Challenge Corner discussion

The dreamers walk among us . . . and so do the dreamed. Those who dream cannot stop dreaming – they can only try to control it. Those who are dreamed cannot have their own lives – they will sleep forever if their dreamers die.

And then there are those who are drawn to the dreamers. To use them. To trap them. To kill them before their dreams destroy us all.

Ronan Lynch is a dreamer. He can pull both curiosities and catastrophes out of his dreams and into his compromised reality.

Jordan Hennessy is a thief. The closer she comes to the dream object she is after, the more inextricably she becomes tied to it.

Carmen Farooq-Lane is a hunter. Her brother was a dreamer . . . and a killer. She has seen what dreaming can do to a person. And she has seen the damage that dreamers can do. But that is nothing compared to the destruction that is about to be unleashed. . . .

It's a reread of the first one for me, and first time for the second two - yay! I was worried everyone was going to be majorly ahead of me, but maybe I'm not the only one who's not good at sticking to a TBR lol. Anyway, looking forward to discussing when you guys are ready :D
Chaps 1-15 (view spoiler)[
I read this when it came out which was only 2019 but it feels about six lifetimes ago with the pandemic in between! Basically, I'm surprised by how little I remember. It all has a familiar feel, but I can't remember what's coming next which is fun.

I am just in love with Maggie Stiefvater's prose - I would love to model my writing on hers! It's lyrical without drifting into purple prose territory and it's sumptuous and wonderful to read, just loving it!

I remembered Hennessy and all her doubles dreamed into existence, and I got reminded of the night wash. I hadn't remembered that Ronan had screwed up so much when he stayed with Adam - murder crabs?!? Crazy! But Adam just sending him a text with the amount of money is so cold; I ship them so hard and it hurts when they don't get on.

I do love the focus on Ronan and dreamers and deepening our understanding of what it means to be a dreamer or to be dreamed. Matthew is delightful, and Declan is so interesting. I love that the brothers are so contrasting.

I can't remember why Declan wanted to go to the Faerie Market but I'm in the middle of it, and loving it! Just really enjoying this, can relax into reading because I know she's such a fab writer. :) (hide spoiler)]

lol, I'm so bad at sticking to the schedule for BR. Definitely starting this tomorrow during work though.

Celia wrote: "lol, I'm so bad at sticking to the schedule for BR. Definitely starting this tomorrow during work though."

No worries, I'm awful too lol! Hope you manage to get to it *fingers crossed*

Chapters 16-30 (view spoiler)[
I won't wax lyrical about Maggie Stiefvater's writing style again, but dang is she good! Loving this reread.

I'd forgotten how annoying Parcival is, but how sorry you feel for him too...
And I can't for the life of me remember me whether Bryde came up in the dreamers trilogy or not!

Loads happened in this section - I love the faerie market and getting to know Jordan and Hennessey more (it's funny how Jordan is more of an MC than Hennessey in some ways) and getting little ideas of the others. They become more single traited the more of them there are, like there's not enough personality to go round.

Really loving the interaction between the Lynch brothers. And Adam better be really nice in the next bit, because him sulking or whatever is annoying me lol. (hide spoiler)]

Chapters 30-45 This book is godamned good y'all! :D

(view spoiler)[

I've forgotten enough that it's really fun! I can't remember how the girl with red hair fits in... haven't had any evidence that she's a dreamer or a visionary... I honestly don't remember so I'm looking forward to that reveal!

So glad about Adam and Ronan's reunion, such a cute little birthday surprise and so very Adam to listen to his sociology notes on the motorbike haha. Scary about the thing he scried that was terrifying and IT was terrified of Bryde...

And now Ronan has met Hennessey - well, Jordan so far. I feel so sorry for Hennessey; I did a psychology test thing where we had to set alarms for every 20 minutes throughout the night and it was aaaaawful. That was only for 3 nights, but I learnt to sleep through my alarm lol

Loving this :) (hide spoiler)]

OMG, I love this book! Chapters 46-60 (view spoiler)[

So deliciously dark. I'd forgotten what Hennessey's dream was and that it was connected to what Adam was scrying. And that thing is scared of Bryde... F*ck. Yeah, forgot that totally - although I remembered that it wasn't the copies that were killing her, that's just what she told them. Forgot there had been so many others who'd died...

