Call Down The Hawk by Maggie Stiefvater REVIEW

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Started: 20/11/19

Finished: 16/12/19

Spoilers: No

I don't know what I expected from this book. I think my only expectation was to love it. I had no clue what it was about and didn't try to find out. I wanted to go in blind. This isn't what I expected, and I'm so pleased, and so ready for more.

Characters So I know a lot of people were moaning at the lack of Adam in this book. For me, there was just enough Adam. This isn't Raven Cycle book 5. Its Dreamer Trilogy book 1. And it makes the moments he is present so much more meaningful.

I actually really enjoyed the step away from the original books, but equally loved the brief little mentions of Gansey and Blue. It was just enough to remind us of what's been without holding this book back in the past, trying to relive the glory days. This book didn't need the Raven Cycle as a crutch, and I'm so glad Maggie didn't lean too heavily on it. It stands up strong on its own.

I'm surprised. I loved pretty much all the characters except Farooq-Lane and Parsifal, (and all the Moderators, tbh). I found them a little annoying and wasn't as connected to their chapters. I didn't find that storyline as interesting to follow.

I adored Hennessey and Jordan, (not so much the other girls, but they didn't play as big a role.) I loved everything about their storyline and the stakes. I found her intriguing from the start but it wasn't until the truth about her was revealed that I really sat up and paid attention.

The Lynch brothers. Ronan, naturally is a favourite and always will be. He's still a fantastic character with ever fantastic development so I won't say too much about him. But I think the biggest surprise for me was how much I enjoyed Declan and Matthew. We don't see too much of them in the Raven Cycle and what we do see isn't enough to leave a deep enough impression. But Declan really proves himself to be anything but the boring character he proclaims himself to be. We get a wider view of their family dynamic and it was fascinating to watch them grow as brothers.

Plot In this book we dive further into the world of Ronan being a Dreamer, and the darker, black market side of life that Declan has always dealt with. After Dream thieves, we learnt that there are other Dreamers in the world. In Call Down the Hawk, we discover even more Dreamers, and not all if them have the control Ronan does. We also discover that there isn't just Dreamers, but hunters (Moderators) who are hunting and killing Dreamers to stop the apparent end of the world.

Again, as I've mentioned, I really enjoyed Ronan, and Hennessey's storylines, but I didn't connect Farooq-Lane and the Moderators.

I think my only critique of the plot is the ending. Though I love a good cliffhanger, this one felt a little rushed and anticlimactic. When I finished I was excited to read more, but ultimately was left a little like, "oh, is that it? It's gonna end like that?" There was something abrupt about it, like it was cut short at the wrong place.

I was hoping for more answers, as I had so many questions, and hardly any are answered in this book.

Setting Certain settings are familiar places, such as the Barns. There are plenty of different environments explored, but the one that stood out the most to me was the Fairy Market. If the dark web was a physical place it would be the Fairy Market

Also I really enjoyed Lindenmere, Ronan's new magical dream forest. It's like Cabeswater but more unpredictable. It'll conjure whatever Ronan can think of of. Even something bad. Even something that could hurt him. It just conjures whatever it's told to.

Writing Style I loved the writing, though at times found it a little more pretentious than I remember The Raven Cycle being. Generally I like pretentious writing, it's why I tend to get on so well with modern classics, but in this case, I tredding the line between loving it and finding it a little overkill.

For instance, there's a ten sentence paraphraph about Ronan eating chocolate peanuts and all the ways it can be interpreted in the conversation he's having. Maybe he's just eating peanuts? Maybe? But the further I got into it, the more I liked it.

Maggie has real way of painting a picture in the mind. She's an artist in every sense of the word. Another point I want to touch upon is how real the dialogue is. Even something as simple as Gansey sending Ronan half a text, then following it up with a 'sorry sent too soon.' How many of us have done that? Its subtle little things like this that make the dialogue so relatable and believable.

Final Impression Excellent start to another fantastic series. I'll be waiting in eager anticipation for the sequel.