Tag: Raven Cycle

Review: Call Down the Hawk by Maggie Stiefvater

~ Sarah Joyce ~ Leave a comment

If you were around on Friday you saw me proclaim my love for Maggie Stiefvater and The Raven Cycle.  It is a series that I not only finished (which is super shocking) but also completely adored and reread earlier this summer. 

The reread was in anticipation of Stiefvater’s Dreamer series. Ronan has always been one of my favorite Raven boys so upon finding out earlier this year that I would get to learn more of his story I flipped out and then immediately listened to all of the audiobooks with two friends. While I don’t have a lot of love for the audio version of one of my favorite series I’ll say that at least we all now say Gansey’s name the same way…but I digress… 

Call Down the Hawk came out at the beginning of the month and the buddy read started right back up. 3 of us spent a little under a week living in Stiefvater’s crazy world. I don’t think any of us looked up any type of plot description. We all just heard “Ronan” and “Series” and dove in. 

For those of you who need a bit of a higher selling point here is a brief plot – Ronan Lynch is in a bit of a funk. He’s experimenting with his dreams and missing his friends and his boyfriend. With the rest of the Raven Squad far away experiencing their first terms at University, Ronan is left with his brothers and a lot of time. Except trouble always seems to find Ronan. There are other dreamers about, and they could change everything for Ronan. The new voice in his dreams makes that clear. 

I did love the experience of being in Call Down the Hawk. This review is a few weeks late because my post Hawk thoughts are a little messy. The writing is still perfect. Maggie is a fantastic talent and her storytelling skills are among some of the best. However I leave my time with Ronan and Co. a little confused and a bit dissatisfied. 

So much of the experience of Hawk is made bright by a love of an already established character. While the new characters, especially Jordan, are really intriguing but her story feels very drawn out for very little payoff. That’s actually a great description for the whole book. Long, lots of short scenes that may or may not have a place in a larger narrative, very little pay off. 

One of the best parts of reading Raven Cycle was getting a complete story in each book, sure there as an overarching plot for the 4 books, but each novel felt like a complete story. Hawk is a part of a whole. It doesn’t stand on its own. It doesn’t provide answers, only questions. 

That’s not necessarily a bad thing. I look forward to the impending sequels. But if you’re a reader like me who has a hard time finishing series and would rather get a bigger payoff at the end of your novel, this one may be a title to hold off on until the rest of the series is out. 

I’m Not a Closer: On Reading (or Not Reading) Book Series

~ Sarah Joyce ~ Leave a comment

I’m many things. I read across genres. I run and participate in book clubs. I cook. I have a mild Disney obsession. 

However, I am not a closer. I’m not really a fan of endings. This makes me a really annoying person to play games with. I will drag out play longer than necessary. I will also be upset when I lose because of this.

I’m not claiming to be perfect here. 

I’m the same way with books. Not individual books, mind you. I like the journey of stand alone books. I love seeing story threads woven together and seeing how a beginning, middle, and end make a full story. 

But I’m also not a patient person. I don’t do well with book series. Outside Harry Potter there are only a handful of series I have been able to finish, and that is mostly due to the fact that they were all published at the time I started the first book, or would be finishing up during the time I was reading the series. 

For Instance, Daughter of Smoke and Bone is a great series. I can promise you I would not have finished the series if the 3rd book hadn’t come out the week I started the series.  I probably wouldn’t have finished The Raven Cycle if I didn’t have real life friends also obsessed with the series. I finished Divergent during a week I was snowed in and still on winter break. 

The formula here is really Sarah + Interesting Book + Additional Waiting Time = No Dice

I never finished the Lunar Chronicles. I have no interest in the Hunger Games Prequel. Twilight? The Grisha Trilogy?  I haven’t even finished the 2nd Crescent City book. I only had to wait 5 months between reading City of Lost Fortunes, insisting all of my friends read it, wishing I lived in New Orleans, and then being completely flaky and only reading about 100 pages of Gather the Fortunes. 

Most of my abandon books are sequels. 

I don’t know what it is. I remember plots fairly well. I don’t mind rereading books, so the idea of rereading a series to keep things fresh in my head before starting a new release should be a joy. I just can’t bring myself to do it.  

This is on my mind as I start The Book of Life – the last book in the All Souls trilogy. I found the second book, The Shadow of Night a bit like pulling teeth, but if you pulled teeth in 16th century England and there were also witches, which is to say interesting but painful. I haven’t finished a real series since my grad school days, and that was only because I had reader friends there to pull me across the finish line. This is my own personal marathon. No one will know if I fail but me and my bank account. 

Maybe this time will be different. But maybe not. So I’ll pour one out for all of the series I wasn’t able to finish. I’m sure you were great. I’m sure I’ll add more of you to my list of DNF titles and nod in a very faux knowing fashion when you come up in library conversations. It’s okay. I’ll just fake it till I make it, or google the ending…