I love the little snippets we get of other people's lives - Olly and Mags, for example - they're not necessary at all, but they add to the rich tapestry that makes up this wonderful narrative. Seriously.

Poor tortured Declan! I love Ronan but he could be a bit more helpful to his brother on occasions... particularly now Matthew has found out he's a piece of dreamwork. I know he needs to save Hennessey but he's also got to try and talk to Matthew rather than just avoid it all.

And Parsifal - what a strange and twisted thing to happen to your body changing all over timelines like wtf? Now I need to read the next chapter because I left it on a cliffhanger! (hide spoiler)]

OMG, why hasn't this book won the Booker Prize or something? - okay, not the Booker, it's not that kind of book, but it deserves something pretty damn HUGE because it is so amazing and even more amazing than I remembered and I'm really looking forward to talking to you guys about it!

Chaps 61-end (view spoiler)[
Wow, just wow. I'd forgotten about Liliana - so visionaries can live for multiple life times maybe?

The scene at Hennessey's mansion and the fear of what might happen to Matthew was so real. I felt it.

And I'm fricking proud of Hennessy and even more proud of Ronan because he Stepped Up and he's growing into himself and he was the only one who could save her. I loved the scenes in Lindenmere (although I had the same confusion as last time - where did Opal come from? I swear she wasn't in the original quaternary but maybe I have an even worse memory than I thought...). I loved the stories converging, hearing Carmen's voice when they woke up.

I wish Adam had read that text. And I hope Declan and Jordan can protect each other. I want things so badly for people that don't actually exist. (hide spoiler)]

This book is absolute gold dust. I'm scared but excited to start Mister Impossible. Middle books in trilogies can always slump a bit, but Stiefvater's writing is superb and I'm on such a high with it that I don't think it will - please let me be right.

This is a MUST READ for all fantasy fans. So intricate, innovative, emotional, unforgettable, heart-wrenching, dark, and beautiful. I just keep coming back to that word. Beautiful. Beauty.

41% (Through Chapter 31) (view spoiler)[This took a different turn from The Raven Cycle series. I guess I'm surprised by the track that dreamers took, and the fact that it's as common as it seems to be with the fairy markets thing.

Ronan and Declan's relationship also took me by surprise. I get what happened in The Raven King, but that seemed to have more to do with Matthew than anything else.

I like where this is going with Hennessy and Jordan. They're super interesting to me, especially with all the copies. It's interesting that the premise is that Hennessy can only dream of herself. I wonder what the backstory is. (hide spoiler)]

Ellen-Arwen wrote: "chapters 1-15, chapters 15-30"

(view spoiler)[Yeah, I'm annoyed about the Ronan and Adam stuff too. Adam seems so fake right now and tbh his character and his hangups always annoyed me, but lying to everyone in college like, "oh yeah, I have an amazing family who I definitely didn't sue for abuse charges" rubs me the wrong way. That's definitely not going to backfire in his face... and yeah I felt so bad for Ronan in that chapter. (hide spoiler)]

65% (Through chapter 49) (view spoiler)[Okay, I'm interested in knowing who this dreamer is who's supposed to destroy the world. Is it Ronan? More likely Hennessy...

I liked the scene with Ronan and the Hennessy iterations, and learning about different ways that dreamers dream. I'm interested in Ronan's innate knowledge that Jordan is lying, or that there's something wrong in general. Clearly there is, but it's hard to tell what.

Also hoping Jordan and Declan can work past their hangups by the end of the series and maybe, just maybe, get together. (hide spoiler)]

Ellen-Arwen wrote: "chapters 30-45"

(view spoiler)[Yes, Adam and Ronan's reunion was so cute. I may be one of the only readers who didn't love Adam's POV in the first series (at least not as much as Gansey's and definitely not as much as Ronan or Blue), but I really hope he does get a few scenes in this one, especially dealing with the ley line and Harvard at the same time. (hide spoiler)]

Celia wrote: "65% (Through chapter 49) Okay, I'm interested in knowing who this dreamer is who's supposed to destroy the world. Is it Ronan? More likely Hennessy...

I liked the scene with Ronan and the Hennessy..."

