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zoiejanelle's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
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? No
5.0
Samantha Shannon is a god. i worship at the altar of her writing. i will read anything she puts out—i’m honestly angry at myself for not reading this sooner.
The Bone Season does not apply to any of my tastes as a reader. i do not like paranormal. i do not like magical boarding school/training. i do not particularly likesize difference, immortal being + human mortal romances. i do not like overly British books. (lol) and yet, i fucking loved this book.
after 50 pages—the typical slow, world-building rising action that Shannon is known for—i was absolutely hooked. thank god for the glossary, because i had a lot of questions, but i probably still would have survived without it. the world is so intricate, complicated, and structured. there is room for expansion, twists & turns, but limited enough to feel secure as a new reader. i loved that in this book, the reader was thrown into the magic without feeling too vulnerable OR belittled by the text. Paige, though an expert in her own world, was new to Oxford and was the perfect stand-in for the audience as she learned more and more about the Rephs, the politics of Scion, and about her own power.
Paige is an extremely compelling protagonist. she’s almost morally gray in that she is driven by a need to survive and to protect her own circle, but is willing to do whatever it takes. i loved the balance of selfishness and selflessness she held within her. she is cunning, but not arrogant. she is determined, but not ambitious. she is willing to step outside her comfort zone/expertise to do what needed to be done. she felt very realistic to me—her immediate rage and reactionary actions, and her later slow and methodical examination of her feelings (and the facts). i love her and i cannot wait to see how thisescape from Oxford and severing of ties with Jaxon impacts her life in London.
one of my favorite things about Samantha Shannon is her research. god, this woman is smart. the interwoven threads about Ireland (mirroring actual historical events, i assume) and Paige’s identity as an Irish person were sooooo delicious and fascinating. the pain of her family and how it resonated within her was magnificently depicted, and i know for certain that all of the inclusion of the Molly Riots was very intentional. i am excited to see how she can channel this revolutionary spirit in the next books.
also… damn, this book must have been born from a deep dive into paranormal and occult practices. i loved the familiar details of the tarot cards, scrying, ley lines, and the different orders of psychics and -mancers. the numa were particularly intriguing to me, and again, i was grateful for the glossary AND for the inclusion of the excerpt from Jaxon’s pamphlet. for once in my ENTIRE life i was interested in the communication between spirits and the spirit realm.
speaking of Jaxon! what a character. he reminds me of Niclays from Priory—a tough pill to swallow, but believable and compelling all the same. i am lowkey obsessed with this horrible man, and i can only imagine how he will be a wrench in Paige’s future plans. between Nick and Jaxon, i feel we have a Magneto and Professor X situation on our hands. time will tell. (sidenote: the whole seven orders thing is CRAZY AS HELL and the propaganda element was so believable to human nature. i want the full pamphlet NOW!)
Liss, Julian, Nadine, Zeke, Eliza, and Terebell are probably some of my favorite characters so far. i am totally entranced when i see them on the page. i love their gifts and how they all vary so widely despite feeling very similar in real-world terms. again, i look forward to seeing what lies ahead for each of them.
finally, i must touch on my favorite character: Arcturus Mesarthim. Warden. my beloved. as soon as Paige called himterrible and beautiful i knew i was personally done for. beyond the Beauty and the Beast-type romantic sub-plot, he is absolutely fascinating as a character. scarred and haunted, uniquely gifted, curious, gentle, quietly dangerous. he is exactly my type. we only got to see a glimpse of what he is capable of, and i wonder how Shannon will further establish and expand his oneiromancy in the future. i honestly can’t stop thinking about him and his collared tunics and his gloves and his golden eyes and his gramophone…. ugh
overall, 10/10 read. i will be immediately starting the rest of the series in anticipation of The Dark Mirror’s release in February 2025. now that I know Paige and Arcturus, i will not be letting them go!!!
The Bone Season does not apply to any of my tastes as a reader. i do not like paranormal. i do not like magical boarding school/training. i do not particularly like
after 50 pages—the typical slow, world-building rising action that Shannon is known for—i was absolutely hooked. thank god for the glossary, because i had a lot of questions, but i probably still would have survived without it. the world is so intricate, complicated, and structured. there is room for expansion, twists & turns, but limited enough to feel secure as a new reader. i loved that in this book, the reader was thrown into the magic without feeling too vulnerable OR belittled by the text. Paige, though an expert in her own world, was new to Oxford and was the perfect stand-in for the audience as she learned more and more about the Rephs, the politics of Scion, and about her own power.
