Tuesday 17 February 2015

Review: The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon


I was not expecting to like this book as much as I did! I knew that this book was acclaimed by many but on the other hand I was not aware of all the hype so I went in with pretty low expectations and was wonderfully surprised by it.

This is a fantasy book so the world it was set in played a big role in the plot. And wow was it one complex yet magical world! It took me a while to be able to imagine this new London because of how quickly we're thrust into it but slowly a vivid image of a place ruled by fear was created in my mind. A world in which there are clairvoyants- basically people have these superpowers (which I really want!) from being able to see dreamscapes to being able to put images into anyone's mind. The new world Samantha Shannon creates makes me want to take a step back and marvel at it like I would with an enrapturing art piece. When it comes to people with supernatural powers I always have this romanticised idea of heroism but in this world to even have an ability is to break the rules.

Source: robot6.comicbookresources.com
That's why our main character, Paige, works for Jaxon Hall- and let me just say he speaks in the most comical way! One of his eccentric lines:"You've bloomed like the ambrosial flower you are, my winsome wunderkind." I've never heard anyone called a winsome wunderkind before and sometimes his silly nicknames add a touch of humour to such a dark story. 

We learn a lot about the people she works with in the criminal underworld. I loved learning about Nick and their friendship! Paige admires Nick and thinks of him almost as a prince and so do I. There is such a diverse range of characters in this book that you're bound to love getting to know them. In fact, the main character, Paige Mahoney, is such a strong and relatable and brave and admirable (( could add a million more ands!) protagonist. She breaks rules to help those in need, she feels an endless amount of sympathy even for those she hardly knows and she sure knows how to take care of herself. If I was in her situation I have no idea what I would do! There are always those protagonists that make you want to scream, "What are you doing?" or protagonists who you feel no connection to but I understood all of Paige's decisions, even if her bravery sometimes bordered on reckless (doesn't it always?;)). 

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The plot moves right from the start. Which results in a bit of info-dumping... I personally didn't mind it too much because I was eagerly trying to grab every little sentence or word that could help me picture this shattered and sparkling fantasy world. But I know that info-dumping can be annoying because we like for the world to be slowly unravelled in front of our eyes rather than to be told exactly what's happening but in a way it helped set up this very complex world so that we could move forward into the many twists and turns and new settings of this story. 

I love a good romance because Love is a place of concentrated, explosive and beautiful feelings. In this book, as much as I really, really like the romance and root for the two characters (who shall remain nameless in this review... except for the fact that as soon as you read the book it's pretty obvious who the love interest is going to be because as soon as a guy is described as "beautiful and terrible" there's a 99% chance he's the one;)) to be together, I wish there were more sparks between them. Throughout the story you can feel the characters trying to learn more about each other and learn that they're fighting for the same things. But I feel like maybe there should be more chemistry between them- I wanted more moments of just them- getting to know the small, light-hearted things about the other. I wanted to feel Paige fall in love slowly with him- I wanted a moment before the kiss with the realisation of her raw and powerful feelings. However there is this electrifying and magnetic kiss that bubbles with chemistry- and it's spontaneous too!
But I love when love (or blooming love) results in the characters becoming their better selves:) And this is definitely true for the romance in this book - they make each other strong and I love them together. Plus there is so much action and character development that love couldn't take centre stage yet so I think the author played out the romance beautifully between two lovely, conflicted, selfless and brave characters. 

Overall, I definitely recommend this book to anyone and everyone! This story has an oppressive governing system, CLAIRVOYANCE (oooh dreamwalkers and gangs!) a heroine we can all love and respect, a romance built on trust, tons of characters that have been developed marvellously and tons of characters that are aching to be developed in the next book (which I have heard the best things about).

I give it a...
(The ranking is the same as with school grades because school has pretty much taken over my life so why not?;))

Thanks for reading! Have you read The Bone Season or anything like it?:)

13 comments:

  1. I have a copy of this book sitting on my shelf and I have been meaning to read it! Your post has inspired me to do so. I am so glad that I ran across your blog.

    New follower!

    If you get a chance, stop by my blog and say hi!

    Chelsey@Charming Chelsey’s

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    1. Aww thanks! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did:) I'm so glad that you ran across my blog too;)
      Thank you so much for following<3
      I will definitely stop by!
      Thanks for commenting Chelsey!

