“We were like gods at the dawning of the world, & our joy was so bright we could see nothing else but the other.”
way back I said there was a revi
“We were like gods at the dawning of the world, & our joy was so bright we could see nothing else but the other.”
way back I said there was a review of this beautiful book to come and I never did it. So now it's June and finally, finally I am ready to review this book.
deidamia: marry me ach- achilles: in case you haven’t noticed, i’m gay. i’m gay as fuck. i don’t like girls and i don’t want to... like girls. have you ever seen me without patroclus standing right beside me? that’s gay
In a weird turn of events, before I talk about me reading this book I'm gonna talk about other people reading this book. Because I've read alot of reviews of this book and alot of them made me laugh. Like, "Madeline Miller twists history to make Achilles gay" or "this is a new take on events" which is just, endlessly funny to me because there's literal, solid evidence Achilles and Patroclus were at least bonded in a way that wasn't considered "typical" for men in Ancient Greece. My actual ancient history professor talked about Achilles and Patroclus probably being gay in a lecture once. So it's really funny to me when people dismiss this book for being historically inaccurate. It's really not.
One thing I really like about this book is that, it DID THAT. That Madeline Miller actually decided to tell the story of Patroclus and Achilles - a story, like many other gay narratives in history, people have tried to erase. (Looking at you, Hollywood. Troy making them cousins is Hollywood's biggest shame)
To me, it is just really amazing and special that authors are actually rewriting such ancient history and stories to make them lgbt+ and remind people that the internet didn't invent being gay in 2000. It's always been real and people won't stand for that erasure in history anymore.
okay enough ranting. Here's something about the actual book.
for those who don't know The Song of Achilles is a retelling of the Iliad, focussing specifically on the relationship between Achilles and Patroclus. It's explicitly a male gay romance and incorporates elements of the myth retold by ancient playwrights as well as the original works of Homer.
This book is so beautiful and precious i literally want to launch myself into the sun just thinking about it because I'm suffering and I want it to end.
It's a good suffering though. It's a - wow, I'm so invested in these characters and this story it physically hurts me that I'm not reading about them anymore - kind of suffering.
Miller's writing is absolutely stunning, so rich and full of beautiful detail. The way she explains things is so tangible and she uses such rich imagery you can't help but immediately fall in love with every chapter, every word even.
Some people say this is boring, but I disagree. It's not slow, it's exactly what it needs to be. A slow burn, organic story of two boys falling in love. It's tragic and soft and it hurts and that all is because Miller takes her time to write them so well, to build them up so high the ultimate fall is unbelievably crushing. I wouldn't have had this book any other way, I really wouldn't. Because in the end it's not about a war or tragedy or heroes or even loss - it's about two people and their connection and how much others can mean to us.
“In the darkness, two shadows, reaching through the hopeless, heavy dusk. Their hands meet, and light spills in a flood like a hundred golden urns pouring out of the sun.”
The way Patroclus and Achilles are written really constructs them to be more then the allegorical symbols history has turned them into. Achilles especially, has been written and rewritten and romanticised so much in many ways he's a symbol more then a person. I think Madeline Miller really reversed that. What I love about this is how much she humanises them - these are people living in 1200 bce - and I think people tend to forget those were real people too. Madeline Miller attaches hopes, dreams, passions and sorrows to these characters that makes them so real. You cannot see them as anything other then entirely, blindingly human.
The ending of this book left me absolutely shattered, and even though I knew what would happened and I tried to protect my heart from it I just couldn't. You're forced into becoming to invested in these characters and their love for eachother and their love for life and want to just be okay that when they fall, so hard, it truly breaks you.
Achilles and Patroclus aside, the other characters were really well written and i liked the small twists on the original story. Thetis and Odysseus were wonderfully written, Odysseus especially was given such cunning and wit it really plays into his character. Again, Miller is able to humanise such a well known and beloved character.
The setting and imagery employed to make this foreign and ancient setting come alive felt really well done to me, and despite the foreign concepts it worked out so well. Miller has a degree in the classics, and her knowledge of the period and her expertise in the subject really showed to me. This is genuine, well written ancient historical literature.
What I think makes this book so incredibly special is how unique it is. There is no other books in the ya genre that do this kind of thing - that so beautifully and eloquently retell such an old story. I love how this book has inspired so many to learn more about the classics.
It truly is a masterful work, something I can see myself reading over and over because it does something I've seen no other ya book do, and it has so much charm and beauty it's impossible not to fall head over heels for it.
