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

The Mime Order

(The Bone Season #2)

by Samantha Shannon

January 27, 2015

528 pages

Goodreads  Indigo

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

 

*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!