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I really enjoyed this. However, I think my expectations may have been a little too high. I've been really anticipating this even before the title and synopsis was revealed, simply because I love Roshani Chokshi.
I love the world, the characters, the plot, the lore of the world, and math and the myths. But the pacing felt just a tad off to me. It sort of felt like a story that was set in a greater story, like a spin off novel from an already existing series of novels. Does that make sense? Now, I did read an arc, and I'm not sure how much that has to do with that, which is to say I'll likely re-read it before the sequel comes out. I kinda had the problems with this that I remember having with Chokshi's first novel. The pacing felt off, and the descriptions sort of did, too. Like I wasn't always sure exactly where the characters were placed within the relative setting. Again, I don't know if this has to do with reading an arc or not.
Otherwise, I loved this, and would highly recommend it!
4/5 stars!
I love the world, the characters, the plot, the lore of the world, and math and the myths. But the pacing felt just a tad off to me. It sort of felt like a story that was set in a greater story, like a spin off novel from an already existing series of novels. Does that make sense? Now, I did read an arc, and I'm not sure how much that has to do with that, which is to say I'll likely re-read it before the sequel comes out. I kinda had the problems with this that I remember having with Chokshi's first novel. The pacing felt off, and the descriptions sort of did, too. Like I wasn't always sure exactly where the characters were placed within the relative setting. Again, I don't know if this has to do with reading an arc or not.
Otherwise, I loved this, and would highly recommend it!
4/5 stars!
After loving Lord of Shadows, this really disappointed me.
The bottom line is I think Cassandra Clare needs to slow down. Cassie Clare fans, don't jump down my throat. The Shadowhunter world is very nostalgic for me at this point, I just think that if maybe she had less books on her plate, and more time to churn them out, that the development and structure would turn out a bit better. I've never felt one of her books jump around so much with so little thought put in to it. This novel was just about plot, and I felt like we missed a lot that could've been.
Also that epilogue was such a joke, in my opinion.
3/5 stars.
The bottom line is I think Cassandra Clare needs to slow down. Cassie Clare fans, don't jump down my throat. The Shadowhunter world is very nostalgic for me at this point, I just think that if maybe she had less books on her plate, and more time to churn them out, that the development and structure would turn out a bit better. I've never felt one of her books jump around so much with so little thought put in to it. This novel was just about plot, and I felt like we missed a lot that could've been.
Also that epilogue was such a joke, in my opinion.
3/5 stars.
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2.5/5 stars. Right in the middle. I found this quite boring at times. The only time I really paid attention was when characters not in the book were mentioned, I just find Chaol so boring.
My favourites of the anthology/the stories I'd give five stars to:
Legends are Made, Not Born - Cherie Dimaline
The Boys Who Became Hummingbirds - Daniel Heath Justice
Né Łe! - Darcie Little Badger
Transitions - Gwen Benaway
Legends are Made, Not Born - Cherie Dimaline
The Boys Who Became Hummingbirds - Daniel Heath Justice
Né Łe! - Darcie Little Badger
Transitions - Gwen Benaway
reread 31/12/22 - didn't hit me as hard as the first (obviously by the review below) did. It actually surprises me to see that review, because I genuinely found myself wondering if I had even read this before or just pretended I did. Still loved it, but, obviously I was in a very specific place the first time.
WOW WOW WOW
I consider Down Among the Sticks and Bones my favourite of the Wayward Children novels... but this is a VERY close second. I absolutely loved this. So many things that were narrated for Lundy really hit me and made me pretty emotional. There's a lot to be said about girls and people who just want to love the people without worrying what kind of world they're in. Who wants a world who will only take as much as she can give it.
This novel is considered the fourth (4th) novel in the Wayward Children series, but much like Down Among the Sticks and Bones, you can read it without having read the other novels.
BIG thanks to Tor.com for sending me an advanced copy in exchange for me being a bookseller. I contacted them on Instagram and they were lovely!
WOW WOW WOW
I consider Down Among the Sticks and Bones my favourite of the Wayward Children novels... but this is a VERY close second. I absolutely loved this. So many things that were narrated for Lundy really hit me and made me pretty emotional. There's a lot to be said about girls and people who just want to love the people without worrying what kind of world they're in. Who wants a world who will only take as much as she can give it.
This novel is considered the fourth (4th) novel in the Wayward Children series, but much like Down Among the Sticks and Bones, you can read it without having read the other novels.
BIG thanks to Tor.com for sending me an advanced copy in exchange for me being a bookseller. I contacted them on Instagram and they were lovely!
reread 31/12/22, liked it a little less the second time. Still fun but probably one of my least favourites in the series. A little too much exposition and repetitiveness for a story that hinges on 'nonsense.'
4.5/5 stars
Like this one slightly less than the others, only because I felt it dragged a bit more and had less to discover (despite being in a world made of candy). That being said, it was still so great and I absolutely love these characters.
4.5/5 stars
Like this one slightly less than the others, only because I felt it dragged a bit more and had less to discover (despite being in a world made of candy). That being said, it was still so great and I absolutely love these characters.
I liked this one even more than the first if that's even possible. 100/5 stars!
3.5... or maybe 4 stars?
That ENDING alone makes me want to read the next book, if only because (spoilers) Levi and Enne didn't kiss??????
Definitely read this if you liked six of crows, these rebel waves, or the crown's game. It's super entertaining, but not a five star because I found the beginning really confusing and boring. It's not until Enne starts to find her place in the city that I was able to be immersed by the book.
That ENDING alone makes me want to read the next book, if only because (spoilers) Levi and Enne didn't kiss??????
Definitely read this if you liked six of crows, these rebel waves, or the crown's game. It's super entertaining, but not a five star because I found the beginning really confusing and boring. It's not until Enne starts to find her place in the city that I was able to be immersed by the book.
