effloress's reviews
815 reviews

This filled me with a despair so dark...I can no longer navigate to find firm ground to stand on. I think I'll just allow myself the next few hours to simmer in this static dread. Be cautious if you are a person with (less palatable) mental illnesses going into this book. It may touch nerves too raw to soothe, too close to home.

3.5 stars! I really enjoyed the overall story, however, I was much more invested during the first half of the book and found myself becoming less interested in the second half during the trial.

I am genuinely shocked at how gritty and raw this story became! The themes that are present here are exceptionally profound for a "children's" story. This second installment had me gripped from start to finish. Just, dang. Taken by surprise!

Unfortunately for me, this was very underwhelming. The intersection of characters, when revealed, seemed banal and uninteresting. The author was able to spin some beautiful imagery alongside impactful portraits of characters who are weighed down by grief and pain, but all of this appeared dulled within the confines of (what I felt was) a plot lacking in satisfactory suspense and a satisfying conclusion.

The very first thing I thought to do after finishing this masterpiece was to saunter with tear streaked cheeks over to my windowsill where I could sit and softly seize hold of all that was billowing inside of me. Gazing into my garden, I serenely drank in the sight of each and every flower brightly proclaiming its life amidst verdant puffs of grass. The vernal sun cast warmth upon my cheeks, panes of glass reflecting the blue clarity of the sky within my eyes.

I am left with so much inside of me to say, and yet, I find that words cannot illustrate the force of sublimity this trilogy has left me floating within. I am unsure if I will ever be able to find another work of fiction that will "surpass" the misborn trilogy for me.

I spent many years of my own life feeling as though I were ravaged by hemalurgic spikes, perverted and puppeted beneath the malevolent hands of psychosis and expectation. Oftentimes like a tineye... living with the raw, intrusive consequences of burning their metal indefinitely. Fiction (fantasy in particular) has aided me in ways much like the mists aided Vin during moments of clarity. Breathing strength into me during the calamitous ticks of a clock where I could taste the mouth of ruin fatally biting into me. Moribund hands reaching outward in a desperate tremble to discover a strength that already has come when called from within. Perhaps this makes little sense when explained and not felt, however, I wish only to say that this trilogy has given me such a profound sense of awe. I feel full. I feel at peace. I feel the world around me.

Wow, what an unsettling journey that was...I loved it. Few books succeed in evoking dread within me, however, this book had dread worms writhing beneath my skin the entire time. The subtle intimacy the author was able to foster via offering a glimpse into the ways each of the characters trauma manifested in their adulthood was *chefs kiss*. The pacing of this book also worked very well for me. A slow burning atmosphere with sudden influxes of shock felt very much like playing a game with unexpected jump scares. I normally am not much a fan of cult books. The Children of Red Peak has certainly changed that for me.