lifeinthebooklane's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
I enjoyed this just as much as The Bone Season even if it didn't have nearly enough Warden for my liking! The story picks up immediately from where we were left in book #1. It is written entirely from Paige's viewpoint, most of the time she is hiding from the authorities, wondering how to persuade the Unnatural Assembly to warn Voyants about the Rephaim and Shoel 1 and running straight into trouble. Danger lurks at every turn and it seems that Natasha and the puppet organisation Scion are not the only ones trying to get to Paige.
The story is fast-paced, action-packed and more twisty than a corkscrew. The author is very good at misdirection, double bluffs and plot bombs that, with hindsight, were absolutely obvious. There was just so much happening in the present that I never found the time to look at the bigger picture. The twist at the end of the last chapter blew me away - bravo Ms Shannon, the clues were there but the foreshadowing was perfectly done that it wasn't obvious from a mile away.
My only slight criticism was that Paige could be incredibly naive at times and, whilst I acknowledge her young age, her life experience of being in a violent, criminal gang should have left her a little more streetwise and savvy. Unlike many second books, I felt this one had plenty of action and plot movement. I'm hugely invested in this series and will be reading book 3
The story is fast-paced, action-packed and more twisty than a corkscrew. The author is very good at misdirection, double bluffs and plot bombs that, with hindsight, were absolutely obvious. There was just so much happening in the present that I never found the time to look at the bigger picture. The twist at the end of the last chapter blew me away - bravo Ms Shannon, the clues were there but the foreshadowing was perfectly done that it wasn't obvious from a mile away.
My only slight criticism was that Paige could be incredibly naive at times and, whilst I acknowledge her young age, her life experience of being in a violent, criminal gang should have left her a little more streetwise and savvy. Unlike many second books, I felt this one had plenty of action and plot movement. I'm hugely invested in this series and will be reading book 3
britbooks's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
areaderintime's review against another edition
4.0
That ending, omg...
This was a great sequel to The Bone Season! It would have been a five star read for me if it wasn't so slow at the beginning. It literally took a solid 250-270 pages for something to happen in this book which is kind of a drag for me. If I hadn't loved the first book so much, I may have DNF'd it just because of that slow start. But I am SO glad I stuck through it since this book was SO explosive once it got started! So if you are going to be reading this book soon, I would say just suffer through those 250 pages just so you can read the last 200 or so pages cause that is when this story is blown right open and gets so intense.
Overall, I did really love this sequel even though I feel like it suffered from second book syndrome. Otherwise, it was really good once the action started picking up and this book officially confirmed my dislike for Jaxon, WOW HE IS AWFUL. Anyways, I cannot wait to pick up the third installment as part of my book club so I can't wait to see where this story is taking us!
This was a great sequel to The Bone Season! It would have been a five star read for me if it wasn't so slow at the beginning. It literally took a solid 250-270 pages for something to happen in this book which is kind of a drag for me. If I hadn't loved the first book so much, I may have DNF'd it just because of that slow start. But I am SO glad I stuck through it since this book was SO explosive once it got started! So if you are going to be reading this book soon, I would say just suffer through those 250 pages just so you can read the last 200 or so pages cause that is when this story is blown right open and gets so intense.
Overall, I did really love this sequel even though I feel like it suffered from second book syndrome. Otherwise, it was really good once the action started picking up and this book officially confirmed my dislike for Jaxon, WOW HE IS AWFUL. Anyways, I cannot wait to pick up the third installment as part of my book club so I can't wait to see where this story is taking us!
smallspkp's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
apoorvamate517's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
tinkbeadle97's review against another edition
5.0
oh my goodness!!!! i loved the bone season but I had no idea what to expect with this next book, another five stars without question! I loved learning more about the world and the characters in this book and on top of that there was so much that completely caught me off guard! there is so much in this book that has been superbly written and heavily thought about and I cannot wait for the third book!!!! :D
jolarc's review against another edition
4.0
A good continuation of the first book in this series. I'm enjoying all the different elements to this story, from the action, intrigue and the political elements.
itshannahivy's review against another edition
Waiting for Bone Season anniversary edition to be published before I finish the series
thecaffeinatedlibrary's review against another edition
challenging
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.5
Paige’s journey continues in The Mime Order, where she renters the London/Scion underworld after her escape from Sheol I. Paige is readjusting to her old life, and finding she doesn’t quite fit as she once did.
