The Bone Season: 1

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And after this - after ALL THIS - she ends up having sexy thoughts and explorations with the 'tall, handsome' alien master who has violated her in so many ways since she got here. Because she "loves" him. Because he's "different than the rest of them." Excuse me while I go vomit in the corner. This doesn't happen 'til very near the end of the novel, but I could see it coming a mile away and the dread was building and solidifying in me with every conversation they had with one another. After barely escaping with their lives at the end of The Song Rising, Paige and Arcturus are escorted to Paris by the mysterious benefactors of the Domino Program, with the intent of embedding them deep in Scion France for mischief and subterfuge. However, Paige Mahoney is the damn Underqueen of the London syndicate, and she has her own plans with the underground of Paris. Truitt, Bryan (19 August 2013). " 'Bone Season' unearths a fresh fantasy voice in Samantha Shannon". USA Today . Retrieved 20 August 2013. The story suffers from an uneven pacing. Some parts drag so badly and then others are so rushed that we struggle to understand what is going on?!

Gilyeat, Dave (20 August 2013). "The Bone Season: Samantha Shannon on her novel's Oxford inspirations". BBC . Retrieved 21 August 2013. The secondary characters are one-dimensional and the relationships feel so damn forced. I don't care about any of them. Why should I, really? I don't know them. And I might be a bitch, but I wondered why Paige was helping them from the get-go. No. Really. They don't show any kind of connection so why?! I'll tell you why : to manufacture some kind of martyr strike in Paige, because apparently it's a must-have for any spechul female-lead out there. Let the aether bear witness. I will never keep from you what you should know. I will never conspire against you, nor betray you by word or thought or deed. I will never, by choice, abandon you to your enemies, nor forsake you in adversity. In body and spirit, I am bound to this oath. Seo í mo mhóid shollúinte.”The growing love story between Warden and Paige is extremely enjoyable, it is subtle and doesn't totally overshadow the actual storyline, and is well paced. You never think it unbelievable or too rushed, but just enjoy the ride. It isn't a big romantic story, which it may grow to be, but the very start of what could develop into an epic love. There's a quote in The Mask Falling that perfectly describes not only my feelings towards this installment but the whole series in general so far; "I am of the considered opinion that for every person, there exists a book that will sing to them. I trust that you will find yours." I always say, with each new one that I read, how fond I am of this series, how incredible it is, how potent it is, how dear it is to my heart. But when I read that quote I realized, to sum it up, it truly is a series that sings to me. To say that I really loved this book is to be completely right because I practically lived with it through all the action and pain and calm moments. All of it weaving to create a beautiful piece of art. Disclaimers: ARC was provided by the publisher for an honest review. Thank you! I have also met this author and think she's a lovely person. I promise her loveliness did not sway my thoughts in this review. Pinky swear! It was also fun to get to see a few old faces that I was not expecting to see again. They did blow my mind on more than one occasion.

I will always find it satisfying and great when a story connects neatly with its previous installments and I can't fail to mention just how happy it made me, seeing the connectivity working great in this work. There's also something on its way this summer to break up the wait, as I know it's been a long one. The plan is to select and read a book every month, then discuss the work during the month’s last week (to give everyone time to read it!). I will post some questions/quotes to get things started, but I would love for this to grow into an open discussion with and between you all. Whenever possible I hope to have the author, or another prominent voice on the subject, join the conversation. Paige is such a determined and resilient character that I always find great pleasure in reading of her exploits but I must say that her development and the ways she has matured and grown are my favorite thing to witness in her. She's a badass but she also knows how to be emotional and care a lot. It's a fine line that I think she manages splendidly.

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To disappear between shadow and stone. To walk the buried places of the world and still draw breath. To be everywhere and nowhere, seeing all, known and unknown. To rise from the depths, never seeking the sun. To live as one already dead, and with the dead beside.” The romance tries so hard to be a slow burn. Too bad it isn't. More like nothing happens, there's not an ounce of chemistry, and suddenly they can't take their hands off each others. In the series’ second novel, Paige finally manages to escape the prison but her life is in danger. She’s the most wanted person in London and is being pursued by voyants working on behalf of Scion. She has no choice but to return to the criminal underworld and the Seven Seals gang. But the underworld is not a safe place either. Rifts and secrets are creating terrible conflicts that threaten to splinter the underworld. Also, the Rephaim have plans to expand their influence and Paige’s feelings for her Rephaim ally will complicate her life.

She’s captured and taken to a penal colony in Oxford, which is run by otherworldly ectoplasmic beings known as the Rephaim. A Rephaim warden is assigned to supervise Paige’s imprisonment and while she fears him, she finds that she is also attracted to him. She realizes that the only way to escape her prison will be to learn more about him and what motivates him. One thing I did really love were the characters. Paige was the perfect kind of heroine for me, neither badass nor weak, leaving her with room to grow as a character, but not possessing a few of the more annoying traits of other main characters. She's smart, but still makes a few careless mistakes, giving her a more realistic feel. She's someone I could sympathize with and understand. I also think the members of the Seven Seals, Paige's gang, were very well-developed. Though, they don't have larger roles in the novel until the end, through Paige's dreams we learn about each of their personalities and whims. Unfortunately, I didn't quite feel that way about Warden, a big player in The Bone Season and Paige's Keeper at Oxford. Throughout most of the novel, Paige attempts to figure out Warden's secrets and plans, but even at the conclusion, I don't feel like a have a firm grasp on his motives. Arcturus... what can I say? I joked with some friends that I was worried I was temporarily trading in my feminist card for how much I loved his character, despite his being portrayed as her "captor". I won't spoil the ending, but there's a lot more than meets the eye with this big teddy bear. Driscoll, Molly (20 August 2013). " 'The Bone Season': the new book earning 'Harry Potter' comparisons". CS Monitor . Retrieved 21 August 2013. For a book that is told from a first-person narrative, I got no sense of Paige's personality or any sort of complexity or development as the book progresses. Her narrative is comprised of more action than thoughts. Take away the plot, and you are left with a book of YA PNR tropes and clichés. The jealous queen bee, the darkly mysterious guy, the girl with special powers.Warden: my sweet darling. I want a warden plz and thank you I just love how sweet and caring he is with her, and how he speaks like a dictionary ☺️ Paige always seemed to be shivering. I don't know why this bothered me, but I really wanted to buy the girl sweater. I hope she finds one in book 2. I loved getting closer to the truth of the Bone Season world throughout this instalment. 4 books deep and there are still a lot of mysteries to unravel and I enjoyed inching closer with every chapter.