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pause_theframe's review
4.0
This story really built itself up, from the first book. I loved the start to this series, and this second book has solidified not only my love for this series and its characters, but also for this author. Bowen has officially been added to my list of favourites!
I liked the continued depth, in this book. It took the time to really delve in and give us so much more detail, on top of what we had in the previous. I liked that the characters grew, changed and evolved as the story went on, as this is so true to the way real life is.
The pace of the story stayed true. It carried forward with a fantastic blend of fast-paced moments, full of suspense, and slower moments, which built in the detail I spoke of. This really kept the story having a good flow, and really drew me in further to the series.
Overall, I am still very impressed and very much looking forward to reading more from this author.
**I received this book for free and voluntarily provided my honest and unbiased review.
I liked the continued depth, in this book. It took the time to really delve in and give us so much more detail, on top of what we had in the previous. I liked that the characters grew, changed and evolved as the story went on, as this is so true to the way real life is.
The pace of the story stayed true. It carried forward with a fantastic blend of fast-paced moments, full of suspense, and slower moments, which built in the detail I spoke of. This really kept the story having a good flow, and really drew me in further to the series.
Overall, I am still very impressed and very much looking forward to reading more from this author.
**I received this book for free and voluntarily provided my honest and unbiased review.
feckless_dullard's review
3.0
easy to read, but i’m not particularly interested in where it’s going? it’s confusing bc rhett didn’t want to be touched at all by anyone in the previous book. book two comes around (after only a couple weeks time has passed in this universe) and he’s in and around everyone that looks at him nicely. also, for a character that only ‘cares’ for the people in his posse, he really only thinks about himself. everyone’s personal journey is different and that’s fine — rhett’s development in this book was just hard to follow. Not sure i’ll continue this series.
mogojojo1013's review
2.0
This book was just so very underwhelming in comparison to the first book, the cliffhanger from the first book was resolved within ten pages of this one. The resolution was kind of a cop-out as well, in my opinion. I tried for two months to get through this book and just couldn't. The story is slow and plodding and most of the first two hundred pages is nothing but travelling and Rhett complaining the whole time.
Maybe I was just expecting too much, but I was disappointed.
I might go back and try again, perhaps with an audio book. Being able to speed it up and listen instead of reading might help me get through.
Maybe I was just expecting too much, but I was disappointed.
I might go back and try again, perhaps with an audio book. Being able to speed it up and listen instead of reading might help me get through.
labunnywtf's review
4.0
Read for Book Roast's Magical Readathon: NEWTs Exams. Subject: History of Magic, E Level. (Book with a map)
Shame seemed like somebody else telling you what to do with your body, and Rhett didn't reckon he'd let other folks decide how he was going to feel.
It's been 7 months since I read [b: Wake of Vultures|24819482|Wake of Vultures (The Shadow, #1)|Lila Bowen|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1432332113l/24819482._SX50_.jpg|44460269]. I loved the hell out of that book, and was so excited to move on to the next book in the series, but as ever, my TBR constantly fights for dominance and this series got pushed to the wayside.
I was worried that, in the interim, I wouldn't love this as much as I did the first one. You step out of a world long enough, lose details, forget what it is that made it so special.
I didn't have anything to worry about. In fact, I think I actually like this better than the first. I mean, the villain ALONE.
Nettie has shed his old persona, fully transforming into Rhett. And he is getting stronger every day. After defeating the villain of the first book, he sets out to return to his home with the Rangers, thought not before getting lost in his other skin. He meets an Irish donkey, steals his shirt, and thus begins another adventure. Now with even more side kicks.
This world is absolutely incredible. It's our world, our history, with that supernatural twist that fits with what was going on at the time so perfectly. The mistreatment of people of color, and people just considered Other in general, is absolutely disgusting and horrifying, and every instance where Dan, Sam, and Rhett stood up against it, was amazing.
I loved Earl, and as ever adore Winifred. We met a lot of new characters, some we saw for only a few moments. I wanted more of so many, especially Big Red, a character that Rhett should definitely not have scuffled with. Not because he was enormous and could've killed him twice over, but because he was genuinely innocent and Rhett could've gotten him killed first.
But, as Bowen is so good at doing, this opened Rhett's eyes to his own selfishness, and added to the growth.
Seriously, though, the villain. Can we... can we deal with that villain? And that fucking ending?
