Come Tumbling Down

COME TUMBLING DOWN (Wayward Children #5)

Written by Seanan McGuire

Published by Tor, January 7th, 2020

My star rating – 4.5 stars

THE SYNOPSIS:

When Jack left Eleanor West’s School for Wayward Children she was carrying the body of her deliciously deranged sister–whom she had recently murdered in a fit of righteous justice–back to their home on the Moors.

But death in their adopted world isn’t always as permanent as it is here, and when Jack is herself carried back into the school, it becomes clear that something has happened to her. Something terrible. Something of which only the maddest of scientists could conceive. Something only her friends are equipped to help her overcome.

Eleanor West’s “No Quests” rule is about to be broken. Again. Find it on Goodreads

MY REVIEW:

The Wayward Children series is one of my favourite series of all time. I had never really read a portal fantasy before this series and it made me a huge fan! The only problem with this series? Book two……. I didn’t like that one (ok, I may have thrown the word hate around a few times lol). There was something off about that book and I can’t place my finger on it. I don’t know if it was the characters, Jack and Jill, or if it was the atmosphere difference – either way, I didn’t like it. So when I found out that this book focused on the same two characters I was more than a little apprehensive. Turns out – this book TOTALLY redeemed their story line!

I honestly think that one of the reasons why I liked this book so much more than book 2 was that they had more character development. In the second book they were little girls who had just found their doorway. They were dealing with the pressures of their parents to be who they wanted them to be, and now, they were on their own and allowed to decide their own personalities. If you’ve read the book then you know they both chose very different paths. Jill chose to be with the “master” who was a vampire in hopes that she would one day be a vampire herself. Jack, on the other hand, chose to work with a mad scientist of sorts and suck in as much knowledge as possible. Jill was the girly girl type with pretty clothes and taking care of herself. Jack was more of the masculine type and didn’t care about appearances.

Now, in theory, all of those things should have been interesting to me. It was I guess. But it somehow fell flat and didn’t really invest me in their lives. But this one did…… go figure. I think that it’s because they’re older in this book and know what there was to gain or lose by being back in this world. There was more passion and drive for the lives they could have in this world. Being back in the normal world made them realize just how much they loved their lives behind their doorway. They cared more for the people they surrounded themselves with and would stop at nothing to live the lives they were destined to. The intensity behind their emotions is what took this one to the next level.

What was missing was the world building. I’ve come to LOVE every single world that Seanan McGuire crafts. Give me all the info dumping please! I love reading what the sky looks like, the foliage, the food, the clothes – all of it! Part of the draw that this series has is learning about all the worlds that lie behind these magical doorways. Since we were visiting a world for the second time, a lot of that was missing.

This book was dark folks. I mean, really dark. Angry too. As I mentioned above there was a lot of intensity with their emotions. They’re suddenly back in this world they never thought they would see again and would stop at nothing (and I mean nothing) to keep their lives the way they want it. Since Jack and Jill are very different people, they have different ideas as to how their lives would look like and it ends up causing a lot of conflict between the two (more than usual lol). Even though I love hearing about the happy, candy filled, nonsense worlds, I really like the dark heartbreak that Seanan McGuire brings to the table. Prepare yourselves folks, this one will have your jaw on the floor!

I’m so happy to say that this one redeemed the Jack and Jill story line! I wish that these books were longer and came out all in one book – I need to know more!

Thank you so much to Raincoast Books Canada and Tor.com for the chance to read this in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own and are uninfluenced.

Until next time, happy reading!