It's about glory, heroes, blood and war. About joy and love and suffering. About sorrow, mothers, memories. About being remembered, being forgotten. The cruelty of time, the cruelty of men. It's about violence and friendship and death. And I love it so so much.
The Song of Achilles is honestly just such a wonderful and beautiful book, I truly think it deserves more praise and recognition. It is the kind of thing I want to just see more and more of, and I cannot wait to read what Madeline Miller comes up with next.
My original review is below BUT OKAY OH BOY LET ME TALK ABOUT THIS BOOK (ramble ahead)
fuck !!! i love everyone so much. this book means the world. I sMy original review is below BUT OKAY OH BOY LET ME TALK ABOUT THIS BOOK (ramble ahead)
fuck !!! i love everyone so much. this book means the world. I swear to god I just love every character and all their interactions so much. I don't understand how Leigh Bardugo made me love these characters so much. Like, they're fake but I swear to god they feel SO REAL. It's actually physically painful thinking about how it's over and I can't get more of them (if they don't appear in King of Scars I'll find Leigh and fight her personally)
I just love the way in which each characters narratives are handled. THEY ALL GET SUCH GOOD ENDINGS. LEIGH PUTS SO MUCH LOVE AND INTEGRITY INTO THEIR CHARACTERS. Don't ask me who's my favourite, I love them all (ok it's inej BUT ITS A CLOSE THING)
This book literally brought me to tears multiple times which NEVER HAPPENS, and it actually made me more emotional the second time through. I feel like the more I reread, the more invested I get in everyone.
God this whole duology is just so clever. I love that Kaz is running a scam on everyone, you included. Like the book dupes the reader which is SO COOL. It's kind of sad that I can't read for the first time and get that absolutely thrill from a plot twist like I did the first time.
God I just adore this series so much, honestly the best thing ever. May do a full second review later
ORIGINAL REVIEW
Y'all. Y'ALL. I'M DOING IT I'm reviewing Crooked Kingdom, my most anticipated book of 2016, the BEST BOOK I read in 2016 (AND GODDAMN I READ SOME GOODIES) I have so much to say, and yet not enough words to say them. LISTEN ! THIS BOOK FUCKING SLAYED ME I WAS D E S T R O Y E D okay. OKAY.
I wanna do this review justice, I wanna do this book justice. It deserves it, these characters are more then just characters to me - they mean alot. This world means alot. IT ALL MEANS ALOT ok god, I gotta do this.
I wanna focus mainly on the characters because, the characters make this. Like the plot is GREAT don't get me wrong, but the characters are what really elevate it, what make it so fucking memorable and because of that I will focus on them.
But I do wanna shout out to the plot first because it deserved kudos. AMAZINGLY, I liked Crooked Kingdom MORE than I liked Six of Crows. And that's a big call...... Six of Crows was .... *wipes a tear* so good
There was SO MUCH going on, and just when I thought I'd figured it all out, just when I thought I knew what the HECK was going on, another curveball would be thrown in and I'd be helplessly lost One thing I LOVED about Six of Crows is that it plays the audience, as a reader y'all about as clueless as everyone else in this goddamn book and I lOOVE IT. The crew is playing on the other characters, but they're also playing you and it's amazING. So many times I realised I'd be conned into expecting something and when it didn't happen I was blown away.
Seriously, it's so clever. I was on the edge of my SEAT (okay, I read this in the relative safety of my bed) BUT STILL I was living in a constant state of anxiety reading this and ... I love that I love it.
There was no point in this that was boring, or unimportant everything was so well planned, detailed, executed. The plot flowed continuously and it FELT like it knew exactly where it was going and just GHLFGHL fgh EVERYTHING WAS SO PERFECT
On top of that, I feel like it was carefully thought out, I felt like many scenes were so important and were perfectly written to show exactly what the author wanted to show and it was just MASTERFULLY CREATED Like seriously, I don't take a single thing back THIS. BOOK. IS. A . MASTERPIECE.
▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂ CHARACTERS ! ▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂
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“At some point, Jesper realized Kaz was gone. "Not one for goodbyes, is he?" he muttered. "He doesn't say goodbye," Inej said. She kept her eyes on the lights of the canal. Somewhere in the garden, a night bird began to sing. "He just lets go.”
Kaz. KAZ my trash son, like he's a bad person and kind of a dick BUT I LOVE HIM. No but, he's trash but he's also so goshdang good ? and important ? and compelling ? I adore his characterisation so much.
Like y'all. Kaz Brekker is beautifully written. He's neither this or that, white or black -- true grey characterization. And done SO well.
