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zoiejanelle's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
“you are made of dreams and this world is not for you”
i can’t even put into words how much i love ronan lynch and adam parrish (and now, somehow? declan lynch and jordan hennessey)
maggie stiefvater heard my feedback on TRC saying it had zero plot to writing a new series with an extremely complicated, high stakes apocalyptic, multi-POV plot that moves so fast you can blink and miss really important details…. but lowkey that’s just her style. and i’m having a blast. i tend to gravitate toward stories that have an equal share or character and plot focus, so this book was right up my alley.
i think i fell more in love with the author’s writing in this book—how visceral every feeling is in each character (especially the lynch brothers) and how vivid and bright even the most dull parts of this world are. it was really fun to see her explore more niche interests like art and heists and organized crime and irish folklore.
i’m absolutely obsessed with jordan. i am loving seeing the POV of a dream creation (and hope we get matthew’s POV too!), and seeing how tense and sometimes toxic her relationship with hennessey is. you can literally feel their anger and love for one another bursting from the page… and speaking of tension…
holy shit. declan and jordan’s will-they-won’t-they romance… i feel like i’m going to barf just thinking about it (in a good way). i felt butterflies while reading their scenes. they were just so effortlessly themselves (and not) with one another, every movement and connection to smooth and languid and charming. i wanted those scenes to last forever. i think a whole book in declan’s POV would be fine. i would love it, actually.
carmen is a lesbian i’m calling it now. i can’t wait to see her character arc as we move through the series. i want to know what drives her, i want to know what pains her, what triggers her to fall apart… i have a guess, but i’m eager to see if i’m right! so far she’s so, so good (chaotic good) and i need to see her be bad. ronan levels of bad.
lastly, the depth that stiefvater gives ronan should be studied. we have seen the best and worst of him and i love every fucking piece. he is so baby, and so man, and so dog, and so raven, and so stupid, and so good, and he has never done anything wrong in his life.
my only qualm with this book so far is that adam seems to be backsliding in terms of development from TRC, but i imagine it’s due to his new environment. tbd on his arc. also loved his scrying. holy shit. so good.
questions for the next book: who and what the fuck is vride? where is mini niall? mora a cora? huh? declan different mommy? declan kiss jordan maybe hmm? will we see adam and gansey and blue again? what the fuck is the lace? is it the same as the fire? where are the lesbians? are we about to run for our lives from the Mods? will i survive this series?
i can’t even put into words how much i love ronan lynch and adam parrish (and now, somehow? declan lynch and jordan hennessey)
maggie stiefvater heard my feedback on TRC saying it had zero plot to writing a new series with an extremely complicated, high stakes apocalyptic, multi-POV plot that moves so fast you can blink and miss really important details…. but lowkey that’s just her style. and i’m having a blast. i tend to gravitate toward stories that have an equal share or character and plot focus, so this book was right up my alley.
i think i fell more in love with the author’s writing in this book—how visceral every feeling is in each character (especially the lynch brothers) and how vivid and bright even the most dull parts of this world are. it was really fun to see her explore more niche interests like art and heists and organized crime and irish folklore.
i’m absolutely obsessed with jordan. i am loving seeing the POV of a dream creation (and hope we get matthew’s POV too!), and seeing how tense and sometimes toxic her relationship with hennessey is. you can literally feel their anger and love for one another bursting from the page… and speaking of tension…
holy shit. declan and jordan’s will-they-won’t-they romance… i feel like i’m going to barf just thinking about it (in a good way). i felt butterflies while reading their scenes. they were just so effortlessly themselves (and not) with one another, every movement and connection to smooth and languid and charming. i wanted those scenes to last forever. i think a whole book in declan’s POV would be fine. i would love it, actually.
carmen is a lesbian i’m calling it now. i can’t wait to see her character arc as we move through the series. i want to know what drives her, i want to know what pains her, what triggers her to fall apart… i have a guess, but i’m eager to see if i’m right! so far she’s so, so good (chaotic good) and i need to see her be bad. ronan levels of bad.
lastly, the depth that stiefvater gives ronan should be studied. we have seen the best and worst of him and i love every fucking piece. he is so baby, and so man, and so dog, and so raven, and so stupid, and so good, and he has never done anything wrong in his life.
my only qualm with this book so far is that adam seems to be backsliding in terms of development from TRC, but i imagine it’s due to his new environment. tbd on his arc. also loved his scrying. holy shit. so good.
questions for the next book: who and what the fuck is vride? where is mini niall? mora a cora? huh? declan different mommy? declan kiss jordan maybe hmm? will we see adam and gansey and blue again? what the fuck is the lace? is it the same as the fire? where are the lesbians? are we about to run for our lives from the Mods? will i survive this series?
starrydreamer's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
alt_air's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
thenerd's review against another edition
5.0
I absolutely love that Maggie doesn't shy away from making majority of the cast queer. Also Ronan and Adam are my favourite fictional couple EVER.
brooke_the_shnook's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 ⭐️Took me waaaay to long to feel invested in this first of the sequel trilogy. I feel like I was tricked by having Adam in the first 1/3 of the book, and then not seeing him again the rest of it. However, once it finally got going I couldn’t put it down! Intrigued for the rest, for sure.
faysal's review against another edition
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Weak as hell new main plot line. Returning main cast is great but the new additions fell extremely flat with the exception of Jayden.