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  2. YAAAAAAYYYYYY!!!! I'm so glad you loved this Maya! It was one of my favorite reads last year and is definitely on my list of all time favorites. The world is astounding (though a touch confusing at times!), but Paige is such a great anchor to keep you connected to the story. I agree Paige and Warden's romance was lighter in the sparks department, but I think you'll be really pleased with them in the next book. I just kept reminding myself this is a 7 book series, so the romance is going to develop more slowly even though I want them to be all adorable and happy RIGHT THIS MINUTE:)

    Can't wait to see what you think of The Mime Order!

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    1. Haha! YAYYYYYY times two!!! I loved this one so much:D I see why you LOVE it so much! Your comment on my Stacking The Shelves post motivated me to read this one:)
      Even though the world has so many details to keep up with its definitely worth it:) That's the perfect way to put it: Paige is an anchor! I love her character so much because of how relatable, dauntless and grounded she is throughout the story.
      I'm glad I'm not alone in wanting more sparks and now I'm so excited to see how their relationship develop sin the Mime Order! I had no idea it is a 7 book series... wow!
      Then I understand why the romance is so slow but I completely agree I want them to happy, free and smiling after everything they've already been through;)
      I will start reading Mime Order really soon! Your comments always make me want to read books straight away:P
      Thanks for stopping by Jenny and for your lovely comment:D

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  3. Like you, I wasn't expecting to like The Bone Season as much as I did. The reviews were so mixed. However, it's so deliciously dark, which I love, and you make a good point about the little funny moments that lighten it up.

    Not entirely sure how I feel about the ship yet, but I think Samantha will probably take Paige to good, albeit painful, places. :-p

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    1. "Deliciously dark" is such a great way to describe this book! I have heard that people were disappointed by it while others were blown away by it but I'm glad we enjoyed it in the end:) Jaxon Hall is a great eccentric character to read for the funnier moments;)
      Same here! I hope I end up rooting for them more than I do but hopefully Samantha develops the romance more in the next few books. Haha! -Poor Paige:(
      I'm sure the next few books will be amazing!
      Thanks for stopping by Christina:)

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  4. So glad that you enjoyed this one too Maya, it did take me a while to get into this one, but once I hit the second half, I was in absolute awe! Also like you I was 100% a fan of the romance too, I hope you enjoy the second book just as much!

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    1. The book definitely gets better as it goes on! I fell in love with it all of a sudden and couldn't stop reading it:)
      The romance was a nice slow-burn but I can't wait for it to be further explored! I have a feeling I'll enjoy the second book as much and maybe even more:D
      Thanks so much for stopping by Jasprit!

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  5. Like you, Maya, I've seen all the love for this story but somehow still I don't expect to enjoy it that much for some reason. Glad to hear you loved it! I'll probably wait until more books are released because there's a lot to come out. Great review! :)

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    1. There was so much hype with this book- which can be annoying because it inflates expectations but outside that it's definitely a worthwhile read:)
      That's a good idea! I probably should have waited too- I had no idea it was going to be such a long series;)
      Thank you so much Rachel!
      And thanks for stopping by!:)

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  6. Wowww this seems SO good and although at first it didn't seem up my alley, it appears I was mistaken! Thanks for sharing. :) x

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    1. Haha! It didn't seem up my alley either- even the name didn't fit in with what I usually read (The Bone Season sounds quite spooky and scary:P)!;)
      But I hope you enjoy it Riya!<3 It's way better than I thought it would be so maybe it'll blow your expectations away too!:D And I think you'll like Paige because you like strong and relatable heroines! Plus you like mysterious guys too and there happens to be one in this story!;)
      Thanks for coming by and commenting Riya!<3

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  7. I am really, really glad you enjoyed this one, Maya. This is one of my favorite series, and I love to see new readers get invested in it. The one thing in your review that connected with me the most, I think, was when you said Paige's actions were often reckless but they made sense anyway. I completely agree. I have read so many protagonists who do stupid stuff all the time, but Paige's actions made sense in the larger context of the story plus they fit with her character. That is a sign of an author who is a great writer.

    Anyway, I can't wait to see what you think of The Mime Order. I loved it even more than this book.

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