Book Review - The Bone Season + The Mime Order

A little late to the party I find myself a relatively happy new convert to Samantha Shannon’s writing. Amid the declarations that her series would be the new Harry Potter I must admit that I was sceptical and decided to let the furore die down before I tried reading The Bone Season. With the publication of The Mime Order earlier this year I decided that this was the perfect time to give it a go. With two (rather large!) books out I felt it would give me a better flavour for this new world that I was about to be introduced to.

I have to say that I am really glad that I took the time! I don’t think I would have been anywhere near as convinced to read The Mime Order if I didn’t already have it in my hand, and now I am among many impatient people waiting for the third instalment.

That isn’t to say that The Bone Season wasn’t good, because I really did enjoy it – especially once I got past the first 150 pages – but I feel that my reservations are best described by something a colleague said to me. It is a fantasy book that isn’t really aimed at fantasy readers. I went into The Bone Season, with all its HP hype, expecting magic, wonder, excitement… a whole host of things. What I got was a blend of the above with many dystopian tropes thrown in. The corrupt puppet government – or I should say governments – the slang for the technology, the very strict regulations. The first part of the book feels like an info dump about all of these new things. Acronyms are thrown at you with barely an explanation and I found myself flicking back several pages to double check what some of them meant. A very complicated social structure is introduced, and I didn’t find the flow chart at the start especially helpful, and it took me an embarrassing amount of time to figure out that most of the characters had duel names. Even if you asked me now 1000ish pages or story later I wouldn’t be able to give you a clear description of it all. What I did appreciate is how much Shannon has put into this world, once you get over the massive rush of information the world is beautifully thought out and it is seamlessly put together. Once you start to understand how it works you never question the legitimacy of people’s actions or events. To continue the comparison to Harry Potter, the first part of this book is hard going because you are thrown into the world with a fully mature protagonist whereas in Harry Potter the reader learns along with Harry.

Paige is a delight as a heroine. Strong, determined and as scared as anyone should be in her situation. Once the action of The Bone Season changes scenery to Shoel she grows more and more as you see her totally out of her comfort zone and attempting to find her way in this strange new environment. You believe at the end of the book that she really is the one to lead the rebellion. Her character development and growth in The Mime Order is well paced and the climactic chapters really do keep you on edge. You know how far she has come, you have lived each moment with her, but you still can’t be quite certain she has the guts to go through with what she’s planned. Her relationship with Jaxon is so well developed by this point and you see all the shades of grey that he can be, you yourself aren’t certain if you want her to have the guts either. This is why the end of the book is such a kicker. Sitting on the train I drew breath in loudly enough that the people around me turned round to look. Whatever else happened, I wasn’t expecting that.

By the way, can you tell that I’m trying really hard not to put any spoilers in here?

One of the things that did disappoint me a little about The Mime Order was the character that had been the highlight for me in the prequel. Warden. He really shone for me in The Bone Season, the tension of where we thought he was the good guy but you could never be certain. All of his actions seemed to be to help Paige, but it was always possible that it was a clever double bluff – right up until the ending where all doubts are cast aside. Classic antihero stuff. Compared to this he felt very one dimensional in the second book. Apart from the very thrilling rescue scene I found the moments with him were rather dull. With his mystery stripped it was all a little cold.

To be fair The Bone Season had a much larger cast than the first book. There is so much going on and so much that I wanted to find out, I have always been a sucker for a good murder mystery, that the action is what kept me turning the page.

All in all, I am really pleased that I decided to give this series a go, but I stand by my decision to wait until some of the hype died down. I still think it should be counted as a massive marketing and publicity success on behalf of the Bloomsbury team. I can think of at least half a dozen books that do just as good a job and aren’t anywhere near as successful. If you are looking for a thoroughly original world with a fun cast of characters then give this a try.

 

The Bone Season - ***

The Mime Order - ****

 

Writing Prompt: If love could speak what would it say?

Word Count: 353

Time Taken: 20 minutes

Beta Read: No

 

***

If love could speak what would it say? That was a question that had haunted people through the ages. Everyone has a different impression of what love is and how you express it. Movies, books, poems, music – all sorts of mediums had been devoted to the topic. I had my own clearly defined expectations. I didn’t think I was being picky. I didn’t need to be told I was the most beautiful girl in the world. Or the smartest. A grand gesture would only embarrass me. I didn’t want any of this just missing each other on a train platform and reuniting again years later.

Just something simple. An offer of a drink being brought. Did I want to dance? Holding my hand.

Every day sort of things, that I had always assumed other people were also looking for. But here I was, thirty years old and single for a depressing amount of time. I’d finally given in and come speed dating as a desperate attempt. I’d tried online dating, but it was so easy to ignore that. Here I had to confront people, had to give it a chance.

The people who I’d met so far had been pleasant, but none had given me that special fizz of excitement in the pit of my stomach. There was currently a break, and I was thankful for it. Fiddling with my phone to look busy I was contemplating sneaking out of the side door.

There was a dipping feeling on the seat next to me and I looked around to see that a woman I’d noticed earlier had come to sit next to me. Lovely in a non-traditional way. A slightly crooked nose over too full lips. Beautiful dark eyes, framed by thick black lashes.

I blinked in surprised and just looked at her. She’d joined me after all.