Time to get my library to order book 3 for me. Maybe I can wait less than 7 months this time.
36 books in 31 days: Book 34
Shame seemed like somebody else telling you what to do with your body, and Rhett didn't reckon he'd let other folks decide how he was going to feel.
It's been 7 months since I read [b: Wake of Vultures|24819482|Wake of Vultures (The Shadow, #1)|Lila Bowen|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1432332113l/24819482._SX50_.jpg|44460269]. I loved the hell out of that book, and was so excited to move on to the next book in the series, but as ever, my TBR constantly fights for dominance and this series got pushed to the wayside.
I was worried that, in the interim, I wouldn't love this as much as I did the first one. You step out of a world long enough, lose details, forget what it is that made it so special.
I didn't have anything to worry about. In fact, I think I actually like this better than the first. I mean, the villain ALONE.
Nettie has shed his old persona, fully transforming into Rhett. And he is getting stronger every day. After defeating the villain of the first book, he sets out to return to his home with the Rangers, thought not before getting lost in his other skin. He meets an Irish donkey, steals his shirt, and thus begins another adventure. Now with even more side kicks.
This world is absolutely incredible. It's our world, our history, with that supernatural twist that fits with what was going on at the time so perfectly. The mistreatment of people of color, and people just considered Other in general, is absolutely disgusting and horrifying, and every instance where Dan, Sam, and Rhett stood up against it, was amazing.
I loved Earl, and as ever adore Winifred. We met a lot of new characters, some we saw for only a few moments. I wanted more of so many, especially Big Red, a character that Rhett should definitely not have scuffled with. Not because he was enormous and could've killed him twice over, but because he was genuinely innocent and Rhett could've gotten him killed first.
But, as Bowen is so good at doing, this opened Rhett's eyes to his own selfishness, and added to the growth.
Seriously, though, the villain. Can we... can we deal with that villain? And that fucking ending?
Time to get my library to order book 3 for me. Maybe I can wait less than 7 months this time.
36 books in 31 days: Book 34
authoraugust's review
3.0
Nice! Fun. Entertaining. Some really good characters, and towards the end, I warmed up to the story.
thewallflower00's review
4.0
Like I always say, if you’re reading a second book before the first, why?
Parts of it are better. Other parts are not. It got good in the last act, but before that there’s some quest-y ambling around that doesn’t have to do with the end result. It’s filler or padding in that it doesn’t have an impact on the ending. But it’s more entertaining than I thought it would be. At least the plot stays in motion, has a clearer goal, and has some whiz-bang suspense. Maybe I’m having problems with my own plotting so I see everything as padding nowadays. Maybe I’m jealous that Lila Bowen can write so well, and I’m still struggling to make good sentences.
Here’s one thing I gotta quibble with. There’s still the issues of sexuality and gender confusion. But this time, the main character, who was born female and has female junk, decides she’s male. And then the pronouns change from she to he. And it’s not like this settles everything–there’s still conflict that keeps coming up. In fact he/she has sex with both a male and a female and no one seems to care one way or the other.
For one thing, this seems unrealistic. No one has a reaction to her/him having opposite parts of what’s expected. This makes it an “issue” book. But that “issue” is subplot, which makes it seem not important. It feels like she’s a he just for the sake of the author wanting diversity. For another thing, it’s confusing. He was a she in the last book. And the name changes too. A couple times actually.
Parts of it are better. Other parts are not. It got good in the last act, but before that there’s some quest-y ambling around that doesn’t have to do with the end result. It’s filler or padding in that it doesn’t have an impact on the ending. But it’s more entertaining than I thought it would be. At least the plot stays in motion, has a clearer goal, and has some whiz-bang suspense. Maybe I’m having problems with my own plotting so I see everything as padding nowadays. Maybe I’m jealous that Lila Bowen can write so well, and I’m still struggling to make good sentences.
Here’s one thing I gotta quibble with. There’s still the issues of sexuality and gender confusion. But this time, the main character, who was born female and has female junk, decides she’s male. And then the pronouns change from she to he. And it’s not like this settles everything–there’s still conflict that keeps coming up. In fact he/she has sex with both a male and a female and no one seems to care one way or the other.