Yay, so glad you're reading it - I was going to start Mister Impossible without you but I'll wait now, so much more fun to read together :)

(view spoiler)[I hadn't actually thought about Declan and Jordan getting together PROPERLY. I guess that's my biased mind because I know that Jordan isn't 'real' in the same way. Well, she's very very real (we know her better than Hennessey), but she's different. I guess Declan is used to different so that works!

learning about other dreamers is so much fun - I hope it carries on into book two.

Yeah, you do seem to be in the minority who didn't like Adam's PoV in the first series lol. I definitely hope for more Adam in the next book... I agree that I was kind of annoyed about him lying about his family. I think he's used up my sympathy points lol - it just seems a bit pathetic now (hide spoiler)]

I was worried for a sec because I would have been waitlisted to renew the audio on Libby, but luckily my library has this one on Hoopla as well, so I was able to just switch apps. Love when things like that work out.

82% (Through chapter 64) (view spoiler)[I'm still not sure I understand this whole visionary thing, but it it possible that Neil could have been both a visionary and a dreamer? Or is this new Neil just a dreamt copy that didn't fall asleep...? And what about Declan's biological mother? That's not what I expected... is she not dreamt? Because that would explain... well, I don't actually know what it would explain. Maybe why Declan has no dream qualities?

Declan started to grow on me in the last two books in The Raven Cycle, and I'm very impressed by his development now. Jordan has to tell him about Hennessy at some point though...

As for the Ronan and Hennessy arc, I feel like he shouldn't have been so judgmental of her not being able to control her abilities or not knowing that she could simply not bring things back - what was it, a year and a half since he worked with Kavinsky to learn the exact same things? (hide spoiler)]

Ellen-Arwen wrote: "OMG, I love this book! Chapters 46-60..."

(view spoiler)[Okay, I agree with you that Ronan isn't being a great brother, but I see where he's coming from too. It's not like he can just tell Declan about working with Hennessy, considering Declan's relationship with Jordan (not that Ronan knows about that) and Declan's concern for him. I feel like what Ronan was doing ended up being more important too, and Declan does have to own up to the fact that he was the one controlling that secret. (hide spoiler)]

FINISHED - (view spoiler)[This one was really interesting. I like what happened when they converged. I'm still a bit confused by that ending, though. I had to listen to it twice, did they just leave the dream? What happened to Carmen and the others?

Interesting that they finally met Bryde, I didn't expect that would happen in this book.

I'm so rooting for Jordan in this one. (hide spoiler)]

Ellen-Arwen wrote: "61 - end"

If it helps, Opal was (view spoiler)[the girl who aided Ronan's dreams in the earlier books. She keeps asking Ronan to "take me with you" in his dreams and Ronan tries not to, but one time she accidentally comes through, and then Ronan has to care for her. Up until the end of The Raven King, he calls her Orphan Girl, I don't think it's actually until the epilogue that she gets the name. There's a short follow-up story called Opal that takes place between the events of The Raven King and Call Down the Hawk from her POV with her experience as a dream thing. (hide spoiler)]

- 20% (to ch. 6) - (view spoiler)[It's interesting that we're seeing a lot more of Jordan and Hennessy in contrast this time. I'm curious to see where this will go, especially with the Boudica meeting. (hide spoiler)]

50% (view spoiler)[Loving Hennessy and the voice Will Patton does for her in this one (hide spoiler)]

62% I am finding this one a little harder to follow on audio, there's so much going on. (view spoiler)[There's something distinctly different about Ronan from the original series and Ronan from this one. He has far more ties to his family, almost as if his ties with Gansey didn't exist. It's kind of disappointing. (hide spoiler)]

Celia wrote: " - 20% (to ch. 6) - [spoilers removed]"

Woohoo, here I am super super late! Thanks for the info on Opal and all your other comments - I'm so behind that they got missed in my notifications :( I'm reading this one and still finding it confusing so I feel for you listening!

Chapters 1 -10 (view spoiler)[
Yeah, I love seeing Jordan and Hennessy separately. And I'm still very intrigued by Bryde - obviously he's super powerful, but I want to know more about him! The scene in the diner where they were eating into oblivion was revolting but very effective...

On another note, I don't think we're going to see any of the others from the first series properly which I'm kind of sad about. We get mentions of Adam - we might see him again I suppose; Gansey gets called on for info (and Blue's there) but that's it. I'm missing them I guess.