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Overall, I really enjoyed this. I've been anticipating it for quite some time so I was super excited when an ARC came my way.
This book follows three characters in an established fantasy world that's still trying to put the pieces back together after a revolution six years ago. One is Lu, who's parents fought in the revolution, and was a soldier herself, even though she was a kid, she was sent to listen in on conversations, going unnoticed by Argridians. Now, her mother is the head of Grace Loray's Council. Vex is a pirate and heretic, one with no loyalty to any country or kingdom. But he's gotten himself captured by soldiers in Grace Loray. Ben is the crown prince of Argrid, a kingdom ruled by religion and the Pious God, but he wants nothing to do with the religion, and has a fascination with herbal magic, a sin in his kingdom. Now that the revolution is over, Grace Loray and Argrid are trying to reach some sort of peace, but it isn't going well.
What I didn't like about this book was the slow beginning. A lot of fantasy novels are like this, but there is a way to make it less slow and introduce action more quickly when writing fantasy. So that bothered me, and I hate that it'll turn a lot of people off. Because we're following three characters, all of whom at first aren't interacting with each other, there's a lot that get cuts off in favour of moving to another character and then backtracking when we need more explanation. Once the world is more established, this goes away, but the first 100 or so (the ARC is over 400 pages) are slow-going. Knowing that the ARC has more pages than the final copy, it makes me wonder if maybe stuff got cut out, or if the text is just smaller in the final copy.
I also didn't really like Ben. His problems were pretty minuscule compared to Vex and Lu. His relationship with Jakes kinda put me off, too. Jakes is wholeheartedly Argridian, he believes in the Pious God's path for him and serves his King. But Ben doesn't at all. He's completely against this religion, and it makes their dynamic incredibly unbalanced, and not very healthy. Without giving spoilers, this does get rectified. But I also hate that the only queer representation was this imbalanced relationship.
What I did like about this book, was that once it really got started, I couldn't put it down. Raasch is great with action, always leaving you guessing what might happen. And while I did find a few of my predictions being correct, there were more predictions that went out the window, she surprised me, even with all the hints, and that's great storytelling.
This world gave me Six of Crows and Shades of Magic vibes, so I think you'll like this if you enjoyed those, as long as your willing to go through the world-developing first.
I really liked the differences between the characters and their opinions and beliefs about the world they live in. They each showed a lot of character growth. Lu starts out thinking that Grace Loray is perfect, that everything they do is for the good of everyone. Vex helps her realize that just because Grace Loray fought Argrid for their radical beliefs, Grace Loray isn't all good, either. At the same time, Ben doesn't agree with his father's/kingdom's beliefs, but has to tiptoe around to make sure he doesn't put himself in danger. This look at politics is honestly really parallel to everything going on in both U.S. and Canadian politics right now.
Overall, I love that this is a duology, and I'll definitely be reading the second/final book.
4/5 stars!
This book follows three characters in an established fantasy world that's still trying to put the pieces back together after a revolution six years ago. One is Lu, who's parents fought in the revolution, and was a soldier herself, even though she was a kid, she was sent to listen in on conversations, going unnoticed by Argridians. Now, her mother is the head of Grace Loray's Council. Vex is a pirate and heretic, one with no loyalty to any country or kingdom. But he's gotten himself captured by soldiers in Grace Loray. Ben is the crown prince of Argrid, a kingdom ruled by religion and the Pious God, but he wants nothing to do with the religion, and has a fascination with herbal magic, a sin in his kingdom. Now that the revolution is over, Grace Loray and Argrid are trying to reach some sort of peace, but it isn't going well.
What I didn't like about this book was the slow beginning. A lot of fantasy novels are like this, but there is a way to make it less slow and introduce action more quickly when writing fantasy. So that bothered me, and I hate that it'll turn a lot of people off. Because we're following three characters, all of whom at first aren't interacting with each other, there's a lot that get cuts off in favour of moving to another character and then backtracking when we need more explanation. Once the world is more established, this goes away, but the first 100 or so (the ARC is over 400 pages) are slow-going. Knowing that the ARC has more pages than the final copy, it makes me wonder if maybe stuff got cut out, or if the text is just smaller in the final copy.
I also didn't really like Ben. His problems were pretty minuscule compared to Vex and Lu. His relationship with Jakes kinda put me off, too. Jakes is wholeheartedly Argridian, he believes in the Pious God's path for him and serves his King. But Ben doesn't at all. He's completely against this religion, and it makes their dynamic incredibly unbalanced, and not very healthy. Without giving spoilers, this does get rectified. But I also hate that the only queer representation was this imbalanced relationship.
What I did like about this book, was that once it really got started, I couldn't put it down. Raasch is great with action, always leaving you guessing what might happen. And while I did find a few of my predictions being correct, there were more predictions that went out the window, she surprised me, even with all the hints, and that's great storytelling.
This world gave me Six of Crows and Shades of Magic vibes, so I think you'll like this if you enjoyed those, as long as your willing to go through the world-developing first.
I really liked the differences between the characters and their opinions and beliefs about the world they live in. They each showed a lot of character growth. Lu starts out thinking that Grace Loray is perfect, that everything they do is for the good of everyone. Vex helps her realize that just because Grace Loray fought Argrid for their radical beliefs, Grace Loray isn't all good, either. At the same time, Ben doesn't agree with his father's/kingdom's beliefs, but has to tiptoe around to make sure he doesn't put himself in danger. This look at politics is honestly really parallel to everything going on in both U.S. and Canadian politics right now.
Overall, I love that this is a duology, and I'll definitely be reading the second/final book.
4/5 stars!