booksonawire's review against another edition
3.0
I think spin-off series always have a huge challenge in front of them trying to be as good as (or better) than their original source. In some ways, Call Down the Hawk surpassed TRC, primarily the writing. It was far less purple, which I appreciate, and it seemed to have some direction. This was one of my main criticism of TRC; the plot just meandered through the woods along leylines and never panned out.
The short chapters kept the pacing pretty steady. There were a couple of characters, namely Farooq-Lane and Parcifal Bauer, and that whole group of Moderators that I never got invested in and sped through those chapters. I never like her Big Bads, they never instill fear, and are often limpid and dull (looking at you Greenmantle). Without giving spoilers, there is one character that I am very interested to see how they are developed (fingers crossed).
What this lacked, for me, was the charm of Gansy, the quirk of Blue and the moms, the heartbreak of Noah, and the world building of the factory. I loved that core group and Ronan was my favorite, so I had high expectations for this one. There is so much jumping between POVs so it never had a strong sense of home and family, even with the brothers. We got a few mentions of the TRC gang, Adam made a couple of appearances, and I was happy to see Opal and Chainsaw return. But this is definitely Ronan's book. Jordan and Hennessy were great new additions, I quickly got invested in their story and was fascinated by them. But the jury is still out on Carmen Farooq-Lane, her chapters were just meh to me. BUT it's still book one, there is time to develop everything so I have high hopes. Like all first books in a series, this introduced characters and gave few answers. The ending was a bit anti-climactic but the series does have potential.
I do recommend reading the book instead of the audiobook. I strongly disliked the narrator, that was just horrible and I basically restarted the book because he kept pulling me out of the story or putting me to sleep, big reason I gave this a 3 rather than a 4. Will know in the future to not waste an audio credit on him!
Overall Score: 3.5
The short chapters kept the pacing pretty steady. There were a couple of characters, namely Farooq-Lane and Parcifal Bauer, and that whole group of Moderators that I never got invested in and sped through those chapters. I never like her Big Bads, they never instill fear, and are often limpid and dull (looking at you Greenmantle). Without giving spoilers, there is one character that I am very interested to see how they are developed (fingers crossed).
What this lacked, for me, was the charm of Gansy, the quirk of Blue and the moms, the heartbreak of Noah, and the world building of the factory. I loved that core group and Ronan was my favorite, so I had high expectations for this one. There is so much jumping between POVs so it never had a strong sense of home and family, even with the brothers. We got a few mentions of the TRC gang, Adam made a couple of appearances, and I was happy to see Opal and Chainsaw return. But this is definitely Ronan's book. Jordan and Hennessy were great new additions, I quickly got invested in their story and was fascinated by them. But the jury is still out on Carmen Farooq-Lane, her chapters were just meh to me. BUT it's still book one, there is time to develop everything so I have high hopes. Like all first books in a series, this introduced characters and gave few answers. The ending was a bit anti-climactic but the series does have potential.
I do recommend reading the book instead of the audiobook. I strongly disliked the narrator, that was just horrible and I basically restarted the book because he kept pulling me out of the story or putting me to sleep, big reason I gave this a 3 rather than a 4. Will know in the future to not waste an audio credit on him!
Overall Score: 3.5
thecorioliseffect's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this!
It's a book in the same universe as the Raven Cycle, so I feel about it the same way I feel about that. I LOVE the characters and the universe. I love the Dreamers and the abilities and all that. I really enjoyed the new characters, especially Jordan. Though I also enjoyed Farooq-Lane and Parsifal. Parsifal was hilarious.
Like with the Raven Cycle, there were parts where I had no idea what was going on. And I would just zone out sometimes, and I wouldn't even care because I think, "Eh, well I'll probably have no idea what's going on anyway." Because I would zone out at the parts that I found confusing, ya know?
The ending was also pretty abrupt. But either way, I'll be looking forward to the next one!
Also, not enough Adam. Not enough Opal. But a lot of Declan, so at least I had that.
