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the_wistful_word_witch's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Well, if you were expecting things to improve for Jared in this second book in the trilogy, you'd be mighty wrong!
Most of the book is spent watching Jared navigate the world as a recovering alcoholic. He manages to land on his feet, getting into college despite all odds, and starts building a life for himself. And you start hoping that things are going to stay good for poor Jared, who really is a sweet kid that got dealt a really shitty hand in life. Until the worst happens and forces him to take on his Trickster mantle. And shit starts speeding back downhill in a matter of mere chapters.
While being incredibly detailed and wildly imaginative, this book left me feeling more exposed and raw than the first one. I can't even imagine where the last book is heading...
Most of the book is spent watching Jared navigate the world as a recovering alcoholic. He manages to land on his feet, getting into college despite all odds, and starts building a life for himself. And you start hoping that things are going to stay good for poor Jared, who really is a sweet kid that got dealt a really shitty hand in life. Until the worst happens and forces him to take on his Trickster mantle. And shit starts speeding back downhill in a matter of mere chapters.
While being incredibly detailed and wildly imaginative, this book left me feeling more exposed and raw than the first one. I can't even imagine where the last book is heading...
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Stalking, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, Dementia, and Sexual harassment
ems888's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Vomit, Stalking, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Self harm
annemaries_shelves's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
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? It's complicated
4.0
I read 250 pages this weekend and couldn't put it down.
I think I enjoyed this one even more than the first, which is unusual for a sequel in a trilogy series. As with the first, the plot is slow to build and the integration of Indigenous worldviews and mythologies (coy wolves, Tricksters, witches, etc.) really pays off by the end.
The characters were my favourite. Robinson did such a great job showing Jared's character development as he navigates sobriety, family, school, and a stalker, and the side characters were so wonderful, that it all made up for the limited plot. (Mave, Kota, Dent, and Eliza/Shu are my faves)
I appreciated the build-up to the reveal of Jared's heritage and abilities along with the mysteries of his scary interdimensional nexus of a bedroom. The tension also kept slowly ratcheting up with David's stalking - he's truly one of the scariest villains I've read in a while, because he's so human in his evil.
Overall, I really liked this entry into the series and can't wait to read the final installment (eventually).
CW: sobriety and alcohol use disorder/addiction, stalking, violence, blood and gore, torture
I think I enjoyed this one even more than the first, which is unusual for a sequel in a trilogy series. As with the first, the plot is slow to build and the integration of Indigenous worldviews and mythologies (coy wolves, Tricksters, witches, etc.) really pays off by the end.
The characters were my favourite. Robinson did such a great job showing Jared's character development as he navigates sobriety, family, school, and a stalker, and the side characters were so wonderful, that it all made up for the limited plot. (Mave, Kota, Dent, and Eliza/Shu are my faves)
I appreciated the build-up to the reveal of Jared's heritage and abilities along with the mysteries of his scary interdimensional nexus of a bedroom. The tension also kept slowly ratcheting up with David's stalking - he's truly one of the scariest villains I've read in a while, because he's so human in his evil.
Overall, I really liked this entry into the series and can't wait to read the final installment (eventually).
CW: sobriety and alcohol use disorder/addiction, stalking, violence, blood and gore, torture
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Stalking, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death and Vomit
gailbird's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
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
4.0
It’s been a year since Jared almost died after going on a crazy bender with his girlfriend and mistakenly broadcasting his presence to a group of disgruntled, shapeshifting otters. He lost a toe and his girlfriend, and committed to sobriety so nothing like that could ever happen to him again. Unfortunately, he’s still a son of the trickster, drunk or sober. And the otters aren’t the only ones looking for someone with as much mojo as he is proven to have. He attracts magic and spirits like lint to a sock, no matter how many times he dutifully smudges his apartment.
Moved out of party city (aka his mom’s house), Jared is enrolled in university, looking to make something of his life, reconnecting with grandmothers, old and new, and dodging his mother’s psychotic ex who is stalking him. A ghost who loves Doctor Who, a grandma with a reptile under her skin and a wolf pack for relatives, a doorway to an interdimensional pocket universe painted on the bedroom floor by a paranoid artist named Edgar Six… Jared never knew living with his aunt could be this much fun. Until things start trying to eat him, of course.
Jared’s journey picks up without much fanfare, beginning slowly while he navigates uncertain housing in Vancouver and gets settled in with his mom’s sister, who doesn’t believe in magic but believes in civil disobedience for social change. It is, as always, an eclectic group of characters living in his aunt’s apartment complex—cousins, step-siblings, a zombie ghost, the usual—providing some really fun colour and personalities for Jared’s third-person limited perspective to comment on. Though a large portion of the book is seemingly uneventful plot-wise, there is a thread of tension running through it as, not only is Jared being openly stalked, but he is also maintaining his hard won sobriety. And, like in the first book, the supernatural menace emerges with a vengeance at the end, culminating in a showdown in another universe.
Jared is the type of guy I would like as a friend—down to earth, randomly cooks and cleans, wicked dry sense of humour. A good listener who also knows how to just be in someone’s company without having to chat. His struggles with his family, his addiction, his power, and, tied in with them all, his identity are really compelling and although he doesn’t always know what the right thing to do is, he keeps going.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, Stalking, and Injury/Injury detail
dcheers's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Vomit, Stalking, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Drug abuse, Terminal illness, Grief, and Alcohol
Minor: Animal death, Child death, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Toxic relationship, and Kidnapping
kyrki's review
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-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
"I would very much like to be excluded from this narrative, one that I have never asked to be a part of" - Jared, probably
I really enjoy this series. I enjoy the slow, slow build for 200 pages that just lead to whiplash for the last 40. I like how much Jared so desperately just wants to not be involved with everything that happens around him and (eventually) to him. I really like Jared as a character, and I think it's because he gives off quiet himbo vibes, and I love himbos in media. He's kind, caring, and just one of the most dense people I've ever read about. Part of it is because he's in denial, but part of it is because he's simply not the brightest likethe first few times he met Shu he thought she was just in zombie makeup he's so dumb i love him
I'm looking forward to the next book (which I have to wait for ugh). I'm curious how the pacing is going to differ in the next book, because where we left off was... well, I don't know how much Jared can ignore the supernatural anymore.
I really enjoy this series. I enjoy the slow, slow build for 200 pages that just lead to whiplash for the last 40. I like how much Jared so desperately just wants to not be involved with everything that happens around him and (eventually) to him. I really like Jared as a character, and I think it's because he gives off quiet himbo vibes, and I love himbos in media. He's kind, caring, and just one of the most dense people I've ever read about. Part of it is because he's in denial, but part of it is because he's simply not the brightest like
I'm looking forward to the next book (which I have to wait for ugh). I'm curious how the pacing is going to differ in the next book, because where we left off was... well, I don't know how much Jared can ignore the supernatural anymore.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Death