Struggling to keep a track of all the storylines... (hide spoiler)]

Chapters 10-12 Sorry, only a short bit but I wanted to say something! (view spoiler)[Two awesome chapters! Really intrigued about the sweetmetals. I wonder what they'll have to pay if it's not in money... And Jordan is making herself quite vulnerable by asking so many questions. She knows about Matthew - so is she going to contact Declan? And I want the answer to her question too - how many things/people are actually dreamed? How many dreamers are there?? I've never thought so big before, this is completely splitting the world open.

And now Bryde has added a third dreamer to their little crusade. I could feel Ronan's hurt - he wanted to be special, to be the only whom Bryde had visited but who knows what Bryde is up to? But the feeling that you're special - which Ronan has had for various reasons all his life - being taken away, even in little bits, is seriously painful.

Interested by Bryde's description of them as a poet, a swordsman, a smith and a wizard. And then 'This is about your mirrors and her art and his feelings and my weapons.'
Obviously, Bryde has to be the swordsman for weapons.
Feelings - is Ronan the poet?
Art - Jordan the smith?
Mirrors - Rhiannon the wizard?

There are other ways you can interpret it, and for some reason I'm intrigued by this small detail! (hide spoiler)]

Gonna try and be back on track now, sorry for leaving you for so long. I haven't really been able to read (stupid unwell brain) but I'm pushing through and this is good - although it's sort of hard work at the moment. Missed you Celia! xx

Ellen-Arwen wrote: "Celia wrote: " - 20% (to ch. 6) - [spoilers removed]"

Woohoo, here I am super super late! Thanks for the info on Opal and all your other comments - I'm so beh..."

Oh, I never thought about the (view spoiler)[poet, swordsman, smith, and wizard thing. I kind of glossed over the scene with Rhiannon because of what happened after... (hide spoiler)]

70% (view spoiler)[I'm glad Declan and Jordan are back together, really pulling for them to work out. I wonder if there's anything valid about Adam and Declan's fears about Bryde and the ley lines. It really is interesting when you think about the scope of the dreamers throughout history the way Adam's doing. The idea of recreating dream monsters that are the monsters of mythology is fascinating. (hide spoiler)]

90% (view spoiler)[Honestly hadn't noticed til that last scene how much of a follower Ronan was portrayed to be, but yeah it's true. Also, go Hennessy for stepping away from the pull of Bryde. I definitely don't trust that guy. Ronan hasn't been my favorite character lately either.

If Carmen and Lilianna think that Hennessy can dream something to stop the Ley Line, but Hennessy can't dream anything but the lace... does that point to the lace stopping the Ley Line? (hide spoiler)]

FINISHED (view spoiler)[Okay, so Ronan dreamt Bryde to be a dreamer... and everything after that was kind of fuzzy, I may need to go back and reread that ending. (hide spoiler)] I'm surprised this was the first one I had trouble listening to with everything going on in The Raven Boys and this series.

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RESTARTING JANUARY 9TH, 2023

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Ooh, the 9th - great. That's Monday, I will have finished Aurora's End (hopefully tonight if I can stay awake) and read something else in between :)

Looking forward to it Celia!

Celia, I'm about to start this and I know it hasn't been long since we read book two but it was HELLA confusing for me, so I found a summary in case this is helpful:

https://maggiestiefvater.substack.com...

Not perfect, but it gets the gist so I don't feel like quite so stupid lol.

Prologue (view spoiler)[ MIGHTY confused! o_O Was Aurora called Mor at one point? And I've got confused too between Cabeswater, Lindemere and Greywarren - is Greywarren new? Why won't my brain work? *cries quietly* (hide spoiler)]

Chapters 1-10 (view spoiler)[
Even with reminding myself of the ending of book 2, I still took a while to remember what was happening. Somehow, the key info that HENNESSEY had destroyed the leylines had stripped my mind...

So, massive intrigue as to why Matthew and Jordan are still awake! Also, I really want to know what kind of scale it is that dreamed people/animal/objects are falling asleep - because I really think there would be some more international crisis! Are there really that many dreamers?

Loved how ballsy was Bryde going in to steal the Klimt. Classic. But is everyone left awake still dreamers? I thought that for a hot second when he got into the gallery, but that makes no sense.

