Thursday, January 22, 2015

Review: The Mime Order (The Bone Season #2) by Samantha Shannon


The Mime Order by Samantha ShannonThe Mime Order
(The Bone Season #2)
by Samantha Shannon
January 27, 2015
528 pages


Goodreads Summary:
Paige Mahoney has escaped the brutal penal colony of Sheol I, but her problems have only just begun: many of the fugitives are still missing and she is the most wanted person in London.

As Scion turns its all-seeing eye on Paige, the mime-lords and mime-queens of the city’s gangs are invited to a rare meeting of the Unnatural Assembly. Jaxon Hall and his Seven Seals prepare to take center stage, but there are bitter fault lines running through the clairvoyant community and dark secrets around every corner.

Then the Rephaim begin crawling out from the shadows. But where is Warden? Paige must keep moving, from Seven Dials to Grub Street to the secret catacombs of Camden, until the fate of the underworld can be decided. Will Paige know who to trust? The hunt for the dreamwalker is on.



Review

If you follow me anywhere on social media then you know I was so excited to have won an ARC of The Mime Order from the publisher's giveaway on Goodreads! I love Love LOVED The Bone Season so holy moly I had to calm myself down before I cracked this book open. With how things ended in The Bone Season I didn't know what to expect at all. Will I enjoy the direction the story takes? My nerves were in a bunch but I had nothing to fear because just like the first book, I loved every page of this second one. Samantha Shannon delivered beautifully.

The first 50 or so pages were slow but not in a bad way. I just needed time to place myself back into the world. Once that happened, I was all in. The Mime Order picked up immediately where The Bone Season left off. Paige and the survivors are fighting to stay alive and hidden. Under Nashira's influence, Scion has made capturing all the escapees a top priority, especially Paige's. Nowhere is safe for her except at Jaxon's side. She also realizes her only chance at exposing the Rephaim and bringing down Scion lies with having power and control. And in order to obtain those, she needed Jaxon's protection and influence. So she stays with him as his mollisher but with her own agenda.

The voyant titles were still a mouthful! Even more so than in the first book because there are just so many different types! I got tongue-tied trying to pronounce them and believe me when I say I tried to pronounce them all lol. Aside from that, I quite enjoyed taking in the Mime Lord titles such as The Wicked Lady, The Wretched Sylph and The Glass Duchess. They're frightening but brilliant in my opinion!

Paige has definitely solidified her place in my heart~ Being the most wanted person in the city she was literally in danger with every waking moment. However, this does not stop her or slow her down one bit. She was stubborn and determined to show the world the truth. Even when she knew it was next to impossible to beat Jaxon and become Underqueen, she didn't give up. She NEVER stopped trying. Despite the side effects she experiences from using her gift, she pushes on to master it. We see her focus and learn it step by step so it would help her achieve her goal. I appreciate her selflessness so much.

Every time Paige mentioned Warden's name my heart skips a beat! I needed him to magically pop up in front of her~
It was a tormenting wait but I knew it'd only make their reunion more delicious ;) It turned out to be different than what I pictured but not in a negative way. I've imagined it about 200 times in like, 100 different ways :P It wasn't epic because of the state Warden was in but it was undoubtedly intense. Afterwards, every one of their interactions held tension. "But fear and understanding are kindred things. Both involved the loss of the familiar and the terrible danger of knowledge." (p. 327). Their relationship was totally forbidden but they were both sure of their feelings. Heck ya! I need them to have a HEA even if it's still too early.

In The Bone Season, we got acquainted with Sheol I aka old Oxford aka the penal colony. Now in The Mime Order, we get introduced to the Underworld of Scion London aka the crime syndicate of SciLo and how the Cohorts function. Along the way we also stumble into crime scenes, meet the Unnaturally Assembly, encounter more Rephaim and Emim, race to save lives, make startling discoveries and uncover a huge conspiracy that would forever change everyone's lives. The last half of the book flew by in a massive blur because of all these actions. Things were happening. I was trying so hard to absorb every detail so I could piece together the truth but my mind was still blown by the plot twists. Then there's that ending. We were basically told it was coming even when I hoped it wouldn't. I desperately wanted to believe Jaxon genuinely cared about Paige. I wanted to trust him so much but deep down I knew he's as sinister as they go. "And words..... - well, words are everything. Words give wings even to those that have been stamped upon, broken beyond all hope of repair." (p.100). Sounds like this is from experience? Prepare to be blown away by the realization that comes along with this gut-wrenching (for me) betrayal!

My one minor complaint is that because this is a seven book series, we were introduced to points that were brought up but breezed over. It messed with my theories and predictions since some were left dangling. I do see the potential it will bring to the story arc though so I'm both excited and nervous to see how those things will come to play!