I thought that Six of Crows had delivered the majority of Kaz Brekker's characterisation but I was wrong. Crooked Kingdom somehow goes even more into depth, explores his psyche even more. Kaz is an interesting character because you can never predict what he'll do or what he's thinking. And I think he's interesting because he's unapologetically nasty while wishing he wasn't. He's definitely an enigma, and that makes him incredibly interesting. The ambiguousness of his nature, and the way he deals with those around him makes him so incredibly complex and he's just SO INTERESTING. (Also, lmao HE'S ACTUALLY SO FUNNY?) god, I love Kaz
I don’t hold a grudge. I cradle it. I coddle it. I feed it fine cuts of meat and send it to the best schools. I nurture my grudges, Rollins.”
Kaz's PTSD is a big aspect of his characterization and I felt like Leigh Bardugo wrote it and incorporated it so well. (view spoiler)[ on Kaz and Inej, I loved their ending. Yes the ship hasn't sailed, but it's complicated. They are both complicated characters with many issues that they are still facing and coming to terms with. I felt like it was respectful and realistic that they didn't completely end up together - but the beautiful development they did have had me heart going (hide spoiler)] I also felt like his physical disability was so well written and portrayed so well and ghl EVERYTHING ABOUT KAZ IS AMAZING /?? he's such a beautifully written character I'm gonna choke
I hate myself but I would not hesitate to call Kaz Brekker daddy I love him so much
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“She was Inej Ghafa, and she would not quiver like a rabbit in a snare.”
Oh, time to talk about my #WIFE. Seriously, we're married. Inej Ghafa could punch me in the face and I would THANK HER I love her so much.
Inej Ghafa has my respect, as a woman, as a character, She's incredibly strong, brave. She's dealt with alot, too much evil and awful things and it's somehow made her stronger and braver and I love her so much ?? and yes, she's done bad things but despite everything she looks for the good in others, and she trusts her friends and she lets herself be vulnerable DESPITE ALL THE THINGS SHE WENT THROUGH and I love her so much.
She !! Had !! So !! Much !! Important !! Development !! So, so much. Her conversations with Kaz, especially the one on the boat at the beginning and their one toward the end (view spoiler)[ JUST BEFORE THEY KISSED I WAS FUCKING YELLING (hide spoiler)] anyway, yeah that, so important.
Inej Ghafa is an abuse & rape survivor. She doesn't forget it, and I am so glad it wasn't forgotten. Too often abuse / rape is used as a plot with no consequence. Inej is not perfect and she's not okay and I think it was important that was shown.
“When fear arrives, something is about to happen.”
I love that Inej stands for what she believes in, and I love that she's neither good or bad. Her and Kaz restored my faith in het ships. And I love the Suli culture that we see through her, and her proverbs and her closeness with her family and she has so much HOPE I love love her so much hold me (view spoiler)[ WHEN KAZ BROUGHT HER PARENTS TO HER I LEGITIMATELY FUCKING CRIED (hide spoiler)]
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“Where do think the money went?" he repeated. "Guns?" asked Jesper. "Ships?" queried Inej. "Bombs?" suggested Wylan. "Political bribes?" offered Nina. They all looked at Matthias. "This is where you tell us how awful we are," she whispered.
oml. Nina is so ? special. I love her character so much. DON'T EVEN TALK TO ME. I'm so shook by Nina because she's such a refreshing character, such a refreshing female character and I love her.
I love that she's the most "beautiful" character and she's also !!!!!! not skinny. She's described as "chubby" and I'm ... we were #blessed.
Honestly we were blessed when it comes to everything about Nina's character. Her strength, her patriotism, Y'ALL DO U REMEMBER WHEN SHE TOLD KAZ FREAKIN BREKKER HOW IT WAS GONNA BE BC I DO *fans self*
No but, Nina stands up for what she wants and she don't take shit from nobody and it's amazing. Like, be my mum Nina. Her and Matthias are too good and she's just so flirty and wild and precious, and everything she does she does with determination and integrity and I can't believe her and Matthias invented enemies to lovers trope.
No but seriously, Nina is so incredible in this book. Pulls herself out of some genuinely awful SHIT, takes it in her stride. Works with the shit, makes the shit her own. Saves everyone's lives a few times, deals w/ so much with dignity and strength whilst remaining positive and DID I MENTION HER AND INEJ HAVE THE MOST BEAUTIFUL FRIENDSHIP actually #married.
I was SO HAPPY about Inej and Nina it was amaz !!
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“I don't like this." "To be fair, Matthias, you don't like much.”
Y'all. Remember my Six of Crows review when I was all "eh, I don't like Matthias much" BOY HAVE THE TABLES TURNED.
