A review by winterdodos
The Secret Commonwealth by Philip Pullman

adventurous emotional medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Started out pretty slow, but the story does pick up at about the halfway point. There were some points where the world building felt a little weak to me, but overall it's pretty solid. I enjoyed how Pullman put a new spin on the concept of Dæmons. I'm a bit sceptical about the romantic subplot Pullman is hinting at, but I guess that will be handled more in the sequel. Overall, I thought the plot was very solid, but I feel like the first half is a bit longer than it really needs to be.

I do wanna say, I'm very much biased in Pullmans favour because I'm a huge HDM fan. But there were a couple moments in the story that made me kinda uncomfortable, especially the first time the romance subplot was brought up. I'm really hoping Pullman will redeem himself on that front in the next book, because I feel like the outcome of that will make or break this series for me.
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