Reviews

Battle Hill Bolero by Daniel José Older

katieinca's review

4.0

If you like urban fantasy AT ALL and you haven't read these (and I include the vampire & werewolf people in that), you're doing yourself a disservice. And +1 for noir fans.
This reads like a trilogy conclusion, which on the one hand is sad (no! more!) but on the other hand it's nice to recommend them knowing they are, in fact, going somewhere.

kleonard's review against another edition

5.0

A superb novel of love and death and battle tactics and ghosts and vision. I'd like to become part of Mama Esther when I die, if that's possible.

lindsayb's review against another edition

4.0

This was such a good end to the trilogy, and I'm so sad to part ways with the Rumba folks. I'll be counting on the Shadowshaper novels to let me know how everyone's doing. :)

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Read Harder: fantasy novel

katreniah's review

5.0

The mark of an amazingly well-done trilogy is when you close the third book filled with sadness that it's over but also happiness at the satisfying end. This was one of those times for me.

Older has such a brilliant way of writing - many times I had to stop and marvel, as a writer myself, how well written I found all three of the novels. I'm looking forward to what he's going to come up with next.

serinde4books's review

3.0

I think on this one Older had too many narrators. I couldn’t get into the story as much because it was made up of too many threads and not enough connections. I felt like it dragged, although it took me less time to read than some of the others in the series. But it did wrap the series very nicely. I’m glad it had a satisfying ending.

For additional reviews please see my blog at www.adventuresofabibliophile.blogspot.com

grimdark_dad's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad fast-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? Yes

3.75

athryn's review against another edition

adventurous tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

This series really just has gone downhill for me. The first book was really good! By this book, the shine has worn off, and I really didn't care about this rushed meta story. I feel like maybe the publisher told Older that he was only going to get 3 books, and so he had to wrap it up sooner rather than later, and this is what we got. A bummer, it seemed like it really had potential.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual content, Car accident, Death, Suicide attempt, and War

Minor: Cursing, Fatphobia, Fire/Fire injury, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Child death, and Violence

stuhlsem's review

4.0

I love these books. I just wish I hadn't found them so soon so that there would be more already written.

jenna_cross's review

4.0

3.75 rounded up. I’m so mad to find out I should have read a collection of short stories before this 3rd and last installment but decided to look on the bright side that I will have one more October of reading the Rumba series. I love the strong female characters. I love the vivid descriptions of this urban fantasy world and its inhabitants. The romance was very sexy and the action very intense. Lots of humor throughout with one of my favorite scenes being Carlos talking down the River Monster on the bridge. The authors narration of his characters is some of the best, fully engaging and unique.

blacksentai's review

4.0

This book is a good end to the series. I really like the characters and where they get to by the end.

Spoiler

The books are good. I just think they're not for me. Honestly. There's a sort of gruesomeness that doesn't mesh well with where I am right now. I love ghosts and all that, but I'm just not a horror person. All the social stuff the books engage with are great. Big fan of all of it. But it just doesn't hit me in my heart the way it does for a lot of people.