Matthias chapters went from being the ones I didn't care about to THE ONES I REALLY DID. I LOVED his development, I loved him taking on a bigger role in the crew. I loved him coming to regard everyone as his friends, I loved him realising more and more the error of his ways. I loved his relationship with Nina. I loved his friendship with Wylan and Jesper. I loved the way he took a controlling role in the crew. I loved that he became ONE OF THE CROWS.
I loved him.
and on the thing(view spoiler)[ Look. everyone is mad about him dying. I kind of ... like it (forgive me father for I have siNNED BY SAYING THAT) but ok. Hear me out.
Matthias character arc obviously pointed out the fault of the Fjerdan people's and the reasons why unjustified prejudice is NOT OK. The Druskelle are really, really militant. And there's a good argument that they are a metaphor for white supremacy in the real world.
ANYWAY, Matthias getting shot by some kid worked for me for a few reasons
1: it was pointless. It was so pointless. Just like the whole thing, the prejudice, the Fjerdan attitudes. It's all so pointless and it doesn't lead to anything except more fear and more hate. I think his death at the hands of his "friends" really drove that home for me, because these people were ones Matthias still cared for despite everything. Matthias recognised that his attitudes were carefully cultivated in his mind as a result of the brainwashing and fear-mongering attitudes he grew up with. His death at the hands of his own people, and especially by a child, highlights to me exactly everything that was wrong with the Fjerdan's - that little kids are so consumed by the ideology they would blindly murder someone who was their own.
2: it was a kid. Like yeah, no matter how big and strong we are - we're all human. That was a big theme. The humanity and the mortality of the characters was explored throughout - all of them experienced or talked about how they could die at any moment, how no one would remember them.
and speaking of number 3 : no mourners, no funerals. In Crooked Kingdom, it's revealed they have this phrase because no one would remember or mourn the dregs. Y'ALL! Matthias was mourned. He got a funeral. They undermined their own saying, and with who? someone who wasn't their own, someone who joined them and became a dreg. In the end I think it showed the growth of the crew and the development of their characters.
I don't know, maybe I see his death less tragically then others because he was the one I would have "chosen" to die but, yeah, I'm okay with it.
Oh, shit. Jesper. SHIT. I don't know what to say. I'm OVERWHELMED. Ok, silly me thinking Jes was comic relief in Six of Crows SILLY ME.
He's so much more. I was in love with Jesper in Crooked Kingdom - so many aspects of his character were introduced. So. Many.
Jesus omg the parallels with Jordie . HOLD. ME. There were a whole bunch of things about Jes I liked in this. I liked him coming to terms with his Grisha powers, and his childhood. I LOVED his and Wylan's relationship (obviously)
But Jesper just dealt with and overcame so much, his character development was ?? incredible ?? (view spoiler)[ WHEN HE DIDN'T TAKE THE MONEY OML (hide spoiler)]
But, Jes is such a good guy. Like, even though he done some nasty things he's trying to redeem himself and the way he treats Wylan is so beautiful and the things between him and Kaz and Inej urgh
(view spoiler)[ the fight between Kaz and Jesper on the roof was really important to me. It was so important. Kaz calling Jesper Jordie, Jesper demanding to know why Kaz was so unfair to him, (also the lowkey tension since we know Jes was in love with Kaz) and just everything fjghdf I LOVED IT (hide spoiler)]
But seriously, I think Jesper had the MOST development and I really loved his arcs. His chapters became my second favourite (behind my love Inej) and I found his whole arc so interesting. I loved he was able to redeem himself and I loved his relationship with ALL the crew.
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“Until this moment, Wylan hadn't quite understood how much they meant to him. His father would have sneered at these thugs and thieves, a disgraced soldier, a gambler who couldn't keep out of the red. But they were his first friends, his only friends, and Wylan knew that even if he'd had his pick of a thousand companions, these would have been the people he chose.”
WYLAN. VAN. FUCKIN. SUNSHINE.
Oh god, OH GOD. My heart is racing just thinking about him I am alot in love with him. He was given so much backstory and fleshed out so much from Six of Crows
He makes me weep, he's so precious. I HATE JAN VAN ECK !!!! And I can't get over what he did to Wy and how awful he was. But I also can't get over how Wy came back from it and how he got his giant FUCK YOU to Jan and ...... him and Jesper.