Oh Adam, don't break my heart. We just want you and Ronan to be happy... He was angry and confused and made some shitty decisions but he does love you.

I'd also somehow forgotten that Carmen and Lilliana are an item which is weird/surprisingly unweird with Lilliana being decades older than Farooq.

Good so far (hide spoiler)]

Anyway, I really need to concentrate on this book otherwise I will lose myself!

Ellen-Arwen wrote: "Celia, I'm about to start this and I know it hasn't been long since we read book two but it was HELLA confusing for me, so I found a summary in case this is helpful:

https://maggiestiefvater.subs..."

Thanks for this, it helped a lot, actually. Glad to know you were as confused as I was.

Ellen-Arwen wrote: "Prologue [spoilers removed]

If this helps, (view spoiler)[Cabeswater was the original dreamt forest that sacrificed itself for Gansey in the original series. Lindenmyr is Ronan's new dreamt forest after Cabeswater's death. Again, a lot of this shows up in Opal which I would definitely recommend reading as it might clear up some of the confusion. Greywaren is Ronan's title as a dreamer, and I guess in this book we're finally going to find out what that means. (hide spoiler)]

Celia wrote: "Ellen-Arwen wrote: "Prologue [spoilers removed]

If this helps, [spoilers removed]"

That really helps too! I'm glad we can muddle through our confusion together lol.

EDIT: and, yeah, I need to read Opal. A lot seems to happen in that! I remember it was really hard to get hold of for a while but I think that was just limited copies when it first came out.

Chapters 10-20
Okay, I'm getting into this more! Celia - it will be okay! It is confusing but I remember why I love Stiefvater's writing so much too :) Apologies in advance because I think I'm going to write quite a lot of unstructured thoughts... oops.
(view spoiler)[

So, yeah. It's all still massively confusing and there are, like, six different plots and two-three different timelines but I'm remembering why I like her work. It's so goddamn beautiful. And unusual - I can't imagine anyone else writing this. I can't imagine how she wrote this herself; it's otherwordly in a different way than standard fantasy.

Okay, so what's happened? (This is as much for my benefit as anything else lol, need to keep track of things).

Jordan and Declan are - happy? - together. I think. When Ronan witnessed Declan coming home to her and saying he was going to take her out and then propose, it was just wonderful. I like Declan (I know most people seem to hate him); he's a decent enough guy who is just trying to do his best in the world (most of the time). And it doesn't matter that they didn't do that because it was the feel of it that Ronan got.

IF Ronan is getting true visions through the sweetmetals - which I think he is. But there's always a possibility... Just thought I'd put that there.

Wow, Matthew has woken up... angry? Yes, but also no. It's like he's too likeable to really be perceived as angry which must be SO FRUSTRATING if you're angry and you want an argument but your essential being is so inherently likeable that people forgive you. (Did that make sense?) Also, very relieved that he had some idea of how to drive. Really interested what him and Bryde are going to talk about... Although Matthew could also have talked to Jordan which would have been a lot less hassle lol.

Hennessy - wow, exciting stuff here too! She's made a sweet metal before, and it looks like she's done it again with her flashcard to Farooq, but inadvertently. Was it because she had to scrunch 'all the monogue' into a crude picture and a few words drawn in a time limit? So she had to really think about the feeling and what it meant, and perhaps sweet metals can't be intentionally made? I was wondering that. (Also, I love that the dead mouse has a gold tail. That's so rockstar).

And Ronan and Adam - yaay! I'm so happy that Adam scried into the 'sweet metal sea' and found Ronan, and then worked out who he was beneath the lace exterior. And I loved the way Stiefvater wrote that plan for a thesis which was such a beautiful way of expressing feelings. And they're together again. (for now). Which is the important bit.

All the moderators being asleep in a storage crate is hella creepy. They can't be dreams, surely? And I didn't expect Lilliana to be a dream - does this mean all visionaries are dreams? Carmen thought back to Parsifal but I'm not sure whether she was speculating or not.

Wow. SO MUCH happens in such a short space of time. This is actually what I would deem a 'difficult' read because of the complexities of all these concepts, the intricacies of the world, the little bits that connect things - and the multiple storylines (haven't even mentioned Mor and all that going on with the mother!)