The first half of this book unfortunately didn’t quite hit the mark for me. I found it really slow, and found the plot a bit clunky in parts. There were certain things that really irritated me as well, but mostly it just felt like it was missing the magic that book 1 had.
However, the pace picked up in the second half and the tension built exponentially! I couldn’t stop reading towards the end, I just needed to know what happened next.
I’m excited to see where Paige’s story goes next!!
The first half of this book unfortunately didn’t quite hit the mark for me. I found it really slow, and found the plot a bit clunky in parts. There were certain things that really irritated me as well, but mostly it just felt like it was missing the magic that book 1 had.
However, the pace picked up in the second half and the tension built exponentially! I couldn’t stop reading towards the end, I just needed to know what happened next.
I’m excited to see where Paige’s story goes next!!
ria_mhrj's review against another edition
2.0
I crawled my way through this book and I kept making excuses for it. I wasn't not enjoying it, I was just distracted recently. Sure, I chose Spider Solitaire over reading this multiple times, but it's been hot and it's hard to concentrate.
Then I read Susan Dennard's newsletter, where she discussed the difficulty of being bored by what you write and only having enthusiasm for certain scenes, which she describes as cookies because they are delicious and you look forward to them. Her writerly revelation is that aspiring writers shouldn't worry so much about what comes between the cookies, if you're bored by what you write, your reader will be too. And crucially, you don't need to explain too many movements between cookies, readers can usually keep up.
Which takes me to this book. I wrestled with my feelings on book one - the world was interesting, and future stories held a lot of promise, but I also worked my way very sluggishly through that book. And book two gets off to a better start, with Paige dealing with the aftermath of her escape, and her frustration with everyone wanting to go back to life as it was.
BUT, what I realised after reading the newsletter, there are not enough cookies in this book. There are endless scenes of Paige walking down roads, having conversations with minor characters, sinister conversations with Jaxon, learning things that might pay off later, but the minutiae of her life in London wore me out. By the time of the finale, I was a bit exhausted, and I find myself unenthusiastic about picking up book three.
I would probably check out other books by this author in the future. There's a lot to admire here and I occasionally enjoyed a bite of a cookie, but life is too short to continue with books that don't hold more sway than a mindless game of solitaire.
Then I read Susan Dennard's newsletter, where she discussed the difficulty of being bored by what you write and only having enthusiasm for certain scenes, which she describes as cookies because they are delicious and you look forward to them. Her writerly revelation is that aspiring writers shouldn't worry so much about what comes between the cookies, if you're bored by what you write, your reader will be too. And crucially, you don't need to explain too many movements between cookies, readers can usually keep up.
Which takes me to this book. I wrestled with my feelings on book one - the world was interesting, and future stories held a lot of promise, but I also worked my way very sluggishly through that book. And book two gets off to a better start, with Paige dealing with the aftermath of her escape, and her frustration with everyone wanting to go back to life as it was.
BUT, what I realised after reading the newsletter, there are not enough cookies in this book. There are endless scenes of Paige walking down roads, having conversations with minor characters, sinister conversations with Jaxon, learning things that might pay off later, but the minutiae of her life in London wore me out. By the time of the finale, I was a bit exhausted, and I find myself unenthusiastic about picking up book three.
I would probably check out other books by this author in the future. There's a lot to admire here and I occasionally enjoyed a bite of a cookie, but life is too short to continue with books that don't hold more sway than a mindless game of solitaire.