greywqrens's review against another edition
5.0
i will now be staring at my ceiling for the next 3 days
svtplaylist's review against another edition
4.0
4.5*
[spoilers for the raven cycle ahead]
this book was better than i thought it would be. being a massive fan of the raven cycle, i was scared to hear of a spinoff without all of the raven boys (the gangsey, as we call it). it far exceeded my expectations.
call down the hawk follows ronan, a dreamer, jordan henessy, a thief, and carmen farooq-lane, a moderator, or someone who hunts the dreamers. similarly to the raven cycle, there are amazing characters with individual personalities who you grow to like, even though they may be a villain in the story.
some reasons to read cdth
1. yes, there is pynch
2. the magic system is highly developed
3. we get the characters we know and love
no, i do not recommend reading this without reading the raven cycle, though you technically could. the book mentions characters like colin greenmantle, mr gray, blue, and gansey without much context which would be quite confusing without reading the original series. there is also a specific part in the book where it mentions cabeswater without saying what it is, which would definitely confuse a reader unfamiliar with trc. though, if you plan on reading trc, you CANNOT read this before, or you will get heavy spoilers.
the only criticism i have for this book is that the ending was really dialogue focused and did more telling than showing, which made it seem rushed. overall, though, it was a great starter to the dreamer trilogy. highly recommend, ★★★★☆-★★★★★
ps, very excited to have the owlcrate edition!
[spoilers for the raven cycle ahead]
this book was better than i thought it would be. being a massive fan of the raven cycle, i was scared to hear of a spinoff without all of the raven boys (the gangsey, as we call it). it far exceeded my expectations.
call down the hawk follows ronan, a dreamer, jordan henessy, a thief, and carmen farooq-lane, a moderator, or someone who hunts the dreamers. similarly to the raven cycle, there are amazing characters with individual personalities who you grow to like, even though they may be a villain in the story.
some reasons to read cdth
1. yes, there is pynch
2. the magic system is highly developed
3. we get the characters we know and love
no, i do not recommend reading this without reading the raven cycle, though you technically could. the book mentions characters like colin greenmantle, mr gray, blue, and gansey without much context which would be quite confusing without reading the original series. there is also a specific part in the book where it mentions cabeswater without saying what it is, which would definitely confuse a reader unfamiliar with trc. though, if you plan on reading trc, you CANNOT read this before, or you will get heavy spoilers.
the only criticism i have for this book is that the ending was really dialogue focused and did more telling than showing, which made it seem rushed. overall, though, it was a great starter to the dreamer trilogy. highly recommend, ★★★★☆-★★★★★
ps, very excited to have the owlcrate edition!
kaitlyn_wren's review against another edition
5.0
probably my favourite author ever. i missed her writing style so much, and forgot how much i love the descriptions of the dreams that somehow make abstract concepts make perfect sense and the all the small details and mannerisms that make her characters feel so real. jordan and declan were perfect and i was so happy to see opal and cabeswater (now lindenmere). i wish we would have heard something about noah, not because he could have added anything to the story but because i miss him as a character and don’t like the feeling that he’s been forgotten. in august of this year, i read a chapter of this book before knowing it was related to the raven cycle, and then i put it down and read the raven cycle first, which was definitely the right move. while i think this book would have made sense on its own, i feel like i would have missed out on a good understanding of adam’s powers and his relationship with ronan because it’s definitely not central in call down the hawk. overall this made me feel homesick for the raven cycle and i would love to find the time to read it again.
rosy_posy's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
I don’t think I could love Maggie Stiefvater’s writing more after the Raven Cycle but this book was beautiful. Only reason for not giving five stars is that the ending did not quite live up to my expectations and I missed Adam!
antoniosantos's review against another edition
4.0
I said I would wait for the last book of this trilogy to give a concrete opinion on it, but I decided to write what I'm thinking at the moment before the last installment comes out.
First I strongly recommend only reading these books if you have read The Raven Cycle, the essence of some characters and their motives depend on it. This story loses context if read standalone, as your marketing suggests.
Okay, like any other book by this author, this one is slow and a little confusing, like any book in a book series, this one is introductory.
The strength of this author is her characters, that is clear. Complex, traumatized and unique. In this story, we find new, more diverse and plural characters; a good evolution of the author in this sense, compared to her previous books that were about straight and white cis people.
These new characters, they're hard to relate to or feel instantly attached to, they're different, different... But there are familiar characters, obviously, like the strange and beautiful Lynch Brothers, and my favorite character, the complex, ambitious, ethereal, logical and uncanny Adam Parrish, who is reduced to a mere tertiary character with few scenes, and that's one of the biggest problems you get here. I've heard 897756465 times the weak speech of, "It's a story about Ronan, the Lynch Brothers, the dreamers." As if a multi-pov story would even center on that, Adam needs development, you give him a persona, make him pretend what he's not, just to justify tiresome plot gimmicks. You are introducing a character to new readers, you needed to introduce them to them, only people who have read TRC will really understand why he does this sort of thing.
I really liked Declan in this story, he's an intriguing character. Ronan stresses me out and worries me. Matthew as always an angel, but here he gains a little more personality.