The way the world is being treated by the author in this spin-off is honestly such a let down. The original series held this almost… lovecraftian-ish feel to it in terms of what the laylines were derived from and how Ronan and other dreamers interacted with it. But here, it’s been molded into something that is so cookie-cutter by having it be an extremely evident phenomenon.
The way the world is being treated by the author in this spin-off is honestly such a let down. The original series held this almost… lovecraftian-ish feel to it in terms of what the laylines were derived from and how Ronan and other dreamers interacted with it. But here, it’s been molded into something that is so cookie-cutter by having it be an extremely evident phenomenon.
skylerreads28's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I love the way Maggie Stiefvater writes. Listening to this book felt like coming home in such a beautiful way. Ronan Lynch is one of my favorite characters so reading a book that’s mostly from his POV was everything I could ever ask for. All three of the Lynch brothers are enigmas and everything I learn about them simultaneously makes absolute sense and absolute no sense. Long story short please read The Raven Cycle and then come read this.
blurrypetals's review against another edition
3.0
I have never been so upset to rate something a 3 before in my life, but I didn't feel like I could rate it a 4 and it definitely wasn't a 5. When I first heard this trilogy was going to be a thing, Stiefavter kept referring to it as "the Ronan series." Because of this, I expected this to continue Ronan Lynch's story as well as Opal's, Adam's, Declan's, and Matthew's.
Instead, in true spinoff fashion, only about 25%-30% of this book is dedicated to Ronan, 15% to Declan, and the rest to brand new characters who I, unfortunately, could not give less of a fuck about. I was really willing to give the new characters a chance, but after the halfway mark hit and I was not invested in anything anyone besides Ronan was up to, I knew Stiefvater had failed to make me care.
Last year, Alexandra Bracken wrote a spinoff-sequel not unlike this to her The Darkest Minds trilogy, The Darkest Legacy, where we follow a character well known to readers of the original series, Suzume, as she goes on a new journey to save and visit old characters with two brand new characters as her companions. This beautifully folds us into getting to know the new characters while also letting us get a taste of the characters we've already known and loved.
Some may disagree that Call Down the Hawk fails to do this, but unfortunately I felt a huge disconnect between our known characters and our new characters. By the time they do start to interact, it feels so low inconsequential I didn't care anymore. The whole book was such a slog and it made me sad.
The reason this isn't a total failure is because of the Ronan bits of the book, though. Those were the times when I truly felt at home, like I was reading a new book that took place after my favorite completed series. I was actually really excited when the book opened with the Lynch family trip so Ronan could go see Adam, but that whole part was over so quickly I barely got to enjoy it. The same goes for Adam's visit for Ronan's birthday: it was lovely, but it wasn't enough.
Although disappointed, I'm hopeful the next book will be better. Fingers crossed, gang.
Instead, in true spinoff fashion, only about 25%-30% of this book is dedicated to Ronan, 15% to Declan, and the rest to brand new characters who I, unfortunately, could not give less of a fuck about. I was really willing to give the new characters a chance, but after the halfway mark hit and I was not invested in anything anyone besides Ronan was up to, I knew Stiefvater had failed to make me care.
Last year, Alexandra Bracken wrote a spinoff-sequel not unlike this to her The Darkest Minds trilogy, The Darkest Legacy, where we follow a character well known to readers of the original series, Suzume, as she goes on a new journey to save and visit old characters with two brand new characters as her companions. This beautifully folds us into getting to know the new characters while also letting us get a taste of the characters we've already known and loved.
Some may disagree that Call Down the Hawk fails to do this, but unfortunately I felt a huge disconnect between our known characters and our new characters. By the time they do start to interact, it feels so low inconsequential I didn't care anymore. The whole book was such a slog and it made me sad.
The reason this isn't a total failure is because of the Ronan bits of the book, though. Those were the times when I truly felt at home, like I was reading a new book that took place after my favorite completed series. I was actually really excited when the book opened with the Lynch family trip so Ronan could go see Adam, but that whole part was over so quickly I barely got to enjoy it. The same goes for Adam's visit for Ronan's birthday: it was lovely, but it wasn't enough.
