension of disbelief somewhat. So those passages do make me cringe a bit at the USA-ness.
Overall still an enjoyable series and I am a bit tickled that Egyptian mythology was employed, though I'm not an expert on those and thus unclear how much was mangled up.
I have one gripe about this series. I suspect the author is USAnian which isn't a fault on its own. The stories are set over the course of... I'd say half a year or so, maybe eight months in 1816-ish England, and for the first couple books she seems to have remembered that and gave them tea to drink. But in latter books they all started drinking hot chocolate and coffee for breakfast and whilst it may be a done thing now, I doubt it was in 19th century England.
That shakes the suspension of disbelief somewhat. So those passages do make me cringe a bit at the USA-ness.
Overall still an enjoyable series and I am a bit tickled that Egyptian mythology was employed, though I'm not an expert on those and thus unclear how much was mangled up.
monsterelle's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0