Friday 12 June 2020

Call Down the Hawk (Dreamer Trilogy #1) by: Maggie Stiefvater

Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Magical Realism
Published: November 5, 2019 by: Scholastic Press
Pages: 472
Rating: 3/5 stars
*this post contains minor spoilers from The Raven Cycle series. Highlight white text to reveal spoilers*



Ronan Lynch is a dreamer, meaning he has the power to pull things out of his dreams and into his reality. Jordan Hennessy is a thief, meaning she is tied to dream objects and will stop at nothing to get them. Carmen Farooq-Lane is a hunter, meaning she is threatened by dreamers and seeks to destroy them. Dreaming is a dangerous task, and Ronan's life is about to experience destruction like no other.

Anybody who knows me knows that I LOVED The Raven Cycle series. I pretty much finished the entire series in a week, and for about three months in 2015 I was a Richard Campbell Gansey III STAN. So naturally when I heard about a Ronan Lynch trilogy, I needed to get my hands on it. While it did satisfy my ache for all things Raven Cycle, I can't exactly call it a favourite.

What I love about Ronan is that he is such a complex character. He is riddled with trauma and inner demons, but is also a sarcastic king and secretly a softie. Him and Adam are one of my OTP's, and I was really glad to get glimpses of their relationship in this text. That being said, I think I needed more of it. I expected more of it.

I love the Lynch family as a whole, so I was happy to get a deeper insight into them through this book. Declan and Matthew have always fascinated me, and I found myself really interested in the Lynch storyline. I found some of my unanswered questions answered, so I thought this was a good companion to the Raven Cycle series.

Maggie Stiefvater writes magical realism so well. I am jealous of her writing style, and how she is able to craft worlds that are so unique and so mysterious. Her writing has such a dream-like quality (pun intended) to it. This book was no exception.

I can't say I was obsessed with this book though. I honestly didn't care much for the new characters introduced, and I just found myself wanting more of Adam, more of Blue, and tbh more of Gansey. I mean, I expected that Blue and Gansey would not be in this book, but that still doesn't mean I didn't hold out a little bit of hope. I think the characters are just so strong in The Raven Cycle that I expected to fall in love with all of these new characters as much as I did with the others. That was not the case.

I also thought this book was a little long for me. It seemed to drag in parts, and I felt that because I wasn't connected with the new characters, I just wanted it to end sooner. I wasn't as emotionally invested in this book as I have been with Stiefvater's other books.

Overall, I don't think I will continue with this series. This book did give me some great nostalgia, but I think I will just re-read The Raven Cycle if I ever want to revisit Ronan's character. That being said, if you're a Raven Cycle fan, it's worth a shot.

Have you read Call Down the Hawk? What did you think?

Emily @ Paperback Princess

17 comments:

  1. I've been seeing very conflicting thoughts on this book from just about everyone who has read it. I've only recently joined the Stiefvater bandwagon (too late), and I LOVED The Raven Cycle!! I am truly looking forward to picking this one up, but other's reviews have made me cautious in my approach. Great review! I love your insight!

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    1. It does seem to have a lot of mixed reviews. Glad you enjoyed The Raven Cycle though!

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  2. Stiefvater does sound like an excellent writer. Sometimes though I think the original iteration of something is the best, and sounds like maybe the Raven Cycle falls into that category for some readers? Sorry this one didn't wow you, but at least you got to revisit the characters a bit even if it wasn't quite as compelling. The Raven Cycle does sound awesome!!!

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    1. I would totally recommend the Raven Cycle series. I think her writing really shines through in that book. The atmosphere she creates is unmatched.

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  3. Ah this is a fantastic review, thank you so much for sharing <3 I really liked The Raven Cycle series and am curious about that one, I'm sorry to hear you didn't fall for the characters just as much :/

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    1. Thanks Marie! I know this book is very highly rated on Goodreads, so maybe still give it a go. Perhaps I am just too picky haha!

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  4. Sorry you didn't enjoy this one as much as the Raven Cycle! I'm glad you know when to stop though - there's plenty more books out there!

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    1. Of course! If I didn't know when to stop then I'd be reading Stiefvater books my entire life haha!

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  5. Ahh I’m sorry to hear this book didn’t live up to your hopes and expectations. I’ve been holding off on reading this book, mostly because I’m worried it’s not going to be as good as I want it to be, haha (but also because I convinced myself I need to reread TRC first). Even though Ronan is one of my favourite characters, the original four books left off at a point I can be happy with, so I don’t necessarily feel the need to read this one - and your review has definitely kept me thinking that.
    I’m especially impacted by your opinions on the new characters, because it kind of hurts my heart thinking about the lack of Blue and Gansey.
    Great review Emily!! :D

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    1. I really want to reread TRC! I think I need to after being disappointed by this one lol. I think when you've come to love certain characters, not seeing them in a sequel is just a huge bummer.

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  6. *Refrains from regular Raven-Cycle-related rant*

    Glad you enjoyed the book Em :)

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    1. Haha, I've been waiting to see if you would comment, Cee! I actually love your Raven Cycle rants. They teach me something new!

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    2. It's really not a good idea to encourage me at this point! ;) <3

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  7. I really like complex characters in books, they always keep you guessing if there is more. Plus, you already know that I have thing for magical realism.
    Well, nostalgia is a great feeling when you revisit an author you already know. It's a shame though that it didn't pique your intereste enough to continue the series.

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    1. Yeah, I was pretty disappointed. But, glad that it still had some great magical realism aspects!

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  8. Yeah, I don't think this one is for me. I think since finishing The Raven Cycle I've fallen quite a bit out of love with Stiefvater, and while I still considered reading this, I don't think I've seen anyone love it? Most people are pretty eh about it, and it's sad that much of it didn't work for you either. :/ Great review, Emily, sorry it didn't work for you. :(

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    1. I mean if you've definitely fallen out of love with Stiefvater, I would definitely give this a pass. I think a lot of people were expecting a lot of the old Raven Cycle crew to show up, but that obviously didn't happen :(

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