No but honestly, Wylan is a real good person. He's put up with alot, dealt with more then he deserves and he's just come back better for it?? (view spoiler)[OH GOD WHEN THEY BEAT HIM UP AND IT'S LIKE "WYLAN WASN'T KAZ OR INEJ. HE TOLD THEM EVERYTHING. I CRIED, I REALLY DID. I WAS SO WORRIED AND UPSET FOR HIM BECAUSE HE DESERVED SO MUCH BETTER THANK GOD THAT WAS FAKE (hide spoiler)]
I loved his and Kaz development and that they understood eachother by the end. And I'm so glad Wylan got his revenge and got everything he FUCKING DESERVED. He's so precious, TOO PURE. My bb cinnamon bun I love him so much.
▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂ LISTEN !!!▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂
I loved the ending. I know some people say it was unresolved, and that some characters didn't deal with everything but I like that. These are complex characters, and sometimes things don't get to be wrapped up perfectly in a neat little bow. I wish I knew what they were up to now, and I want so much more of the Dregs but I'm also so, so satisfied with how this left off.
This duology is so important. It's about so much more then just criminals and a heist. And even though it's about that, the characters and their development and how they overcome their own personal trials make me cry.
I literally cried. There were times when I had to stand up and pace for a minute because I was so anxious, or annoyed, or frustrated. I WAS CONSTANTLY SHOOK. I don't think I've EVER been so absorbed and shaken while reading a book.
Crooked Kingdom and Six of Crows are honestly two of the BEST BOOKS I've ever read. And I don't say that lightly. I love everything about it, the plot, characters, events, dialogue. Even the covers and the red/black stained pages and the chapter headers and EVERYTHING IS BEAUTIFUL.
Easiest five stars I've ever given. This deserved 50. There are too many emotions.
Everything, from the world, the characters, the plot. The jokes, the swindles and the relationships. It was all perfect, like seriously perfect. I somehow ended up liking this more than Six of Crows, and even though it tore my heart out over and over and made me emotional and now has me depressed it's all over I love it. I love it love it love it.
Kaz Brekker, Inej Ghafa, Jesper Fahey, Wylan Van Eck, Nina Zenik and Matthias Hevlar are names to remember....more
2021 reread A scene where a magical forest protectively wraps itself around a character whose being yelled at by their abusive father can be so impact2021 reread A scene where a magical forest protectively wraps itself around a character whose being yelled at by their abusive father can be so impactful, actually. Anyways, I still think this is the best book in the entire series, even if it's just for the frankly delicious adam Parrish content.
The first line being Gansey looking over at Adam and saying he's asleep, and the final line being Adam saying "No. I'm awake" when Gansey asks if he's sleeping? POETIC CINEMA
original review (2016
"Queens and kings Kings and queens Blue lily, lily blue Crowns and birds Swords and things Blue lily, lily blue"
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whelp I have The Raven Cycle another 5 stars.
... There was actually some negatives to get out of the way:
I have to say, the last kind of 50 pages of this was kind of underwhelming to me, maybe because it felt very typical (Like? The whole scene just felt like something I've seen before which is disappointing because The Raven Boys is usually so original) And the whole bit kind of dragged.
Also Greenmantle was blah and everytime it was his perspective I was like urgh
But that's it. The only small, insignificant flaw. Despite this I still really, really loved this. My reasons for enjoying The Raven Cycle as a whole so much have been made clear in previous reviews, so I'm just gonna go with a list of what I liked here:
P Y N C H !!! like yes, sign me the fuck up. I love the relationship between Adam and Ronan and Pynch is probably my fave ship in this (tho love Dick and Jane too). Every scene they had together was just a joy to read and I like what their relationship offers each. I feel they have a genuine connection and I'm really excited to see it go further in The Raven King. Like !! Can we just talk about the shopping scene (CRYING ABT RONAN SPENDING SO MUCH MONEY ON SHAMPOO ALSO) !!! but also the whole scene at the Barns and the church and aaaah!! RONAN DREAMING HIM THE HAND CREaM. I love that Ronan has so much faith and trust in Adam and I love that he helps Adam see what a good person he is and Adam briNGS OUT THE GODDAMN BEST IN RONAN I'm upset they're really good for eachother, bless. I love them so much
See, Adam Parrish is wantable, worthy of a crush, not just by anyone, someone like Ronan, who could want Gansey or anyone else and chose Adam for his hungry eyes.
Like, yes, my sweet children. This ship is pure and good it deserves more attention it's worthy.
JANE AND DICK. OK I love Blue and Gansey so much tbh and their scenes are also amazing. I like that their relationship wasn't always perfect but was a bit tumultuous at times. I like that they both really compliment eachother. I like that Blue doesn't take his shit. I like that Gansey cares for her so much and understands her and invests himself in her and her family. I like that Gansey has lowkey become the furniture at 300 Fox Way. I like their phone calls. I like their drives. I LIKE GANSEY AND BLUE ALOT OK.
