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magraymusic's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
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? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Violence, Slavery, Murder, Grief, Classism, Trafficking, War, Toxic friendship, Physical abuse, Gore, and Death
tinyjude's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
3.75
The story has still some very interesting elements that make me want to continue the series. Especially I am interested in the worldbuilding and finding out more about Paige's powers and the truth about the origins of these hellish characters (i dont know how to write their name in english but yeah you get it). The book is a bit slow at the beginning but the 3rd part makes it worth it. Really loved the fight between Jax and Paige and his character also holds so much potential for future instalments.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Violence, Death, Emotional abuse, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Police brutality, Gore, Slavery, Trafficking, Injury/Injury detail, and Animal cruelty
Minor: Abandonment and Alcoholism
lauramcc7's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore and Violence
Moderate: Sexual content
caitlin9's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Gore
Minor: Animal cruelty
chaoticreadingclub's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
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? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Violence
Moderate: Gore
foxonabook's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Death, and Blood
Moderate: Murder and Gore
Minor: Alcohol and Alcoholism
eleanora's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Death, Gore, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Police brutality, Panic attacks/disorders, and Confinement
Minor: Abandonment, Addiction, Gun violence, Medical content, and Police brutality
booksthatburn's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-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
5.0
THE MIME ORDER is a slow-burn fantasy of allegiances and betrayal as Paige figures out what she wants from her newly reclaimed freedom, and starts to chafe under the formerly familiar restrictions of her Mime Lord.
The first book told a little of what Paige remembered about her Mime Lord and the rest of the Seven Seals. Now, in THE MIME ORDER, she's returned to find things on edge. The world building continues to be excellent, this time around Paige is noticing what's different from before she was away, and it helps give a real reason for the narration to explain so much in book two. Even when it possibly shouldn't be new to her, it is because things have changed a lot. The politics of interrelationships between the factions and people are complex and absorbing, but the way Paige keeps her ambitions clear and (usually) simple keeps it from being overwhelming. There's a dizzying array of options available to her but because of her goals it feels like only one or two are truly available. As she changes what she wants, the narrow world of her choices swivels to a new set of goals. In a setting with endlessly nested factions and motivations (e.g. the Syndicate vs Scion, the Sargas vs the Ranthem, the various Mime Lords and Ladies vs each other), it would be easy to get lost in the details. I appreciated both that this level of detail was present, and that I could choose how much I wanted to try and track it while still understanding the main story.
THE MIME ORDER wraps up a few things left hanging from the previous book. Its whole main storyline starts here and wasn't present previously, and includes a bunch of major things that are both introduced and resolved in it. It leaves some very big things to be picked up by the sequels. The main character is unchanged from THE BONE SEASON, and her voice is consistent across both books. This might make sense if someone started here and didn't know about the rest of the series. Part of that is because it's book two of a planned seven books, and so it doesn't quite yet have the depth of backstory as later entries will inevitably contain. The other part is that (probably because it's a seven book series) the main storyline is largely self contained. It matters that any reader knows Paige was imprisoned, and by whom, and that she has certain allies (both those she obtained during THE BONE SEASON and ones from before her imprisonment), but all of that can be picked up from the way events are handled here. I like this style, it works a little better than in THE BONE SEASON, where I constantly felt like Paige was talking about some earlier book I hadn't gotten to read, since The Seven Seals matter so much to the series as a whole but were mostly only described by Paige rather than shown in that first book. They matter here, and having learned about them previously helps that transition from her imprisonment to being back home.
I love this book and I'm definitely going to keep reading the series. The ending is great, it's a perfect blend between resolving the main tensions from this book and setting up clear stakes for a conflict in the next one. I feel like I have closure as well as knowing what questions I want answered next time, which is ideal for such long books in a long series.
The first book told a little of what Paige remembered about her Mime Lord and the rest of the Seven Seals. Now, in THE MIME ORDER, she's returned to find things on edge. The world building continues to be excellent, this time around Paige is noticing what's different from before she was away, and it helps give a real reason for the narration to explain so much in book two. Even when it possibly shouldn't be new to her, it is because things have changed a lot. The politics of interrelationships between the factions and people are complex and absorbing, but the way Paige keeps her ambitions clear and (usually) simple keeps it from being overwhelming. There's a dizzying array of options available to her but because of her goals it feels like only one or two are truly available. As she changes what she wants, the narrow world of her choices swivels to a new set of goals. In a setting with endlessly nested factions and motivations (e.g. the Syndicate vs Scion, the Sargas vs the Ranthem, the various Mime Lords and Ladies vs each other), it would be easy to get lost in the details. I appreciated both that this level of detail was present, and that I could choose how much I wanted to try and track it while still understanding the main story.