Paige is an extremely compelling protagonist. she’s almost morally gray in that she is driven by a need to survive and to protect her own circle, but is willing to do whatever it takes. i loved the balance of selfishness and selflessness she held within her. she is cunning, but not arrogant. she is determined, but not ambitious. she is willing to step outside her comfort zone/expertise to do what needed to be done. she felt very realistic to me—her immediate rage and reactionary actions, and her later slow and methodical examination of her feelings (and the facts). i love her and i cannot wait to see how this
one of my favorite things about Samantha Shannon is her research. god, this woman is smart. the interwoven threads about Ireland (mirroring actual historical events, i assume) and Paige’s identity as an Irish person were sooooo delicious and fascinating. the pain of her family and how it resonated within her was magnificently depicted, and i know for certain that all of the inclusion of the Molly Riots was very intentional. i am excited to see how she can channel this revolutionary spirit in the next books.
also… damn, this book must have been born from a deep dive into paranormal and occult practices. i loved the familiar details of the tarot cards, scrying, ley lines, and the different orders of psychics and -mancers. the numa were particularly intriguing to me, and again, i was grateful for the glossary AND for the inclusion of the excerpt from Jaxon’s pamphlet. for once in my ENTIRE life i was interested in the communication between spirits and the spirit realm.
speaking of Jaxon! what a character. he reminds me of Niclays from Priory—a tough pill to swallow, but believable and compelling all the same. i am lowkey obsessed with this horrible man, and i can only imagine how he will be a wrench in Paige’s future plans. between Nick and Jaxon, i feel we have a Magneto and Professor X situation on our hands. time will tell. (sidenote: the whole seven orders thing is CRAZY AS HELL and the propaganda element was so believable to human nature. i want the full pamphlet NOW!)
Liss, Julian, Nadine, Zeke, Eliza, and Terebell are probably some of my favorite characters so far. i am totally entranced when i see them on the page. i love their gifts and how they all vary so widely despite feeling very similar in real-world terms. again, i look forward to seeing what lies ahead for each of them.
finally, i must touch on my favorite character: Arcturus Mesarthim. Warden. my beloved. as soon as Paige called him
overall, 10/10 read. i will be immediately starting the rest of the series in anticipation of The Dark Mirror’s release in February 2025. now that I know Paige and Arcturus, i will not be letting them go!!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Drug use, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Vomit, Police brutality, Grief, and Colonisation
Minor: Slavery, Trafficking, and Fire/Fire injury
gillian_aftanas's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Child death, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Sexual content, Torture, Xenophobia, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Alcohol
chasinggrace's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- 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? No
3.0
Wait because I’m so sad that I am giving this book a three star rating. I absolutely loved Priory, and I had such high hopes for the beginning of this series. However, it’s the writing that ruined the story for me. There was SO. MUCH. telling instead of showing. I also don’t think the first person POV worked to the story’s advantage here. Unfortunately, there were many obvious statements, convenient jumps back in time, and sloppy character-building. I think the magic system and world is so interesting, but the descriptors of what is what and who is who were not weaved into the story well. At many times, it felt like info dump after info dump.
Particularly, the jump from “I will lead this rebellion” to the Bicentennial or whatever was CRAZY. We spend 400 pages watching Paige suffer and fight against the system as a stubborn individual and are so ready to follow her through the intricate steps of sowing a rebellion amongst prisoners, just for the book to…skip 2 months of scheming? That would have been INTERESTING. Instead, I now have to read 20 pages of “a few weeks ago we did this, and Jules handled this, and I planted bombs here, and shoutout to the performers who helped me do this.” Like, I would have liked to SEE ALL OF THAT, not just be told about it. Or at least go over the plans through dialogue, not just Paige telling the reader everything that’s been done point-blank. The writing took me out of the story more times than I can count, which made me so frustrated because the story is interesting.
Other than the frustrating prose - and the choppy world/character building that went along with it - I was enamored by the story. I found the interactions and banter between Paige and Warden to actually be done quite well. His personality and speaking style was distinct, and their interactions kept me interested without them being overly obvious or corny.
