"Isn't it wonderful, how words and paper can embroil us so?
We are witnessing a miracle, dear heart."
--Samantha Shannon, The Mime Order
Genre: Adult Paranormal
Genre: Adult Paranormal
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Pages: 528
Publication Date: January 27th, 2015
Source: ARC provided by publisher in exchange for an honest review
Previous Books in Series: The Bone Season
Goodreads Description
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.
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.
Hey y'all! Welcome to my stop on the Mime Order blog tour! If you've read my blog before you know I LOVE LOVE LOVED Samantha Shannon's debut The Bone Season last year. It was hands down one of my favorite books of 2013 (that's when I read it). The world she creates and the characters she introduces us to are out of this world...literally. Which is why I'm SO EXCITED to be a part of the blog tour for The Mime Order, out next week! Eeep! This series is NOT to be missed and as part of my tour stop, I'm sharing my flailing 5 Star review of The Mime Order PLUS a fun pic of me with my own personal aura...WINNING! What color is my aura?...
The World
I re-read The Bone Season in prep for The Mime Order and while I loved TBS even more the second time around, it completely prepared me to go back into the dark world that is SciLo. I felt a mix of coming back home to characters I love...and also being completely in a new world. We were almost solely in Oxford in Sheol I in the last book and this time around we are immersed in the world Paige grew up in. This world is steeped in secrecy and costumes, violence and backstabbing, ghosts and spirits alike. I loved getting to know the world of the Seven Seals and just how they operated. It was also a shock to discover all the other gangs and how powerful Paige and Jaxon and Co, really were. Jaxon is...something else. Paige struggled throughout most of the book trying to decide whether he really did have her best interests at heart or if she really was only a Dreamwalker to him. An internal struggle that both lifted her up when she saw the lengths Jaxon went to in order to get her back as well as broke her heart when the insecurity of only being as important as her ability crept in. I struggled right along with Paige and went back and forth to discover what his true intentions really were. Are they pure?...You'll just have to read to find out :)
The Mollisher
We got to know Paige the prisoner extremely well in TBS and in this installment we get to see her as she was before the capture and Sheol I...as the mollisher. The 'don't mess with me or I'll break your skull' protege of the White Binder. Truth be told, I knew how strong she was as evidenced in TBS but holy shit, I never knew the depth of her badassery...no, that's not a word but I made it up for Paige. Total badass. She takes zero shit and gives zeros fucks as to what people think of her. Don't mess with her, she will kick your ass. Not only do we get to see the Paige from before, we get to see Paige grow into herself. She no longer runs in fear from her ability, she now wants to control it and use it to right the wrongs of Scion. She might not always like the extent of her abilities and what she has to do with them, but she has been given them and she does her best to do what is right. What I love about Paige is that her heart is always in the right place. She looks for the path of least harm and fights for those without a voice...see below...
The Revolution
Y'all...let me TELL you how much I love a good revolution story. It might be my favorite theme in all of literature...it is actually, it really probably is. The fight against injustice is something I always find inspiration in and Samantha Shannon does not hold back in showing us the realities of actually rebelling against oppression. It's not like in the movies and it is not easy. It is hard fought with blood, sweat, tears, and spirit invasion. Paige deals with the harsh realities of the intricacies of rallying people and starting small and I loved this. The inspiring actions of Paige and Warden, both going against everything they have been taught to believe is so incredible. Their shared belief in doing what is right and fighting against Nashira and Scion is terrifying as it is brilliant. I am foaming at the mouth to see where this story goes and how this revolution turns out. Can I have ALL the books right now?!
The Words
The writing of Samantha Shannon continues to amaze me in it's simplistic yet intricate beauty. She weaves this dark world of gangs and spirits and violence and slavery, but so many passages bring forth this light and inspiration and beauty. I found myself reading paragraphs several times because they were so simply stated but so deep in their meaning. None of this is shown more to me than with the relationship between Paige and Warden (!!!!). Their connection is tenuous because of the perception of other people yet when they are together it is an explosion of feels. They don't even have to touch each other in order to get the feeling that their emotions towards one another are palpable. The heated glances and minuscule touches are something I lived for while reading. The slow burn and agonizing wait will only make for a more explosive finale. I both love and hate you for this Samantha :)
Uh...
Really...nothing. I loved the pacing of the novel. While some people could argue this installment reads at a slower pace I would have to disagree. The strength of these books lies in the details. The characters and plot development is in depth and detailed without slacking on the action. I love that Shannon's writing gives us a complete story without sacrificing other plot point developments. It ebbs and flows and I can foresee the series as a whole as being a complete story arc with each book representing completely a major event of the story while also being a complete story in itself. I cannot wait for more.
Backstage Pass
If you love paranormal, amazing writing, intricate plot development, and in depth characters detail...this book is for you. And OBVIOUSLY if you love The Bone Season :)
Don't forget to check out the other stops on the Mime Order blog tour! It's an amazing series and if you have not started it, I highly recommend it!
We've technically discussed how I feel about The Mime Order already, but I just wanted to say that I loved reading your review! We definitely have the same opinions on Paige, on the new part of the world we're introduced to and the moving forward of this revolution plot. It's seriously a strong second book in a series, though it does have a ton of information shared yet again!
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