alouette's Reviews (258)

what else to say but wow... any and all gripes i might have had with the first novel of this urban fantasy were amended with this thrilling sequel. the new characters were lovely, and the dialogue just as fun. it was near impossible for me to put the book down, as following the adventures of the most beautiful found family i've ever seen is a completely immersive experience. the blend of action, intrigue, emotion, darkness, and love- there's probably a dozen other aspects to name, mixed in so well to create a stunning product. 

DNF-ed at 9% after taking a closer look at the content warnings, as well as finding that the characters didn't capture my heart like in Konigsberg's other books anyways.

the chapters of prose were wonderfully reflective and insightful! thoroughly enjoyed feeling as though i were going along with the author in his journey. i'll admit that the poetry was harder for me to understand, the fragments and repetition sometimes confusing me, but i wholly admire the poet's ability to take inspiration from an unexpected source. together, the parts make a beautiful whole.

 the anecdotes, facts, and musings of the author all made me smile! i think it could've been structured in a more cohesive way, but it was still easy to work through and used accessible language :) 

very informative, even if the run-on sentences did have me losing the point on more than one occasion. still, it managed to cover a wide range of subjects far beyond plants themselves, and that kept me interested!

did not finish...

look, I know it came with a warning about being convoluted and fantastical. but while the world was indeed interesting, the alternating POVs frustrated me. the main trio was cool, everyone else not so much. plus, I thought it was going to be long-winded for reasons of worldbuilding, but there was a tad too much repetition for that to be understood as the case. maybe I'll return to this when I have more motivation for a slower pace, but currently I simply do not.

wow, was that ever so beautiful. a story with gorgeous art and dialogue about how sometimes we don't have the words, but the feelings are there and they are real. every person's experience of marginalization has its own unique vernacular that illustrates its complexities, and here that illustration became literal. the use of colour and texture was amazing. i am absolutely in love with the characters, the plot, and the use of fairy tale and reality as threads woven together to create this gorgeous tapestry of a book.

so, i wasn't totally on board with the plot to begin with, but i quickly came to love this book as much as all the others in the series. the dynamic of christopher, tom, and sally remains strong even with memories missing, christopher's apothecary knowledge is still present, and the mystery took the perfect twists! i especially loved the way this one combined magical elements with historical elements even more than ever. though, i did miss the riddles! still so great though :)

also, the acknowledgement that there would always be more raids and more pirates yet the desire of Christopher to do good things, so matter how small-seeming.... <3