It's a book in the same universe as the Raven Cycle, so I feel about it the same way I feel about that. I LOVE the characters and the universe. I love the Dreamers and the abilities and all that. I really enjoyed the new characters, especially Jordan. Though I also enjoyed Farooq-Lane and Parsifal. Parsifal was hilarious.
Like with the Raven Cycle, there were parts where I had no idea what was going on. And I would just zone out sometimes, and I wouldn't even care because I think, "Eh, well I'll probably have no idea what's going on anyway." Because I would zone out at the parts that I found confusing, ya know?
The ending was also pretty abrupt. But either way, I'll be looking forward to the next one!
Also, not enough Adam. Not enough Opal. But a lot of Declan, so at least I had that.
_hart_'s review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
fizzingwhizbee's review against another edition
5.0
Since this is a spin-off series that focuses on Ronan, it’s a little bittersweet to be missing Gansey and Blue, but I loved Ronan’s POV just as much as I did in The Dream Thieves, and who knew, Declan is pretty cool too. I was honestly not getting my hopes up about how this would compare to The Raven Cycle, but the new perspectives and conflicts have grown on me, and I’m looking forward to the next in the series.
lshatilla's review against another edition
4.0
"dreams are not the safest thing to build a life on"
at the end of the day this is about all the ways you can both love and hate your siblings and i find that deeply relatable and moving. (4.5 stars)
at the end of the day this is about all the ways you can both love and hate your siblings and i find that deeply relatable and moving. (4.5 stars)
caszriel's review against another edition
5.0
Initial thoughts: ahh man I loved it sososo much I can't believe I only just read it but man where's book two everything about this was just sdfksdkfksdfk!! Ronan has always been my favourite character and to devote an entire series to him is a one hundred percent worthy tribute, I also loved having more of his brothers, both Matthew and Declan are great as well. My one slight dislike was Carmen Farooq-Lane's chapters, as I found her less interesting than Ronan and Jordan, but I'm hopeful that she'll play a larger role in book two?
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RTC
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littlebitofallthat's review against another edition
5.0
as I've been feverishly trying to complete this in an attempt to complete 50 books in 2022 (contrary to my unchanged goodreads challenge), I can only presently say it's somewhere around 4 or 4.5 stars :^)
summerxstars's review against another edition
5.0
Stiefvater...what can I say.
I can't tell you exactly what I expected with this book... but it wasn't this. It started off with a bang and my heart almost exploded with Pynch happiness.
And then it got slow. And stayed slow...and dare I say, boring? But it's Maggie and no matter what you just want to keep reading because it's so beautiful.
I had a love/hate for a long while with her prose, but it's uniqueness is so remarkable I couldn't help to be dragged in. Maggie's works are the epitome of show, don't tell and even with so many characters you are always able to get such depth from each one.
I always have an immediate four stars when I start a Stiefvater book, but the complexity and ingenuity of Call Down The Hawk blew my mind.
But honestly? I think I'd give it a sold 5 stars just for.....DECLAN LYNCH.
I honestly couldn't stand Dbag Declan at a throughout the Raven Cycle, but being able to see this side of the real Declan almost made up for the lack of Adam Parrish we were so savagely deprived of.
I can't tell you exactly what I expected with this book... but it wasn't this. It started off with a bang and my heart almost exploded with Pynch happiness.
And then it got slow. And stayed slow...and dare I say, boring? But it's Maggie and no matter what you just want to keep reading because it's so beautiful.
I had a love/hate for a long while with her prose, but it's uniqueness is so remarkable I couldn't help to be dragged in. Maggie's works are the epitome of show, don't tell and even with so many characters you are always able to get such depth from each one.
I always have an immediate four stars when I start a Stiefvater book, but the complexity and ingenuity of Call Down The Hawk blew my mind.
But honestly? I think I'd give it a sold 5 stars just for.....DECLAN LYNCH.
I honestly couldn't stand Dbag Declan at a throughout the Raven Cycle, but being able to see this side of the real Declan almost made up for the lack of Adam Parrish we were so savagely deprived of.
inanycase13's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
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
5.0