Second books in trilogies have been my favorites, historically speaking. That's been the case most of the time. Second books are Peak Angst�. Second bSecond books in trilogies have been my favorites, historically speaking. That's been the case most of the time. Second books are Peak Angst�. Second books up the stakes. I live for second books. I can’t say for sure whether that will be the case here until the final book is in my hands (weeping that I don't), but this was good. Very good. The last several chapters had me on edge and I don't think I will recover....more
The ARC for this clocks in at nearly 700 pages and, boy, did it feel like 700 pages. I'm usually the last person complaining about a tome being too thThe ARC for this clocks in at nearly 700 pages and, boy, did it feel like 700 pages. I'm usually the last person complaining about a tome being too thick, but I'm hoping a fair amount of editing will have been done by the time it officially publishes. With that said, I still enjoyed this follow-up to a book I had mixed reactions about. It opens up the world quite a bit, taking characters both old and new to places I didn't anticipate. I especially loved getting to spend more time with characters suchas Viola and Jianyu who had been underutilized before. THE DEVIL'S THIEF is a more ambitious story than its predecessor and while some parts did drag for me (particularly near the end as I grew more impatient to finish) and some scenes felt repetitive at times, I can't help but want to stick around for the next one to see how it ends....more
I have a lot of feelings that I need to sit on and parse through as those final chapters really packed a punch, but for now I will say that I thoroughI have a lot of feelings that I need to sit on and parse through as those final chapters really packed a punch, but for now I will say that I thoroughly, thoroughly enjoyed this (the setting! the delightful cast!). The Gilded Wolves feels like Six of Crows by way of The Last Magician and I am super into it. I haven't always been sold on Chokshi's YA stories in the past (though her middle grade novel Aru Shah and the End of Time is one of my favorite reads of this year so far), but this one is a winner that leaves me craving to get the next one in my hands immediately. ...more
THE BEHOLDER is essentially THE SELECTION: Semester at Sea. Let's be real here. And I have no problem with that. A BOY IN EVERY PORT, YO. No problem aTHE BEHOLDER is essentially THE SELECTION: Semester at Sea. Let's be real here. And I have no problem with that. A BOY IN EVERY PORT, YO. No problem at all, because those books were compulsively addictive. What ended up bringing down my enjoyment was the world-building. It felt like a convoluted mix of "alt history" with fairy tales in mythology to the point where I couldn't tell what the book wanted to be.
With that said, I can easily see this book doing well with a younger reader base. It just wasn't for me and that's fine!...more
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