The courthouse scene Adam taking control of his situation, Gansey and Ronan turning up (Ronan tucking in his shirt for it) Adam recognizing the difference between charity and actual friendship. Adam allowing his friends to look after him. Adam accepting his role as the magician of Cabeswater. ADAM CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT IN GENERAL, but especially in the court scene.
Calla. CALLA MAN. She's so funny, she's the best. Calla calling Gansey Richie Rich. Calla caring for and looking after Blue. Calla CARING. I love Calla
NOAH. My precious cutie. I'm so sad about Noah because he deserved better than living as a ghost and the whole bit with Gansey and him telling him he didn't know how to be alive makes me so, so upset because Noah is good and youthful and it's so grossly unfair that he's ended up a ghost who has to reenact his own death over and over??? Also I still love how Blue and Noah are best friends and I love how Noah and Ronan are best friends and this leads me on toooo
FRIENDSHIPS. Obviously, this whole series is very centric on the friendship between Blue/Ronan/Adam/Gansey/Noah and there were so many great scenes that highlighted this !! I Love the bit with Ronan talking about how he dreams up dozens of EpiPens for Gansey because he's so scared of him dying, and the bit with Blue and Ronan in the cave. And the bit with Noah and Blue and Adam in the car. And the bit with Gansey and Henry and Adam and Ronan at school. I love that the whole book is so focused on the importance and merit and MAGIC of a good friendship and the scenes with the characters interacting in that context of true friendship are always great.
"Orla wasn't wrong, of course. But what she didn't realize about Blue and her boys was that they were all in love with one another. She was no less obsessed with them than they were with her, or one another, analyzing every conversation and gesture, drawing out every joke into a longer and longer running gag, spending each moment either with one another or thinking about when next they would be with one another. Blue was perfectly aware that it was possible to have a friendship that wasn't all-encompassing, that wasn't blinding, deafening, maddening, quickening. It was just now that she'd had this kind, she didn't want the other."
PLOT. Holy mother plot development!! Like holy moleY we are starting to get to the sticky end of business now (no, really. I'm worried) I feel we're SO CLOSE to Glendower but I'm also so worried and scared for my boys. But on a serious note, the plot was seriously advanced in this one with alot of twists and turns and revelations. Many questions were answered or partially answered and it's really set up the Raven King to be jam packed full of revelations.
Character Development!!! These characters never stop developing and even after three books there's still so much more to learn about them. I thoroughly enjoyed Adam's storyline and thought he received some much needed attention after TDT. I also continue to enjoy Blue and her storyline. I loved her becoming more aggressive and assertive with the boys and assuming a central role in the group. I also like her new role with being psychic and the revelations about her/her past ect. Noah was in this less, but when he did appear it had great impact and was relevant and plot driving. Ronan also continues to have excellent character development, as does Gansey. The development is truly a highlight with these.
other notes: One thing I continue to like about this series is the atmosphere or eeriness and mystery. You feel unsettled and a little confused the whole way through - and I feel it adds to the general aesthetic of it all. I feel it adds to that sense of magic and mysticism where the characters themselves are unsure of what is going on. I also like where the plot is going here and I think the addition of newly introduced characters didn't feel awkward like some people have said it does. I wish I'd not found the villians so bland and predictable and known because then I'd have been blown away yet again.
But overrall I love this series so much and I'm sad it's ending really, really soon.
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I really liked this of Blue bc she's my baby sweet yoghurt loving baby so ...more
This was so magical to read again three years later. I'm definitely in a different life stage and mind frame reading this now verREREAD - AUGUST 2019:
This was so magical to read again three years later. I'm definitely in a different life stage and mind frame reading this now versus then and it really showed in some of the comments I wrote about this book in my original review versus some of my thoughts now.
I was surprisingly attached to Bluesey in this. I think its because they won me over in the later books so their scenes in this one really got me. The chapter where Blue asks Gansey to take her somewhere and they drive to the top of Henrietta is so tender and I love it.
My most distinct memory of this book is the scene of Kavinsky and Ronan dreaming and that was my favourite chapter again. I love that scene so much.
As always, Adam is my absolute fave and I adore him. Deserves so much fucking better.
I did find this a lot slower than the first time I read it. I was deliberately focussing on character and internal dialogue which might have been a reason, but I don't think I /love/ this as much as the first time - purely because it didn't hit me in the same emotional way it did the first time.
