Reviews

Angel of the Overpass by Seanan McGuire

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smander's review

3.0

I loved the first two books and looked forward to this one. It did tend to meander a lot more then the other two. I had to stop halfway through and search the last two to see if I somehow forgot a part of the story or even missed an entire book. No, it’s turns out that you need to read a different series entirely to know some of what happened. It’s not anything major and I knew the other series was referenced in this but I didn’t know entire plot points happened in them or that characters I’ve never met or heard of would be mentioned like I should know what happened. I haven’t read the other series and it felt like there should have been a bit more information for someone who hasn’t done that yet. I read the description for the first in that series and it just didn’t hold my interest. I shouldn’t have to read a different series to not be caught unaware in this series. Or it should be more obvious that you should read both.

In the end I was satisfied with the conclusion. Most of the book felt like Rose was just floating along and things were happening to her though. It wasn’t until the end that she really did anything. She wandered around talking to various gods and then fought for a bit.

I will forever love the world and it’s various other worldly beings. I stuck with it because of the promise of getting a conclusion on Bobby and seeing the new ideas the author came up with for the world.

I’m giving it three stars because I was satisfied in the end but largely disappointed. Most of this book was Rose talking and thinking. Very little physically happened honestly compared to the last two. And I didn’t get as much of the beings that were in the last two. I actually liked the style of the first even if it’s a bit different because of how it was originally written. The little stories really fleshed out the world and Rose as a character.

In this one Rose is passively moving around, upset, helps a couple people because how dare they and then fights a bit. And it feels like her character got confused on who she is. Considering the ending pages, she should have been a little less passive overall for me to believe it.

rosemary_for_remembrance's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

A nice conclusion to the Rose books, but there's a pretty key event that happens between book 2 and book 3 which is never fully explained, since it's a book in an entirely different series of the author's. It would probably have helped to have read that first.

iggyebab's review against another edition

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4.0

I have so enjoyed this spin on the ghosts of legend and the world they inhabit. I was hoping that Bobby would get his comeuppance.

I have to say that I’m a little sad for Gary but I understand Rose’s point. It will be interesting to see if there is any follow up to show where they all go.

andreacaro's review against another edition

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5.0

absolutely immaculate. my all-time favorite series, bar none.

daniellew03cd3's review against another edition

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adventurous tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

matcha_cat's review against another edition

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adventurous dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

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wardenred's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional reflective slow-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? Yes

4.0

Every time I evade him, someone else dies. That’s the simple, brutal truth of my existence.

I have a kind of complex relationship with Seanan McGuire's books at this point. On one hand, whenever I'm asked to list my favorite authors, I still includ her every time; a lot of her novels have certainly helped form the person I am, and one of them literally saved my life once. On the other hand, over the last couple of years I've been feeling a lot of... disconnect, I guess, when it comes to her more recent books? It's like her stories are becoming a bit too long, big, and sprawling for my liking—and I mean both the scope of the series she's working on and the individual installments within them. I keep wanting for these stories to get more direction, to get tightened up maybe, and that prevents me from freely enjoying them, much as I still adore the author's characters and prose. That's why I'm so incredibly behind on so many series.

😅

Rose Marshall's series has always been special to me, though, not least because it has always felt more focused. Which is kind of funny since it's an offshoot from InCryptid—the single McGuire's series I've had some trouble with from the start instead of beginning to feel lost half a dozen of books in. But the first two books barely felt like they were related to InCryptid at all, neither thematically nor in terms of exploring a whole different part of the setting. Sparrow Hill Road remains one of my favorite ghost books to date, and I very much loved The Girl in the Green Gown. So I expected, despite all of the complications mentioned above, to love Angel of the Overpass, as well.

And... well, I did and I didn't. For once, this actually felt very much like an InCryptid novel. While it's undeniably a continuation of Rose's previous adventures, it's also very much a sequel to This Ain't Witchcraft, and I feel like it borrowed a lot of the parent series' vibes. The narrative felt... a litle all over the place, I guess? There were the key beats that did move the plot forward steadily, but between those beats, the story kept going off on loosely related tangents, wild (though fun and interesting!) things kept happening, and yeah, they mostly tied in with the main plot thread eventually, but they also felt distractive. This weirdly felt less focused than book 1, which was literally a collection of stories put together into something vaguely novel-shaped.

At the same time, there was so much cool stuff there. The worldbuilding, as ever, left me wishing I could read multiple standalones set in this world, centered around different kind of ghosts, like maybe a book about some midnight beauty, and a book about some homesteader, etc. Also, I'd love something routewitches-centric! It was also awesome to dive into this sort of cozy horror movie atmosphere this series does so well.

Rose herself was a joy to hang out with, and I loved how some of the lingering questions and worries I've had in the past have been explicitly addressed. Like, the whole Gary and Rose plot? I've had thoughts about it, and I was excited to see that Rose has been having very similar thoughts about it, as well. Also, Rose has always struck me as someone very kind and very angry at the same time, and in the previous books the anger part was... well, not downplayed exactly, but kind of kept in the shadows. It was highly satisfying to see it take center stage here, and to see it have consequences that I thought were really logical and fair, and at the same time they surprised me and left me feeling bittersweet. Oh, and the whole revenge plot kept me invested throughout—Bobby Cross had it coming for so damn long.

If given another chance to delve into Rose's world, I wouldn't say no. But I also feel like this book is a very satisfactory point to end her story on, although not her journey. The road always goes on, doesn't it?

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