Although disappointed, I'm hopeful the next book will be better. Fingers crossed, gang.
pachec_oh_no's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
3.5
This was not what I was expecting it to be. I don't know what I was expecting. Perhaps an expansion of the magical world we only glimpsed in the Raven Cycle, which we are given. Perhaps more lore around the Lynches, which we are given. Perhaps more dreamers, which we are given.
What I definitely didn't expect, however, was a vast covert conspiracy to hunt down every dreamer across the globe and exterminate them in the name of saving the world from utter dreamed destruction. That definitely felt a little left-fieldy to me.
We know from the last book of the Raven Cycle that there's a wider world and market for the dreamers than the sleepy town of Henrietta. Greenmantle and Henry's mother are only two players in a much larger game of dream things. The Fairy Market felt like a really good expansion of it... but because Declan just has the skills and tools needed to get into that world, it felt a little too easy to find through Ronan's eyes. Then again, he's not really paying attention to what Declan is doing, so going along and just finding himself in places like that isn't wholly unbelievable.
I don't know if I like Hennessy. I do like Jordan. I don't like Declan, which sucks because he's a main character now. It took Ronan nearly 85% of the book to stop being a wet mop about his life and get back to being his bastard self. Him coaching Hennesey through her dreaming was a great callback to his interactions with Kavinsky in the Dream Thieves. I liked that.
I have no clue what's going to happen in any given scene, and that isn't necessarily a good thing. At least Stiefvater isn't one to kill characters or throw twists just for shock value. Still, I feel as I often do about sequels: the world has gotten a little too big. The story has escaped the boundaries of its beginnings, and without those boundaries to maintain the structure of the story, things are a little wonky. We've left the security of Henrietta. We no longer have the rich sense of place, and in a story where time is nebulous and circling, having Stiefvater's richly detailed town was essential to understanding the story. Henrietta was as much a character as Cabeswater. Monmouth and Fox Way were near-tangible places readers could anchor to over multiple books. It set the scene. It held us down.
Now, however, we're adrift. Ronan is going every which way, I never know where Hennesey is going, and I have no clue what the significance of Matthew's dazed walks is because I don't know the Virginian geography to know how far he was walking. We've lost an essential element to the world of the Raven Boys. And in a way, that is fitting because they are not raven boys anymore. They're graduated, they're gone. Scattered. But it also means that I am not attached to anything that's happening anymore, and that is sad.
Also the use of metaphor is becoming incredibly tiring. I remember feeling this way in BLLB and TRK also, but it's getting annoying again.
What I definitely didn't expect, however, was a vast covert conspiracy to hunt down every dreamer across the globe and exterminate them in the name of saving the world from utter dreamed destruction. That definitely felt a little left-fieldy to me.
We know from the last book of the Raven Cycle that there's a wider world and market for the dreamers than the sleepy town of Henrietta. Greenmantle and Henry's mother are only two players in a much larger game of dream things. The Fairy Market felt like a really good expansion of it... but because Declan just has the skills and tools needed to get into that world, it felt a little too easy to find through Ronan's eyes. Then again, he's not really paying attention to what Declan is doing, so going along and just finding himself in places like that isn't wholly unbelievable.
I don't know if I like Hennessy. I do like Jordan. I don't like Declan, which sucks because he's a main character now. It took Ronan nearly 85% of the book to stop being a wet mop about his life and get back to being his bastard self. Him coaching Hennesey through her dreaming was a great callback to his interactions with Kavinsky in the Dream Thieves. I liked that.
I have no clue what's going to happen in any given scene, and that isn't necessarily a good thing. At least Stiefvater isn't one to kill characters or throw twists just for shock value. Still, I feel as I often do about sequels: the world has gotten a little too big. The story has escaped the boundaries of its beginnings, and without those boundaries to maintain the structure of the story, things are a little wonky. We've left the security of Henrietta. We no longer have the rich sense of place, and in a story where time is nebulous and circling, having Stiefvater's richly detailed town was essential to understanding the story. Henrietta was as much a character as Cabeswater. Monmouth and Fox Way were near-tangible places readers could anchor to over multiple books. It set the scene. It held us down.
Now, however, we're adrift. Ronan is going every which way, I never know where Hennesey is going, and I have no clue what the significance of Matthew's dazed walks is because I don't know the Virginian geography to know how far he was walking. We've lost an essential element to the world of the Raven Boys. And in a way, that is fitting because they are not raven boys anymore. They're graduated, they're gone. Scattered. But it also means that I am not attached to anything that's happening anymore, and that is sad.
Also the use of metaphor is becoming incredibly tiring. I remember feeling this way in BLLB and TRK also, but it's getting annoying again.