As stubborn as she can be, I did enjoy how Paige’s past in the syndicate helped her in the lost city. She’s not a bulletproof FMC but she’s also not hopeless. Can she be dumb and rash? Yes. And a little too “let’s save everyone even though that’s illogical.” But overall, I was rooting for her and wanted to read about her more.
My favorite aspects of this story were the dialogue between Paige and Warden, the setting within Magdalen, and the relationships Paige had between the Seven Dials and the other humans in the lost city. I also loved the ending, but didn’t want it to be the end! It ends in a way that really makes you want to read the next book, despite this one’s flaws.
Other than the frustrating prose - and the choppy world/character building that went along with it - I was enamored by the story. I found the interactions and banter between Paige and Warden to actually be done quite well. His personality and speaking style was distinct, and their interactions kept me interested without them being overly obvious or corny.
As stubborn as she can be, I did enjoy how Paige’s past in the syndicate helped her in the lost city. She’s not a bulletproof FMC but she’s also not hopeless. Can she be dumb and rash? Yes. And a little too “let’s save everyone even though that’s illogical.” But overall, I was rooting for her and wanted to read about her more.
My favorite aspects of this story were the dialogue between Paige and Warden, the setting within Magdalen, and the relationships Paige had between the Seven Dials and the other humans in the lost city. I also loved the ending, but didn’t want it to be the end! It ends in a way that really makes you want to read the next book, despite this one’s flaws.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Trafficking, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, and Classism
prettylightsandcitynights's review against another edition
Felt like there was a lot of scrambled thinking or steps being jumped without a lot of explanation. I couldn't connect with the characters.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Genocide, Physical abuse, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, and Colonisation
Minor: Child death and Sexual assault
julienicole1106's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
katievallin's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
inspiring
mysterious
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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Medical content, Trafficking, Alcohol, and Colonisation
Minor: Addiction, Torture, Vomit, and Death of parent
tlaynejones's review against another edition
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Trafficking, Murder, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and Classism
risaleel's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Gore, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Colonisation, and Classism
Moderate: Confinement, Gun violence, and Trafficking
Minor: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual content, and Grief
martinatan's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
Didn’t think I could end up disliking a book so much almost entirely due to its last 100 pages.
I didn’t have too much interest in the plot setup in the first place, was mostly interested in how the world building would turn out. Evidently, worldbuilding still depends on interesting and complex character motivations to feel realistic and satisfying, and this story does not have such characters. I’m disappointed that the protagonist’s relationships with male characters could be so predictable and hollow.
The wrap-up of this book was a rushed mess. I found myself so uninterested in the final showdown because it felt breezed over, and had no satisfying emotional climaxes concerning the protagonist’s relationships with any others. The progressions of some of these relationships made very little sense and mainly seeking to fulfill tropes and set the stage for -dramatic and unnecessarily sarcastic dialogue.
The romantic subplots were on the whole lacking in depth and developed poorly, I feel likethe interspecies relationship could have been at least explored by acknowledging the taboo of it. Maybe it was left unsaid on purpose. Maybe this whole series was set up as a kink fulfillment for the author. Anyway it’s not the kind of fulfillment I was looking for. I wish the world could be explored in some other story where societal relationships and combat/technology are more integrated with the magic system.
I didn’t have too much interest in the plot setup in the first place, was mostly interested in how the world building would turn out. Evidently, worldbuilding still depends on interesting and complex character motivations to feel realistic and satisfying, and this story does not have such characters. I’m disappointed that the protagonist’s relationships with male characters could be so predictable and hollow.
The wrap-up of this book was a rushed mess. I found myself so uninterested in the final showdown because it felt breezed over, and had no satisfying emotional climaxes concerning the protagonist’s relationships with any others. The progressions of some of these relationships made very little sense and mainly seeking to fulfill tropes and set the stage for -dramatic and unnecessarily sarcastic dialogue.
The romantic subplots were on the whole lacking in depth and developed poorly, I feel like
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Sexual violence
Moderate: Child death, Death, Blood, Sexual harassment, and Colonisation
agentsofromanov's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Slavery, Forced institutionalization, Blood, and Colonisation