So much happening, enjoying it, just want to keep it it in my head. (hide spoiler)]

Sorry for the rambling, I wrote tons but it's partly so I can read this over if I get confused... although everything I've written is pretty all over the place lol.

Hope you enjoy it too!

23% (through ch. 9)
I am enjoying this so far. It seems to make a little more sense than Mister Impossible so far. (view spoiler)[Okay, what happened to Ronan? He wasn't dreamt. Did Bryde take too much from him? And why did it take Bryde that long to fall asleep?

I hate what's happening with Adam so far in this book. It's the same kind of things that annoyed me about him in the original series, that he is so single-minded about things and has to pretend everything is okay all the time.

It's sad to know about the Ley Line since it was such a large component of the first book. I have no idea what the conclusion will be about that and the dreamers, but I hope it can stay intact. (hide spoiler)]

Celia wrote: "23% (through ch. 9) (view spoiler)[
I am enjoying this so far. It seems to make a little more sense than Mister Impossible so far. Okay, what happened to Ronan? He wasn't dreamt. Did Bryde take too much from him? ..." (hide spoiler)]



I'm definitely finding this much better/more comprehensible than Mr Impossible. Complex storylines are good but not to the point where you just don't follow it at all... that was a hard read.

And I'm so sorry for writing so much earlier - I had no idea I'd rambled so much until I looked back at it now :O Little bit shocking that I wrote all that lol.

Anyway, continuing (with less verbosity) Chaps 21-30
(view spoiler)[

Still really happy about Ronan and Adam.

And now I remember about Mor - she's only Declan's mother, right? Aurora is Ronan and Matthew... doesn't have a mother :(

I was getting ready to be very angry when they found Declan's car that Matthew had stolen at the place the bomb went off - sooooo relieved that he's okay. And Bryde I guess. But yeah - why did Bryde manage to stay awake longer? - good question! And HOW does he have so much power? Because Ronan dreamed him like that?

I know Henessey said she can't just 'fix' the leyline but surely they have to... I mean, that's gonna be the aim of the book, right? Their quest! It can't be killed forever; that would be heartbreaking. Like you said, it's a massive part of BOTH series...

Anyway, one BIG confusion - isn't Nathan dead??? (hide spoiler)]

Chap 31-35 (view spoiler)[

It all makes so much more sense now! Ronan is a dreamed object as well - omg. The brothers Lynch - not so much. Mor is pretty terrifying... Anyway, THAT'S why Ronan is asleep! No one alive knows that he's a dream. How did he stay awake before, after Niall died? Because he was a dreamer himself?

Pretty proud of my girl Hennessey for bossing the Lace around! And I love that the two least huggy people in the world end up hugging and it makes things better. Hugs are often the answer.

And sad about Liliana :( But... it makes sense. I know Carmen said it wasn't selfish to turn things out but in a way it was - not that I'm blaming her. And interesting that that's how visionaries are made - from dreamt things.

This book is so complicated but I ACTUALLY UNDERSTAND AND AM ENJOYING IT. That is so rare for me. (hide spoiler)]

Chap 36-42 I'm doing this in little bits; I was trying to wait for you but I can't at the moment, I'm so sorry!

(view spoiler)[

I can't believe I didn't mention the whole Declan-being-shot thing in chapters 20-30! There is just SO MUCH in this book that it's hard to keep track of everything. It's interesting; some authors would have made this into a much longer novel and strung out all the storylines but this is SUPER compact, which makes it both hard, and satisfying to read. (And hard to put down when you get into it).

It seems cruel to give Declan Aurora and Niall's memories - but, then, since he's Declan, it's probably what he wanted. Knowledge, power, control. Where are Fenninan and Mor taking him??

The memories of Ronan as a child are horrible from Mor's perspective. that he's an it, how calculatedly she can talk about destroying him. I'm glad that Niall had another version of her that was loving. And that he was so loving himself - I hadn't really remembered that, or maybe we've never been shown before.