For one thing, this seems unrealistic. No one has a reaction to her/him having opposite parts of what’s expected. This makes it an “issue” book. But that “issue” is subplot, which makes it seem not important. It feels like she’s a he just for the sake of the author wanting diversity. For another thing, it’s confusing. He was a she in the last book. And the name changes too. A couple times actually.
mcf's review
4.0
This series is so, so important to me. Yes, it's YA fantasy and, yes, there are all sorts of monsters and big bads and amazing supernatural abilities. And, yes, it's wonderfully full of people of color who constantly deal with and confront the racism of the world around them. But, at its core, this is a series about a transman figuring out who he is, exploring his own sexuality and, ultimately, coming to love himself and the makeshift family he's made. It's wonderful and important and an absolute gift.
All of which makes me even sadder that this book featured a major scene of nonconsensual sex (think sex pollen, except god juice) that is never, ever fully address. The scene itself is horribly uncomfortable (the kind of thing you read while quietly saying "no, no, no, no" to yourself) because, in their right minds, none of the four characters involved would have participated in the acts. Yet, when it's over, it's addressed by making three of the four FORGET WHAT HAPPENED, while the one who remembers (Rhett, the main character) references the experience constantly in his own mind, never with any concern for the other participants or regret about the decision he made to help remove the event from their minds. It's profoundly troubling, and disappointing that Bowen -- who is so good on so many other important issues -- seems to have had a blind spot here.
All of which makes me even sadder that this book featured a major scene of nonconsensual sex (think sex pollen, except god juice) that is never, ever fully address. The scene itself is horribly uncomfortable (the kind of thing you read while quietly saying "no, no, no, no" to yourself) because, in their right minds, none of the four characters involved would have participated in the acts. Yet, when it's over, it's addressed by making three of the four FORGET WHAT HAPPENED, while the one who remembers (Rhett, the main character) references the experience constantly in his own mind, never with any concern for the other participants or regret about the decision he made to help remove the event from their minds. It's profoundly troubling, and disappointing that Bowen -- who is so good on so many other important issues -- seems to have had a blind spot here.
tracey_stewart's review
4.0
Wow. Just … wow. I was so glad to be able to go straight into this after Wake of Vultures. The game changed entirely at the end of that first book – is it still a cliffhanger if the main character jumps off the cliff? And here the times they just keep a–changing. Nettie determines once and for all to shed the parts of her she despises, insofar as she can, and adapts to this whole new part of her which I never saw coming.
Once again, the writing is intimate, gritty, and completely believable. Nettie's – or rather Rhett's loyalties are tested, his abilities are stretched and expanded, and his affections are tested. As if there hadn't been enough changes in his life, the realization that hit him – and hit him hard – at the end of Wake of Vultures turns into the biggest change at all. It leads him to a new friend – or, well, a new companion, anyway, both reluctant mentor and counter-irritant, and to a new quest – there's trouble surrounding a moving camp, laying track across the country – big trouble, and no one to deal with it but Rhett and his companions. So Rhett basically goes undercover to try to start its destruction from the inside.
There is at least as much action as in the first book – probably more, actually – but this is even more character-driven than that first book. Here Rhett has left behind any vestiges of femininity, as though the first shape-shifting burned it away. But he still carries a torch for his friend, and keeps finding himself in strange conjunctions with the sister of his other friend, and like other reviewers I found this a weak spot, a distraction in the plot.
But when all's said and done it's still a truly remarkable bit of world-building and character-building. I look forward to more.
The usual disclaimer: I received this book via Netgalley for review.
Once again, the writing is intimate, gritty, and completely believable. Nettie's – or rather Rhett's loyalties are tested, his abilities are stretched and expanded, and his affections are tested. As if there hadn't been enough changes in his life, the realization that hit him – and hit him hard – at the end of Wake of Vultures turns into the biggest change at all. It leads him to a new friend – or, well, a new companion, anyway, both reluctant mentor and counter-irritant, and to a new quest – there's trouble surrounding a moving camp, laying track across the country – big trouble, and no one to deal with it but Rhett and his companions. So Rhett basically goes undercover to try to start its destruction from the inside.
There is at least as much action as in the first book – probably more, actually – but this is even more character-driven than that first book. Here Rhett has left behind any vestiges of femininity, as though the first shape-shifting burned it away. But he still carries a torch for his friend, and keeps finding himself in strange conjunctions with the sister of his other friend, and like other reviewers I found this a weak spot, a distraction in the plot.
But when all's said and done it's still a truly remarkable bit of world-building and character-building. I look forward to more.
The usual disclaimer: I received this book via Netgalley for review.