Yeah, it's a little preachy and has outdated values at times, but god did I enjoy it! Granted I've only read Act 1 so far, and most of my love for thiYeah, it's a little preachy and has outdated values at times, but god did I enjoy it! Granted I've only read Act 1 so far, and most of my love for this book is probably just the love I have for Jo March, I just couldn't bring myself to give this any lesser than five stars.
The sisterhood, the platonic friendship between the girls and a boy (in 1868? what?), the lovely characters, and the respect given to each of their hobbies, the critique of gender roles (again, in 1868?), and the absolute love they all have for each other. L.M. Alcott certainly knew what she was doing.
I will say, though. Some of those chapters, especially the ones that used deaths or disabilities or other sensitive topics to teach a lesson, could've been handled better.
I want to read the second part, but I got spoiled for a certain thing and I don't know if I will be able to read after that. (view spoiler)[I could even understand Jo and Laurie not marrying each other, like there was so much focus on how their friendship was purely platonic. But what do you mean Jo falls in love with a random man?? And Laurie marries AMY??? HUH? (hide spoiler)]...more
Is this the perfectest book ever? No, there are plenty of things that I think could've been handled better.
But just the fact thatThat was so lovely.
Is this the perfectest book ever? No, there are plenty of things that I think could've been handled better.
But just the fact that it put me into a reading slump for weeks because I was so scared to finish it with all those cliff-hangers, and all those insane plot-twists that mirrored or were foreshadowed in the previous books making me want to reread them, (view spoiler)[combined with that sweet, sweet epilogue that had me giggling and kicking me feet like a five year old (WHAT DO YOU MEAN JORDAN AND DECLAN ARE MARRIED? AND ADAM AND RONAN ARE ENGAGED??????) (hide spoiler)] alone are enough for me to rate it 5 stars.
If the fact that this might be the last book ever featuring these wonderful characters and this wonderful universe influenced the rating, we're not gonna talk about it :)
It is always said that second books, especially in trilogies, are supposed to be the weakest links. Why then do I always end up loving the seconds in It is always said that second books, especially in trilogies, are supposed to be the weakest links. Why then do I always end up loving the seconds in series more than anything else. What a fantastic read to start off the new year.
Addressing the elephant in the room first. That title was the reason I didn't really want to read this series immediately after reading The Raven King, and it doesn't make it any better after finishing and loving this book. Maggie whyyyyy ಥʖ̯ಥ
Ahem, now, where do I start. This book feels so much more... cohesive? than the first one. Like the characters blend in with each other so well, in a good way. Where Call Down the Hawk was more plot-focused with splatter of good characters, this one was beautiful characters with a plot where you don't fully understand but vibe with. Sort of like a call back to TRC. Where Carmen and Parsifal didn't vibe in the first one, her and Lilliana were an outstanding duo here. Where Ronan was either on a solo mission or with his brothers in the first one, he's with Bryde and Hennessy here, and what a fantastic trio they made! I love their chemistry so much.
The highlight of this book, and the entire trilogy for me, has been Declan. What a pleasant surprise from the Declan we saw in TRC. It feels so nice to see the character you kept rooting for actually turn out to be a decent person. (view spoiler)[I respect and love him for every decision he made here, and I hope it only gets better for him from here on. All he needs to do is have a real, grown-up conversation with Matthew and marry Jordan to reach perfection. (hide spoiler)] He deserves a tight hug and some warm hot chocolate.
JORDAN MY GIRLLLLL (view spoiler)[I'm so, so, so proud of her. Creating a sweetmetal all on her own? Having a heart-to-heart with Matthew and making him feel better? Knowing exactly why Declan is doing what he is doing? Girlboss behaviour, marry me please. Or marry Declan, please. That's fine too. (hide spoiler)]
I felt very lukewarm about Farooq-Lane in the first one, because I loved her character, but also needed some development from her to fully adore here. And we got just that in this one. (view spoiler)[Absolutely in love with her bagging Lilliana AND dumping the Moderators in one smooth move. GO CARMEN (hide spoiler)]
Matthew, what an absolute sweetheart. His POVs always ended up breaking me. (view spoiler)[I really enjoyed all of his little identity crises moments. Him talking to Jordan definitely seems to be helping, I hope he can find a way to accept his conditions. All he needs to do is have a chat with Ronan now. (hide spoiler)]
HENNESSY, I cannot put into words how much I love Hennessy. She felt very different for the first half of this book. More talkative — was she always talkative? — less self-destructive misery. (view spoiler)[But then she had to go into her twisted backstory and good lord. I feel so bad for thinking miserable-Hennessy back into existence. That was actually Messed Up™ . I hope my girl gets a good, happy ending. I feel like she's going to be killed off, now that Jordan can live on her own and doesn't have to rely on her dreamer, and evil authors seems to love killing off twins, and also because Hennessy doesn't seem to have a romantic pair yet, and god it's so easy to kill her off and blame it on her non-existent raison d'être or the Lace or any of her past trauma. But I'm hoping against hope she pulls through and gets the happiness she deserves. (hide spoiler)]
It is an absolute CRIME Adam Parrish is not in this book as much as I want him to be. (view spoiler)[Really got my hopes up seeing the plot venture into the very familiar ley line territory thinking our ley line expert is going to play a bigger role. Guess not. But I adored the few scenes where he did show up. Smelling out Bryde's fishiness, getting Declan to act on it, not being mad at Ronan for whatever he's doing, attempting to repeatedly scry into his dreamscape even after that disastrous phone call. Speaking of that, why does every book have to end with a cliff-hanger of Adam ༼;´༎ຶ - ༎ຶ༽ wdym he's letting his mind wander farther from his body while the ley line cut out. Adam please be okayyy. Not sure what's going on with his duckling friends but we need him to be okay to find out (hide spoiler)]
Getting to the biggest part of the book, THE PLOT TWISTS. Because WHAT THE ABSOLUTE FUCKITY FUCK? (view spoiler)[No, in hindsight, I should've seen it coming. What are the answers to some of the major plot twists in TRC? "Ronan dreamt into being." Chainsaw? Ronan dreamt into being. Matthew? Ronan dreamt into being. Cabeswater? Ronan dreamt into being. It was so obvious, the way Bryde communicates through trees out of anything. It screams Ronan. The way he was so harsh on Ronan, but not that useful to solve Hennessy's problems, the way he was described in the same way as one of Ronan's dreamt up mindfuckery would be described. GOD the evidence was right there. Bryde, oh, Bryde. Knew he was fishy. Couldn't help liking him. Fell into the exact same trap as Ronan did. Man, I feel so sick. All Ronan wanted was just a teacher! Someone to guide him, someone who knew better than him. Fuck Niall Lynch, seriously. This is all his fault. What an asshole (hide spoiler)]
Ronan, please let's just go back to being a gay catholic street-racing farmer, shall we?...more
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