But where are they taking Declan now? And what's going on with Jordan? And Matthew and Bryde? So many things to happen!! (hide spoiler)]

Chapters 42-50 Just stopping very quickly to write something as I'm so close to the end - I'm sorry I didn't wait for you :( SO MUCH BETTER THAN MISTER IMPOSSIBLE :D

(view spoiler)[

Jesus F Christ. Greywaren is a forest but it's way WAY more than a forest and it's also Ronan and how did the name already exist before Ronan was dreamed into existence? Are there lots of these 'things' that have his kind of power and Mor and Niall just willed one into the body of a child (which Niall put emotions into because it was too scary otherwise)?

This is such a mindf*ck.
I was internally screaming when I heard that Nathan had Adam and Jordan. And the end of the world is... happening? (I really left it on a cliffhanger lol). And Bryde conjured up his time bomb ball things but his power is NOTHING to Ronan's. Or Nathan's apparently.

I still don't get how Nathan wasn't shot the last time. Assuming that he really has been shot this time.

Gah, this is beautiful and confusing and fricking epic.

Oh, I loved the descriptions of their different styles of dreaming: Nathan in exactitude; Hennessy in art/colour and Ronan in emotion. And I also like how we're getting filled in a little on the time between school ending and Adam going off to Harvard.

But Ronan is... like, almost a GOD. But not a God. A universe. I don't even know. Awesome - in the original meaning of the word.

(even though I don't totally 'get' all of it, much to my shame) (hide spoiler)]

And FINISHED (view spoiler)[

Well, that was surprisingly tragedy-free at the end! Hennessey saved Adam, Matthew found his way back (following Bryde's sage advice), the world didn't end, Jordan and Declan got married, Blue and Gansey are still part of their lives, we got cameos of Henry and the psychics from Fox Way, Carmen survived...

It was a good ending. I am one more for tragic endings in general, but MY GOD, do these characters deserve it!

Really really enjoyed this one :) (although I wish Ronan and Adam would actually LIVE together but maybe that's too much to ask lol) (hide spoiler)]

Celia, this is DEFINITELY the best in the trilogy. Well, in my opinion at least. I almost lost it with Mister Impossible but it's worth it and I really hope you enjoy it as much as I have done. It is complicated and confusing but the right amount. She's worked her magic.

66% (through chapter 31)

(view spoiler)[Okay, I kind of suspected Liliana would have to die, if only to move the Carmen / Hennessy arc along. And Matthew... I have this weird hangup that if a death in the middle of the story (especially fantasy) isn't actually seen by at least one character, it probably didn't happen... so I had a feeling he would turn out to be fine. I wasn't sure about Bryde, but I guess I'm glad he made it out too.

I'm happy Ronan and Adam are coming back into things, and that Adam is finally realizing this new version of himself is actually not what people want to see.

Then there's the whole Nathan thing. One thing I love about Maggie Stiefvater's writing is that she totally comes out of left field with these things that you maybe, possibly could have seen coming if the story was much less than it was, but instead you have to piece everything together and so you forget about certain plot holes until they hit you in the face like BOOM! We actually killed a dreamt copy. I'm still waiting for the ball to drop like that on the whole Mor and Niall thing as well, since we still don't know how or why Aurora is a dreamt copy of Mor (or who the other Niall is), although I'd guess it has to do with the whole not having emotions thing. (hide spoiler)]

Celia wrote: "66% (through chapter 31)
So glad you're enjoying it too! :D And I totally agree with you about Maggie Stiefvater's writing - just superb, and so... unusual. I don't know anyone else who writes likes this, and it's just beautiful. You definitely forget about the plot holes - but she doesn't!
(view spoiler)[
Okay, I kind of suspected Liliana would have to die, if only to move the Carmen / Hennessy arc along. And Matthew... I have this weird hangup that if a death in the middl..." (hide spoiler)]

85% (through chapter 45) (view spoiler)[Okay, so Ronan is the dreamt manifestation of the thing in the forest... is that forest Cabeswater / Lyndinmyr before it had a name? And Mor wanted to get rid of Ronan, despite the fact that she was the one who wanted to bring out this manifestation... and yeah I agree giving Declan the memories was an interesting choice.

I really enjoyed the way Hennessy discovered her own power and how despite being a dreamer, she's as powerful awake as Ronan is asleep. She saves him in a very similar manner to how he saved her at the beginning, and I love that this contrast doesn't end in a romantic relationship.