“So I didn’t want to wait five more turns to come and tell you that you’re the prettiest girl in the room and I’m dying to know more about you.” Her smile was wide and engaging, and before I knew it I was smiling back.

 ***

Thank you!

~Belle~

<3 o:p="">

Writing Prompt: "Describe How The Days Of The Week Taste"

Word Count: 467

Time Taken: 35 minutes

Beta Read: No

 ***

Sour, that was how Friday tasted in her mouth. Normally it was a sweet taste, or alcoholic, to celebrate the fact that the weekend was coming. But this was not a usual Friday, this was the day that she was supposed to be getting married. Two months ago this was going to be the happiest day of her life.

Then that had changed. Nothing dramatic. She hadn’t come home to find Sam in bed with her best friend. He hadn’t left her at the altar. Hadn’t faked his own death to escape marrying her.

No.

He’d poured her a glass of wine and simply said that he couldn’t lie to her any more. That he’d fallen out of love with her. There wasn’t anyone else, but he just thought of her as a friend.

When she’d asked him how long he had felt that way, Sam had admitted that it’d been about a year, but that it was hard to throw away a five year relationship.

And so she hadn’t screamed. Hadn’t let him see her cry. Just accepted what he was saying and then two days later his presence was gone from her flat. All hers now. And when she was home the silence threatened to envelop her like the arms of a new lover. She’d taken to turning the radio on, just to stop the lack of noise from invading her brain. Was also seriously considering some sort of pet.

The days used to be bright. She’d wake up and the sun was this extraordinary yellow. Or the grey of the clouds was so strong that she could only describe them as looking like steel. All of her senses had been heightened. The world had been warm. Every day had a flavour – from fresh citrus on a Monday morning to the dark coffee that kept her going to the gym on a Saturday afternoon.

That stopped.

She didn’t feel warm or cold anymore. Just numb. Everything was fuzzy. Nothing had a distinctive taste, it was just mush. She knew she kept smiling as she had before. Kept telling people that she understood. That she wasn’t angry at Sam. That she’d been feeling a bit bogged down too. That she was going to use this as a chance to take a fresh start.

She didn’t say that she felt numb most of the time. Or even worse, that there were times when everything hit with a hideous clarity and she ached, she burned, and everything was so overwhelming that she just wanted it to stop so she could catch her breath. And after it finally went away, she was thankful that they days of the week had gone back to tasting of nothing – it made it so much harder to track the moments she was alone.

 

***

 

Thank you!

~Belle~

<3 o:p="">

Writing Prompt: "Make A List Of The Twelve Worst Movies Of All Time"

Word Count: 387

Time Taken: 20 minutes

Beta Read: No

***

"You think it would be a really good idea to do what?" Clara looked over at Sophie, her scepticism clear on her face. Just because it was the first day of the holidays, and it was chucking it down with rain, didn't mean that they should give up having any fun at all. "I'm not spending a good portion of our time off watching movies we hate. It's stupid. Most of  the time we'll be able to go out and do stuff. Today is a one off and there is no need to punish ourselves."

"Ah, but we are also poor, and Netflix and our DVD collections are free!" Sophie enthuses, she is looking more and more excited by the moment, brown hair swirling round her shoulders as she turns to look at her, admittedly impressive, DVD collection. "And you weren't listening to me, it’s not about bad movies! We're going to decide on the top twelve worst movies that most people, including us, think are great."

"That is still stupid," Clara insists, "it doesn't even make sense."

"It does! It's like... Frozen, we both love it... you're still braiding your hair like Elsa's," Clara's fingers twitch as she resists tugging on her hair, which was braided, "buuuuut, if you examine the plot of the movie it all starts to fall apart. Or Beauty and the Beast, which is basically just Stockholm syndrome. Huh, I guess Disney isn't going to do well on our list based on that. Maybe, we should limit it to just one. That would be really difficult to do…"

"We're not making a list!" She breaks that train of thought as soon as she can, or there would be no stopping Sophie. Flopping back onto Sophie's bed, Clara raises her hands to examine her nails. "Why twelve and not the top ten, anyway?" Slowly but surely she is admitting defeat.

Sophie sighs and Clara just knows she is rolling her eyes. "We each get a free pick that the other person isn't allowed to question - obviously. It’s one of the worst movies, no matter what."

Picking at the peeling blue polish, Clara purses her lips. Time to give in with dignity. "Want to watch Frozen?"

They're good enough friends that Sophie doesn't crow in triumph as she goes to grab the film.

***

Thank you!

~Belle~

<3

Welcome Post and Partnership!

Welcome to Belle Blogs Books!

I hope you end up liking what you find here!

This is going to be a combination of book reviews and a writing prompt a day!

I'm an eclectic reader - you'll find a wide variety of books and opinions here and I hope that you'll join me. I love nothing more than a debate!

I'm writing with the amazing Raven (who you can find here:http://ravensnestwritings.blogspot.co.uk/) and we'll each be writing a prompt a day! Go check her out (though be prepared guys, her blog is 18+). No kids and teens.

Raven is an amazing friend and an amazing person. Please give her lots of love.

I'm aiming to improve my writing and just to get over my writers block. Feel free to comment on those too if you like, but please only constructive criticism.  No idea what genres/themes/etc are going to be explored - but I hope you enjoy all the same!

Thank you!

<3