That said, I still love the characters so much. And there's something comforting and nice about returning to this world, which for me is magical and weird but kind of calming too.
My book after tabbing it
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~**ORIGINAL REVIEW**~
"In that moment, Blue was a little in love with them all. Their magic. Their quest. Their awfulness and strangeness. Her raven boys"
same Blue. same.
I'm not sure how to write this review, because I'm not sure how to put my thoughts and emotions into words. It's much easier to do it in spoken words than written ones. (ie. I'm gushing about this to my sister right now because !! it's so goood and I got her onto these so she understands)
I was obviously really excited to read this, since I enjoyed The Raven Boys so much. I'm happy to say the sequel did not disappoint, not at all. Everything about this flowed on so beautifully from the first book, and it had so many great moments and scenes. The character development was outstanding! I felt both Blue and Ronan were given so much love and attention which makes me so happy! Both are characters I loved who I felt didn't get the attention that the others did in TRB.
This book centres majorly around Ronan, as the last book ended upon his revelations about his little raven Chainsaw. I'm really, really happy we got to see so much more of Ronan. Ronan felt like the underdeveloped boy of the group in the last book, which was a little sad since I could tell he was a central member of the group, and that his story obviously ran much deeper than we were given. I loved that this book focussed so much on his family, and with him coming to terms with many of the things he regrets or hates about the past and himself. Ronan has become a much deeper, and more likeable character (though I did like him in TRB) and I'm so happy about it.
I also felt this book allowed for HEAPS of character development for Blue. Blue is really important to me, and I honestly don't know why she gets so much hate because I love her. (like, I would marry Blue Sargent tbh) I mean, first of all we have a girl raised in a house of eccentric women um yes please. Blue is so determined and principled, the way she sticks to her guns with the boys and tells them whats what is really admirable to me, because it did take alot of guts for her to do so in some scenes. Blue is fearless and hilarious and brave and resilient and I really love her guys.
Other characters, I mean I obviously still love Gansey. Although he takes a backseat here, I still felt that Stiefvater did a wonderful job at giving his character nuances and depth - she highlights Gansey's conflict with himself and his desire to just be a good person. Gansey is one of my favourites, because while he is very complex he's also quite simple. He just wants to be a good, decent person who means something and I thought that aspect of his character shone through in The Dream Thieves.
Adam was a bit of a mess, and I feel this book will be a lead up into the next one for him. I am proud of how he's kept on despite everything though. I just wish he wasn't so stubborn!
I also want to mention Joseph Kavinsky, a deliciously destructive character who I felt was so well written. It's the kind of boy, I feel I kind of know. Maybe not to that degree, but I get it. I thought he was so, so well written and developed.
This book was made up of a collection of chapters and scenes that made me sit back and sigh contently because of their beauty or their emotional impact or their importance. I'm gonna mention a few, without trying to spoil anything:
The scene between Noah and Blue. I don't want to spoil anything, but that scene was so poignant and heartbreaking because of what it meant for both of them. It's amazing how Maggie can capture emotions, moments in time, the humanity of her characters and this is one of those scenes. It's that moment of discovery that's so hard to capture in words and yet she somehow does it. I love that she can capture these moments which are so indescribable, and this scene breaks my heart because it's so much loss and so much discovery all in one and IT BREAKS MY HEART
The scene of the group on the boat - I felt like it perfectly captured the dynamics of the group. I felt it captured the magic of simply existing, that they as a group with their jokes and their care for eachother is a magic in itself. It also highlighted the stupidity of the boys. They're so silly, in some ways and we're reminded of how they're young kids just like any other kids their age and again, their humanness is brought to the surface. Also Blue gets to be a total BAE and stun the boys and I was cheering hard for my homegirl.
The dreamings with Ronan and Joseph. Again, just a well written and poignant scene which captures the way dreams can be both terrifying and magical, and how out own minds can be out own worst enemies. I felt that there was just something so beautiful and magical about the whole thing, I mean, just the picture in your head of boys lying under the stars plucking things from their dreams. This was , again, a capture of a moment, and aesthetic, that really appealed to me.
Finally, the whole chapter where Blue and Gansey go driving together. Everything about it was perfect. It was heartbreaking and gentle and filled with the wonders and joys and grandiosity of life itself, and of human connections and of feeling place. I read it, and I finished it, and I sit back and knew this book was going to destroy me if it hit me with anything else like that.
