Started: 16/12/18
Finished: 02/01/19
Spoilers: Minor.
The thing is, it’s not you, it’s me.
Or at least it must, judging by the amazing ratings this book has on Goodreads. One five star rating after another with many claiming it to be their favourite in the series. I don’t quite get it. Why don’t I feel the same?
I’ve sat on this one for a few days after finishing to allow my thoughts to steep a little and I think I know now why this book felt so different to the others, and why I didn’t love it in quite the same way.
I’ve since started The Raven King, and I’m instantly finding it more interesting. Because of this, I know now what was missing from Blue Lily, Lily Blue. The comaradarie. The banter. The group dynamic. Only a few chapters into book 4 and I’m already laughing more than I did for the entirety of book 3.
I love these characters fiercely but for the majority of this book they all felt void of personality. Gansey and Ronan were my favourite in this one because they were the only two that didn’t feel overly lacking. Adam was more of a focus and I found him quite annoying. It feels almost like since Cabeswater became apart of him he lacks any personality. Blue also felt like a lesser character.
Thinking about it, the only scene of hers I can remember, only days after reading it, was the cave scene (pretty much the only interesting scene in the book, other than her briefly holding Gansey’s hand in the car.
The characters were pretty much the only thing keeping me going through this book because the plot was basically non-existent. This was nothing but filler really. Other than them finding the cave right at the end, I don’t think I could name a single other significant plot point.
I love this series and I really wanted to give it at least 4 stars, but I think 3 is generous enough given the lack of any real substance to the story. This could have easily been a novella, it’s only purpose being to bridge a very small gap between books 2 and 4. As a novella, we could’ve avoided all the heel-dragging.
Not to mention the ever growing pile of sub-characters. Seriously how many more people can fit into 300 Fox Way? Is it a fucking Tardis or something? This is probably the only minor fault I’ve had with the series as a whole, the sheer amount of characters that contribute very little. All those women in 300 Fox Way, I don’t even know who they are, tbh. Are they Blue’s family or just friends of Maura’s?
I also feel conflicted about Greenmantle, our apparent villain of the series. In book 2 he’s depicted as this really awful character that will destroy anything that gets between him and his ambitions. When he’s introduced as the new Latin teacher things get interesting . . . then not so much when we discover he’s a squeamish coward who won’t dirty his hands. Initially I found this an interesting characterisation for a villain, right up until the point he fucks off and abandons his wife to explore the cave. I’m sorry, wut?
Greenmantle was such a wasted opportunity to be a truly complex character, especially as the Latin teacher. (btw how was he able to become a teacher in a private school so easily? Where’s his backstory? Where’s the explanation of his teaching qualifications? What kind of school are they running here?)
In short, this book fell flat for me after the momentum of the first two exciting books. I have high hopes for book 4, however, and know that shit’s going to get good. This is the first time I’ve ever binged an entire book series without taking a break between books, so something is obviously right here. Ultimately a weak third book but building up to bigger and better things.
コメント