How did Nathan get Adam and Jordan? (hide spoiler)]

FINISHED (view spoiler)[I love how this one ended. The ending was a little confusing to me, but honestly not too bad. I love that Hennessy reconstructed Adam.

The epilogue was absolutely beautiful. I loved how we got to see everyone from the prior trilogy and this one as "friends who might well have been family." I was surprised how Mor and the Newfinian made a reappearance, but it does make sense that they became caretakers of the Barns. I definitely cried a bit. (hide spoiler)]

The ending of the audiobook features a nice interview with Maggie Stiefvater interviewed by Will Patton the audiobook reader, talking about dreams and exploring magic as an adult. She also mentions that a lot of readers talk about him at book signings and use his audio readings of these two series on 40-hour road trips across the country. I'm a little disappointed that Patton isn't the reader for any of her other books (according to Wikipedia,), although I don't know if I'll be able to read them since they won't feature the same cast anyway.

I'm also really glad I read this trilogy so soon after the original series. It's the kind of story that you need to follow across both.

And yes I do agree this was the best of the trilogy.

Yay, so glad you enjoyed it! I'm also super jealous I doesn't get to hear the interview because that sounds really interesting - I wonder if you can access it anywhere else? I'll have a look...
(view spoiler)[
I loved Hennessey and Ronan's different ways of being powerful too - and definitely good there was no romance there, that would've been dreadful. *shudders*

I'm still a bit confused about Nathan getting Adam and Jordan I have to say... Well, it would be unlike this trilogy if I'd understood everything lol!

The epilogue was lovely wasn't it? I was definitely most surprised by Mor and the new Finian - that as unexpected! It was such a fitting and and I definitely enjoyed this one more (I struggled so much with Mr Impossible) (hide spoiler)]

Thanks so much for reading this with me, I've really enjoyed having a buddy and it's been a real pleasure. Thank you<3

Ellen-Arwen wrote: "Yay, so glad you enjoyed it! I'm also super jealous I doesn't get to hear the interview because that sounds really interesting - I wonder if you can access it anywhere else? I'll have a look...

I ..."

Honestly I'd check your library for a digital audio copy just to hear the interview, I think it's worth it. Although I think Stiefvater has a fairly big presence on Spotify with podcasts and some Ronan Lynch vibes playlists (I need to check those out) as well, it might be worth looking there.

Celia wrote: "Ellen-Arwen wrote: "Yay, so glad you enjoyed it! I'm also super jealous I doesn't get to hear the interview because that sounds really interesting - I wonder if you can access it anywhere else? I'l..."

Thank you, I'll definitely check - and didn't know about her podcasts either! Lots to look forward to :)

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RESTARTING AUGUST 15TH, 2023


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running behind. I'm finishing up two books, plan to start tomorrow!

Chapter 15
(view spoiler)[I really feel bad for Declan because all the responsibility of the things his father did fell on his shoulders but I also hate that he constantly lies to Ronan because it's happening to Ronan and I feel like the information would help him more (hide spoiler)]

Trisha wrote: "running behind. I'm finishing up two books, plan to start tomorrow!"

No problem!

Chapter 26
(view spoiler)[ I completely forgot about this and I don't remember if those two people that look like his parents are his parents and what is happening (hide spoiler)]

this one is slow going for me and I'm not sure why. It took me two days to get to chapter 15. yikes

(view spoiler)[ I agree, I feel really bad for Declan but everything wouldn't be on only his shoulders if he'd stop lying and bring Ronan in. It would help Ronan too

I wonder what's going on with Matthew. He seems very. . .distracted

and what's this Bryde guy's end game? why is he contact Ronan? does Ronan dream the fire into reality? Or Hennessy? Crazy that she's dreaming herself over and over into reality. I don't know which is worse - duplicating yourself or dreaming up crazy stuff that might kill you when you wake up.

and the prophet. That guys sounds like a nightmare. still don't know who she's looking for and who is going to end the world (hide spoiler)]

Trisha wrote: "

this one is slow going for me and I'm not sure why. It took me two days to get to chapter 15. yikes


It ok I'm really this slower then I would like too.
(view spoiler)[ Bryde gives me the creeps that I really hope whatever is going on with Matthew he's going to be okay I don't think Declan or Ronan will survive anything bad happen to Matthew (hide spoiler)]