I have the utmost respect and admiration for Samantha Shannon. She has crafted such a hauntingly stunning world with a complex storyline and strong and resilient characters. She managed to wow me at every turn. Once I was immersed inside the world, I didn't want to leave. If you're already a lover of this series then this one won't disappoint! If you don't know what I'm talking about, you need to find out asap! I'm for sure buying myself a finished copy when January 27th rolls around! Too bad it doesn't come with Jaxon Hall's On the Merits of Unnaturalness pamphlet :( I'm dying to get a copy!!! I'm also already dreaming of the day when I can have all seven books in my possession! *grabby hands
5 Cats Ripple Star
*I won an ARC of this book from the publisher. All opinion are my own and not affected in any way. All quotes were taken from the Advance Reading Copy I received.

I want to give a shoutout to Cassi @ My Thoughts...Literally!. Thank you for talking theories with me! I had so much fun :D She's awesome so you guys should definitely check out her blog!

20 comments:

  1. I am still excited for you that you won this and that you loved it! I have seen a few people say that this started out slow but was worth it in the end, which is just fine by me as long as that ending pans out. ;)

    I had no idea this was going to be a seven book series though, that is crazy and as much as I want to read it, I think I might wait until more books release but I know that wait is going to be hard! :D

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    1. Yay thanks! It's a little slow but totally worth it! I didn't mind at all!

      I don't know how I'll survive the wait inbetween each book but I'm going to have to :( I guess I should be happy that I've still got so much more to look forward to :D

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  2. YES! We have talked and flailed extensively about this book and I am so glad to see your full review. I agree about how great it was to be able to explore more of the Syndicate and SciLo. I liked that section in TBS so it was great to come back to it. I also really loved Paige's development in this book, she's becoming such an amazing leader.

    I'm so excited to see where things go in the next five books, especially after that ending! I have some theories but I really have no idea. This series is incredibly complex and I love that about it!

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    1. Yes! Paige has become my number one favourite heroine! Love her so much~

      I can't wait to be wowed for the next five books :D Hope to talk theories again soon!

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  3. I have yet to pick up the first in this series, I keep meaning to because I've heard such great things but for some reason I just...don't. I'll have to check it out soon though :)

    Great review!

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    1. I get it~ It happens to me too! I have a ton of series that I've been meaning to start but haven't yet for no apparent reason. I hope you'll enjoy this one when you do pick it up :)

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  4. So excited for this one! And adding an extra Ripple there to the rating was amazing!!
    Great review, Eileen!

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    1. Hehe thanks Pili~ I'm so excited for you to read it :DD

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  5. I'm so excited to see how it turns out! Great review :)

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    1. It'll definitely live up to your excitement! Thanks Ellie :D

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  6. Beautiful review! I also felt all-aflutter when Warden's name was mentioned. ;) I loved the growth of Paige and like yoy I didn't mind the slow pacing in the beginning. I so cannot wait for book three now!

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    1. Thank you Renu~~ I didn't want this book to end even though it's already massive haha. We need book 3 *chants :P

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  7. Oh I still haven't read The Bone Season but I so want to. Now especially after reading your review of The Mime Order. SO glad you thoroughly enjoyed this book Eileen. great review! :)

    Janhvi @ The Readdicts

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    1. Yay I'm so glad my review can have that affect haha ;) Thanks so much Janhvi!

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  8. I'm in for the long haul with this series! I'm glad it was everything you'd hoped for and more. I'm so looking forward to that reunion!

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    1. Me too me too me too!! I'm really hoping you'll love it to pieces! Can't wait to hear what you think :D

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  9. YAYAYAYAYAY I LOVED THIS ONE TOO! Congrats on winning the ARC! I thought the beginning was a bit slow as well but I think the book overall was excellent. NEEDZ BOOK THREE :D Excellent review, Eileen!

    Alyssa @ The Eater of Books!

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    1. Thank you Alyssa!! We needz that book!!!! Haha~

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  10. Wow, it's so cool that you won the giveaway for this book on Goodreads! Those giveaways are difficult to win, so you are one lucky girl, Eileen. Anyway, I've been seeing The Bone Season around so much, and I never really felt like picking it up, but it looks like you really like the series and I may just give it a try sometime when I'm in the mood. And oops, I read all the spoilers! I didn't understand much though since I don't know the characters, but oh well, I couldn't resist. Great review!

    Sarika @ The Readdicts

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    1. Thanks Sarika! I felt incredibly lucky to have won too :D Hahaha sometimes I can't resist spoilers either ;) It won't spoil anything since you haven't started the series but I do hope you give The Bone Season a try!!

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