About Adam and Ronan aka Pynch's relationship, it gets totally complicated, tense, dense, bearable... Tamquam Alter Idem is certainly one of the most beautiful phrases to link the love between two people, but I feel it needed more scenes, more of details. Pynch is undoubtedly one of the best couples in YA literature, their slow burn, their implications, their moments, their way of interacting and dynamics are precisely the point of highlighting them and complementing the characters.
It's a good book, but totally different from the TRC vibe (which is good and interesting) and flawed in some ways.
First I strongly recommend only reading these books if you have read The Raven Cycle, the essence of some characters and their motives depend on it. This story loses context if read standalone, as your marketing suggests.
Okay, like any other book by this author, this one is slow and a little confusing, like any book in a book series, this one is introductory.
The strength of this author is her characters, that is clear. Complex, traumatized and unique. In this story, we find new, more diverse and plural characters; a good evolution of the author in this sense, compared to her previous books that were about straight and white cis people.
These new characters, they're hard to relate to or feel instantly attached to, they're different, different... But there are familiar characters, obviously, like the strange and beautiful Lynch Brothers, and my favorite character, the complex, ambitious, ethereal, logical and uncanny Adam Parrish, who is reduced to a mere tertiary character with few scenes, and that's one of the biggest problems you get here. I've heard 897756465 times the weak speech of, "It's a story about Ronan, the Lynch Brothers, the dreamers." As if a multi-pov story would even center on that, Adam needs development, you give him a persona, make him pretend what he's not, just to justify tiresome plot gimmicks. You are introducing a character to new readers, you needed to introduce them to them, only people who have read TRC will really understand why he does this sort of thing.
I really liked Declan in this story, he's an intriguing character. Ronan stresses me out and worries me. Matthew as always an angel, but here he gains a little more personality.
About Adam and Ronan aka Pynch's relationship, it gets totally complicated, tense, dense, bearable... Tamquam Alter Idem is certainly one of the most beautiful phrases to link the love between two people, but I feel it needed more scenes, more of details. Pynch is undoubtedly one of the best couples in YA literature, their slow burn, their implications, their moments, their way of interacting and dynamics are precisely the point of highlighting them and complementing the characters.
It's a good book, but totally different from the TRC vibe (which is good and interesting) and flawed in some ways.
juniper_joan's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
krissyy's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
caliesha's review against another edition
4.0
It was feral and confusing, but in the end, it followed one rule: Ronan Lynch. His safety, his desires, his thoughts. That was Lindenmere’s only true north.
An unforgivable lack of Gansey, but fun to be back in the Raven’s world. I appreciated the Adam cameos immensely.
Not as tight plot-wise, in my opinion, as the OG series - but still an enjoyable, quick read. Looking forward to seeing where it goes from here.
An unforgivable lack of Gansey, but fun to be back in the Raven’s world. I appreciated the Adam cameos immensely.
Not as tight plot-wise, in my opinion, as the OG series - but still an enjoyable, quick read. Looking forward to seeing where it goes from here.
sophiaeve's review against another edition
5.0
2021: i love the lynch brothers very much. declan is something so special to me i just want to protect him
“he didn’t have it in him to love another dream. it hurt too bad. loving anything did.” PROTECT HIM!!! he is only 21 and hasn’t been able to do anything for himself his entire life. his dad was scum and never loved him, and now his entire life is about providing for his younger brothers who don’t truly appreciate it. declan lynch deserves to be happy. steifvater if you kill matthew or jordan you will be hearing from my lawyers
2019: Oh boy... this was just everything. This is exactly what I wanted from The Dreamer Trilogy. The way Maggie can draw you in with the characters and stories we already know, yet leave you wanting more is amazing. Ronan continues to be one of the most complex characters ever. Adam will always be a sweet boy whom I love with all my heart. Jordan is a fantastic new character and I loved her storyline.
But Declan. Oh, Declan. The absolute mvp of this book and I’m shocked that I’m saying this.
This book was like the perfect big brother to the dream thieves (my favourite) so I just loved it. The beginning was a little confusing for me because going into it I thought Jordan and Hennessy were the same person so I had to go back, but when it picked up oh my god. I cannot wait for the other two books. And I’m so proud of Maggie. The three year wait was well worth it.
“he didn’t have it in him to love another dream. it hurt too bad. loving anything did.” PROTECT HIM!!! he is only 21 and hasn’t been able to do anything for himself his entire life. his dad was scum and never loved him, and now his entire life is about providing for his younger brothers who don’t truly appreciate it. declan lynch deserves to be happy. steifvater if you kill matthew or jordan you will be hearing from my lawyers
2019: Oh boy... this was just everything. This is exactly what I wanted from The Dreamer Trilogy. The way Maggie can draw you in with the characters and stories we already know, yet leave you wanting more is amazing. Ronan continues to be one of the most complex characters ever. Adam will always be a sweet boy whom I love with all my heart. Jordan is a fantastic new character and I loved her storyline.
But Declan. Oh, Declan. The absolute mvp of this book and I’m shocked that I’m saying this.
This book was like the perfect big brother to the dream thieves (my favourite) so I just loved it. The beginning was a little confusing for me because going into it I thought Jordan and Hennessy were the same person so I had to go back, but when it picked up oh my god. I cannot wait for the other two books. And I’m so proud of Maggie. The three year wait was well worth it.