Lair of Dreams
by Libba Bray
To be published by Little, Brown
on August 25, 2015
Source: ARC giveaway from the publisher at BEA
My take: I got The Diviners at BEA 2012 and was beyond excited. But then, as the summer progressed, I kept looking at its hefty 592 pages and feeling ... intimidated. But I made a great choice: I downloaded the audiobook (which is excellent, narrated by January LaVoy) and listened to all 18 hours and 14 minutes of it.
In my review of The Diviners, I call it a "hefty historical suspense story featuring a large cast of characters, a great deal of historical detail, and a tricky 'intersecting lives' kind of plot structure, in which a bunch of different storylines slowly merge into one .. it takes some patience before all the various strands of the plot begin to weave together."
In Lair of Dreams, a lot of that weaving was already done, and things really begin to come together. I found this book a lot easier to jump into. Many of the characters were familiar friends, but there was also an intriguing new character, Ling Chan. She's half Irish, half Chinese, and shares a special talent with a returning character. Ling is a great addition to the story. Evie is back, with her slang a bit toned down, and seems headed for a love triangle. (It's also possible that she sees a love rectangle brewing and wants no part of it.)
Lair of Dreams also features a new villain, an intriguing supernatural character with a fascinating backstory. I really liked this aspect of the story.
With this second book, I feel like this series has really come together in a way that pleases me and makes me very excited to see how things wrap up. Yes, these books are long, but if you like historical fiction and supernatural stories, you should definitely give these books a try!
by Libba Bray
To be published by Little, Brown
on August 25, 2015
Source: ARC giveaway from the publisher at BEA
Synopsis from Goodreads: After a supernatural showdown with a serial killer, Evie O'Neill has outed herself as a Diviner. Now that the world knows of her ability to "read" objects, and therefore, read the past, she has become a media darling, earning the title, "America's Sweetheart Seer." But not everyone is so accepting of the Diviners' abilities... Meanwhile, mysterious deaths have been turning up in the city, victims of an unknown sleeping sickness. Can the Diviners descend into the dreamworld and catch a killer?
My take: I got The Diviners at BEA 2012 and was beyond excited. But then, as the summer progressed, I kept looking at its hefty 592 pages and feeling ... intimidated. But I made a great choice: I downloaded the audiobook (which is excellent, narrated by January LaVoy) and listened to all 18 hours and 14 minutes of it.
In my review of The Diviners, I call it a "hefty historical suspense story featuring a large cast of characters, a great deal of historical detail, and a tricky 'intersecting lives' kind of plot structure, in which a bunch of different storylines slowly merge into one .. it takes some patience before all the various strands of the plot begin to weave together."
In Lair of Dreams, a lot of that weaving was already done, and things really begin to come together. I found this book a lot easier to jump into. Many of the characters were familiar friends, but there was also an intriguing new character, Ling Chan. She's half Irish, half Chinese, and shares a special talent with a returning character. Ling is a great addition to the story. Evie is back, with her slang a bit toned down, and seems headed for a love triangle. (It's also possible that she sees a love rectangle brewing and wants no part of it.)
Lair of Dreams also features a new villain, an intriguing supernatural character with a fascinating backstory. I really liked this aspect of the story.
With this second book, I feel like this series has really come together in a way that pleases me and makes me very excited to see how things wrap up. Yes, these books are long, but if you like historical fiction and supernatural stories, you should definitely give these books a try!
I loved Diviners and I was eager to start Lair of Dreams but I kind of just stopped reading it 200 pages in. It's not even that the book isn't good so far, I just don't feel the motivation to continue because it's such a big book and I keep on getting intimidated. I hope I actually manage to finish the book sometime before the end of the month!!!
ReplyDeleteI am really glad to see that you enjoyed this one, Jen! I like that things are finally coming together! Although there are supposed to be 3 more books so I feel like we still have a lot of awesomness in store for us! :)
Rashika @ The Social Potato
I didn't realize there were three more books - that's a whole lotta pages - but this one sped by for me so I'm on board!
DeleteGreat review! It's been ages since I read the Diviners so I worry I'll not remember the characters all that well. This sounds stellar though.
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't seem like it would be practical to re-read the first book. I have the worst series amnesia ever and I was okay!
DeleteHaven't read the first one yet, I'm feeling - as you say - a bit intimidated. I have read her before, and she can be very thorough in establishing worlds and characters alike. I think a special mainframe is required before picking up a book by her :) Lovely review.
ReplyDeleteYes - she lays a lot of groundwork in the first book and that made the second - for me at least - easier to read
DeleteOh I love Libba Bray's diversity! Ling sounds great! :) Also, you listened to the audiobook for The Diviners? I'll have to listen to a sample of that, I would love to hear Evie's voice! :)
ReplyDeleteIs the villain as creepy as Naughty John? I really want to reread The Diviners, maybe the audiobook will do.
The diversity is a great aspect of this book and I love that it's true to the period. I thought the audiobook was phenomenal!
DeleteI was so intimidated by the size of this book (& then it's a series on top of it! lol) Not for me and my limited attention span.
ReplyDeleteKaren @For What It's Worth
I just couldn't find time to read the first so the audio worked great for me!
DeleteI have not even heard of this series. It sounds fantastic! Great review!
ReplyDeleteI really like the blend of historical fiction with paranormal!
DeleteI actually enjoy reading thick books, and I was gonna pick up the Diviners, but then I decided to wait until the sequel was out. This book sounds really good! Historical fiction and supernatural stories seems like a unique mix. Thanks for the review!
ReplyDeleteWell now is a good time to get started even if there will be either two or three more books!
DeleteGreat to hear that the series is coming together well
ReplyDeleteSounds absolutely amazing Jen! I love how this one weaves everything together because there was a big back story in the first book. I just received this one this week and I'm looking forward to reading it!
ReplyDeleteI'm so excited for this one! (Though I definitely need to a refresher on The Diviners, haha). Glad to hear the story is really coming together! Thanks for the review (:
ReplyDeleteI can't belive I still haven't read The Diviners! I'm so glad you enjoyed this one, Jen! Need to read them soon!
ReplyDeleteI agree - it certainly was a hefty book, but I never got bored - Libba Bray's prose is simply, well, divine! (pardon the pun). There are two more books in the series, btw - the suspense has been amped up so much, I'm so excited to see where the story goes.
ReplyDelete