Hello, bookworms!
Last review of 2022, can you believe we are already here? This year has been very weird for me and I have no idea what to expect from 2023. At least, I have some new year's resolutions already thought out and I will be sharing them very soon, but aside from the bookish/hobby real, I am really struggling to see my future clearly. But anyways.
Today I am here to share with you my review of Seasonal Fears by Seanan McGuire, book two in the Alchemical Journeys series, which was one of my most anticipated releases of 2022, and the only one I have not reviewed yet. I kept procrastinating reading it, and it is in fact the last novel I finished this year. After this, I've read two mangas to round up my Goodreads Challenge number to a multiple of 5, and that was that.
Without any further ado, let's get the last review of the year (can I get a wahoo?) started!
About the book
Title: Seasonal Fears
Series: Alchemical Journeys #2
Author: Seanan McGuire
Publisher: Tordotcom Publishing
Publication date: 3 May 2022
Pages: 496
Plot, as stated on Goodreads
Melanie has a destiny, though it isn't the one everyone assumes it to be. She's delicate; she's fragile; she's dying. Now, truly, is the winter of her soul. Harry doesn't want to believe in destiny, because that means accepting the loss of the one person who gives his life meaning, who brings summer to his world. So, when a new road is laid out in front of them—a road that will lead through untold dangers toward a possible lifetime together—walking down it seems to be the only option. But others are following behind, with violence in their hearts. It looks like Destiny has a plan for them, after all…. "One must maintain a little bit of summer even in the middle of winter." —Thoreau
My rating: 2 out of 5 stars
Review
Before I start the review, I would like to talk about the marketing of this book. The publisher is selling this as a companion to Middlegame, which basically should mean you can read either book independently; however, while you could just read Middlegame as a standalone (which is my personal recommendation), I don't feel like Seasonal Fears can be read without having read the former. Or, you could, but you would miss a lot of context.
That said, don't bother reading this one, because it was abismally boring. I was watching a video on YouTube the other day and Kayla from @booksandlala said that with this series you have to like the characters to like the book, and I have to agree with her. I loved Roger and Doger, but Melanie and Harry… My God, I hated them so much.
I know I always say the same thing over and over again, but characters truly are the most important thing to me and hating both of the main ones is not a good start. I only cared for Jack Frost — yes, you read that right — and she was the only thing that kept me reading.
The main issue I had with Melanie and Harry was that they are exactly the type of character I usually hate in books, but with the aggravating factor that they were a couple. I wanted to slap them repeatedly in the face at every line and every time their relationship was mentioned. When Roger and Dodger finally made their appearance I almost cried from joy, because it made me rememeber how much I love Middlegame. I also almost cried from saddness, because it made me realise how much I was hating Seasonal Fears.
I am giving this 2 stars, despite how much I hated the characters and how boring was the plot, because the idea was good (not surprising with Seanan McGuire, who is very creative) and the writing style was as charming as ever. Lucky lady, miss Seanan.
As I was saying, the plot was extremely boring to me, because I couldn't care less about what happened to Mel and Harry and because it is a road trip story, mostly. I am not a big fan of road trip stories (*coff coff* Wayward Son *coff coff*), with some notable exceptions, when I care about the characters or their relationship or something.
To be honest, I don't have anything more to say about this book, other that it was a huge disappointment, and I would preferred to end the year with something different. I have no idea whether the plan is to add more books to this series, or if this is going to be a duology. The only thing that is important to me is that Harry and Mel won't be the main character of an hypotetical third book, and that's enough. Because, of course, I will be reading the third book, if it actually is going to exist. Who do you think you are talking to.
However, I do not recommend picking up Alchemical Journeys thinking of it as a series. You should just read Middlegame as a standalone, because that book is a masterpiece and the plot of the first book is actually concluded by the end of the last chapter. Don't be fooled by these expanding series, I've got your backs and I am warning you.
Anyways, this is going to be it for today and for this year. Thank you for sticking up with me for all this time, I hope to see you in 2023 as well. I have a lot of fun things planned and I'd love for you to be with me through them. If you want to follow me, I am @lapetitepritt almost everywhere else, and if I am not you can just ask me and I'll give you my handle.
I will see you soon with the usual end-start of the year articles, with my 2022 stats, best, worst and plans for 2023. Happy new year, everyone!
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