THE MIME ORDER wraps up a few things left hanging from the previous book. Its whole main storyline starts here and wasn't present previously, and includes a bunch of major things that are both introduced and resolved in it. It leaves some very big things to be picked up by the sequels. The main character is unchanged from THE BONE SEASON, and her voice is consistent across both books. This might make sense if someone started here and didn't know about the rest of the series. Part of that is because it's book two of a planned seven books, and so it doesn't quite yet have the depth of backstory as later entries will inevitably contain. The other part is that (probably because it's a seven book series) the main storyline is largely self contained. It matters that any reader knows Paige was imprisoned, and by whom, and that she has certain allies (both those she obtained during THE BONE SEASON and ones from before her imprisonment), but all of that can be picked up from the way events are handled here. I like this style, it works a little better than in THE BONE SEASON, where I constantly felt like Paige was talking about some earlier book I hadn't gotten to read, since The Seven Seals matter so much to the series as a whole but were mostly only described by Paige rather than shown in that first book. They matter here, and having learned about them previously helps that transition from her imprisonment to being back home.
I love this book and I'm definitely going to keep reading the series. The ending is great, it's a perfect blend between resolving the main tensions from this book and setting up clear stakes for a conflict in the next one. I feel like I have closure as well as knowing what questions I want answered next time, which is ideal for such long books in a long series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia, Blood, Violence, Police brutality, and Death
Moderate: Kidnapping, Confinement, Gore, Colonisation, Gun violence, Medical content, Slavery, Trafficking, Genocide, Murder, and Animal death
Minor: Self harm, Suicide, and Death of parent
CW for major character death (graphic).stwriter92's review
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I hate Jaxon Hall. I mean, I already knew I hated Jaxon Hall, but I hate him even more now, which I did not think was actually possible.
The general set up of The Mime Order was the aftermath of what took place during The Bone Season. Paige Mahoney, newly escaped from the penal colony of Sheol I, must now try and convince her fellow voyants of the threat that looms over them all, casting a shadow far larger, darker, and more lethal than Scion’s. However, Paige is faced with disbelief and disrespect at every turn. When the Underlord turns up brutally murdered along with his lackeys, the mime-lords and mime-queens of London must choose a new leader. In the Archon of Westminster, Nashira (or Nashita, as I typo-ed her and now call her) pulls the threads of her spider’s web to make her little flies dance. When the Rephaim come back, Paige must strike a bargain to fight for the safety and the freedom of every voyant in London.
I’ll start off with what I liked about this book. I loved the fact that it started off exactly where The Bone Season ended: on the train back to London. Getting a better look at the politics of the syndicate was also fascinating to me. Meeting the different mime-lords and mime-queens gave me a better understanding of why the syndicate was the way that it was.
However, I did feel like the book had a lot of unnecessary fluff. It was very slow at the beginning, though granted it did pick up later on. I do think that about a quarter of the beginning could have been cut and it would have made no real difference. I also felt like the chemistry between Paige and the Warden was just…not there? I already felt like it was a bit forced in The Bone Season, but it felt virtually non-existent (at least to me) during The Mime Order. The only time I saw a semblance of chemistry between them was any time the golden thread was brought into the scene. Apart from that, there really was nothing there. If anything, I feel like it’s more of a Stockholm Syndrome sort of thing than anything else.
However, that ending. I do not envy the people who read this book as soon as it came out, only to realize they would need to wait to have that cliffhanger resolved.
I’d give this four stars and I, thankfully, don’t need to wait two years like some of the previous readers have had to for the third book. I have it right next to me and will be starting on it after a short nap.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Death, and Murder
Moderate: Gore
sarahholliday's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
4.5
One of the reasons this series is so enjoyable is the ability to see Shannon's writing develop from book to book.
The Bone Season will always be my "favorite" in the series because it's where I fell in love with a new author, but I do love the way in which Shannon continues to expand the universe without making it too big or overwhelming.
The Mime Order is infuriating and frustrating in the best possible way, and it's wonderful to see Paige further develop into a competent, passionate leader.
The Bone Season will always be my "favorite" in the series because it's where I fell in love with a new author, but I do love the way in which Shannon continues to expand the universe without making it too big or overwhelming.
The Mime Order is infuriating and frustrating in the best possible way, and it's wonderful to see Paige further develop into a competent, passionate leader.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood, Death, Murder, and Police brutality
Moderate: Alcoholism and Gore