LOOK I'M JUST GONNA PUT IT UNDER BECAUSE I LOVE IT (view spoiler)[“He closed his eyes and leaned, just a little, so that her palm was flat on his neck, fingers sprawled from his ear to his shoulder. Everything in Blue was charged. Say something. Say something. Gansey lifted her hand gently from his skin, holding it as formally as a dance. He put it against his mouth. Blue froze. Absolutely still. Her heart didn’t beat. She didn’t blink. She couldn’t say don’t kiss me. She couldn’t even form don’t. He just leaned his cheek and the edge of his mouth against her knuckles and then set her hand back. “I know,” he said. “I wouldn’t.” (hide spoiler)]
I know I'm not going to be ever able to let this series go. I have two books to go and I don't want it to end. The prose is just so beautiful, the story so magic. I honestly don't know how to describe what it means. Maybe it's because I'm reading it right at the right time, where my own time with my friends at school is coming to an end and it feels like everything is changing, but this book and these characters really, really resounds with me.
Maggie Stiefvater is so easily able to capture the essence of humanity and being alive in these pages -Her prose is so beautiful, so rich and imbued with emotion. She seems to put the feeling of unencumbered youth the breathlessness of discovery and heart wrenching longing straight into the pages and I feel it I feel it.
I kinda wanna cry, I love this book and these characters and what it makes me feel so much. I don't know -- am I being pathetic? This just is really, really sticking with me. I can't even write this review, because to me what this is meaning to me is very personal (I wish I could sit you all down and explain it!) but this book is coming in right at a perfect time for me, and I love it so much....more
Okay, Carry On is kind of like fanfiction except like, the best fanfic you've ever read. I ME RIGHT NOW: [image]
THIS BOOK !! WAS SO !! DANG !! GOOD !!
Okay, Carry On is kind of like fanfiction except like, the best fanfic you've ever read. I loved it, so much. Yes, it's really meta. BUt I mean, I loved that. I felt like it wasn't so different to other things I've read, it didn't take itself too seriously which was awesome. I liked that it piggybacked on all our expectations of the genre, and then used that to manipulate us into thinking and believing things that definitely weren't true. This book is hilarious, had me laughing the whole way through.
" I can't believe you possessed a dog just to speak to me" "I wouldn't of had to do it if you weren't so cagey about your mobile number!"
Okay, gonna break this bad boy down.
PLOT So Carry On is about a guy names Simon, who's a mage. He attends Watfords School of Magicks -- and also he's the Chosen One. But he's the worst chosen one to ever exist. The plot of this is HILARIOUS. It does have alot of Harry Potter throwbacks which I honestly loved (the bit when Baz is like -- Simon's eyes are, just normal. There's nothing remarkable about them). The plot kind of moved slow in the first 50-100 pages. This book is set at the end of Simon's school life so there's alot of info dump while the reader catches up. It's not really tedious or awful, but you can tell it's info dumb. However, it picks up really quickly and when it does it never stops moving! I loved the elements of romance/paranormal all mushed up together in here and the ending goes OFF
CHARACTERS: I absolutely fell in love with them. Well, except maybe Agatha but she did redeem herself at the end. Simon is so funny, so cute even though he's such a mess. I like that he broke that 'got his shit together' chosen one stereotype and was really just such a mess. But his intentions were so pure he's so straightforward. He was like a puppy who needed alot of help so precious. Baz is so funny and was probably my favourite. I loved that he just can't help being villainous even in the best of times. All his chapters are hilarious. I loved the dynamic between him and Simon so much. Penelope is a great supporting character, and how she feels for Simon is amazing. She's a genuinely good friend, incredibly loyal and I loved her in this book. I also really liked Fiona, just because she was so funny. (Front seat is for people who haven't been kidnapped by fucking numpties!!)
WORLD: The way the magic worked in this was so funny (I mean, the bit when someone casts the have a break, have a kit-kat spell AHAHHA) But it was also so clever, that the magic evolved with the times, and that power was drawn from the power of language. The mentions of people being like "classic sixties" in their magic was so, so good and I loved that element of the world so much. The world of Carry On I found myself in love with. It does kind of suck you in like Harry Potter does. I love the way that magic works and how the world is set up and I felt like Rainbow Rowell just did something really clever with this plot and with the world. It's complex, and dynamic and feels very real. It does feel like she's taken something, and made it completely new. It is really clever. It many ways it does feel like an alternate universe Harry Potter, but it takes on the elements of that world you've come to trust and manipulates them so you never really know what's going on.
This book cops alot of flack which is kind of sad because I think it's hilarious and so clever. It's really well done, and I just LOVE that it takes the elements of the genre and is like "wait if I made a huge joke out of this" Like it's just so good, I am completely in love with Simon Snow and Baz. (I could be best friends with Cath from Fangirl, now!)
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