Call Down The Hawk by Maggie Stiefvater (Did I Like My Most Highly Anticipated Book Of 2019?!?)

To no one’s surprise, Call Down the Hawk is THE book I’ve been waiting for all year.

*grasps fruitlessly for words to describe this phenomenal book*

Look, I’ll tell it to you plainly: I am obsessed with The Raven Cycle and, quite frankly, all of Maggie Stiefvater’s books. And right now we have the privilege of a Ronan trilogy!? More about the Lynches and dreams and magic??! I still can’t even believe we have this gift. And it was. so. freaking. good. I am just going to obsess over it for all the days of ever.

It’s whimsical and stuffed full of pure dream mind twistiness, the kind that twists your brain bend in on itself. In the best possible way. It wasn’t wholly what I expected and there was so much in it. I immediately finished and wanted to start again. (NOBODY COULD STOP ME THO IF I DID.) And I know Maggie fought really hard for her health and to write again and that just makes the whole story more precious.

This is the Ronan trilogy. This is about the brothers Lynch. This is about dreaming and art and forgeries and the act of lying, intentional and carefully and accidentally. It’s here to make you think, as well as be entertaining madhouse of wonder. It is PEAK Stiefvater.

[this is not the raven cycle]

Not that it needs saying, because it should be obvious!! But just remember that fact. 😌 And TRC is my whole world, so I do love it more than CDTH. (PS. I don’t recommend reading CDTH without TRC!) Ronan didn’t have much of an arc in this, because that’s so deeply embedded into TRC, but he continues to grow and change and flourish — and be viciously badass. I also thought the book would have more Adam, I did miss him, and Gansey and Blue (their cameo mentions were EVERYTHING; I screamed) but I have a feeling there’ll be more Adam in book 2. Also total moment for grown!college!Adam being so confident and amazing and queer and I love him with all my heart. And, quite frankly, I love that this book is unapologetically queer but doesn’t over-sexualise Ronan and Adam. And their moments together were precious. They’re stupid in love. It’s adorable.

[new characters]

There are three main POVs in this: Ronan, Jordan Hennessy, and Carmen Farooq-Lane.

So I don’t want to spoil anything…which makes it so hard to write this review.😂 All I’ll say is that this book is crammed full of artists and magic and dreams…and people who wish to kill dreamers and their dreams. I really loved Jordan Hennessy and the complicities behind her character! Less keen on Farooq-Lane’s chapters, but you’ll understand why when you read it.

Obviously I love Ronan most because I’ve had 5 books with him now. So every time it wasn’t his POV, I did pine for it. But the amount of Declan Lynch in this book is a freaking gift. My careful Slytherin son, agh, I love him. Messy family dynamics and angst are my favourite thing and all the Lynch brothers are [chef’s kiss] disasters.

(Also Declan was driving and couldn’t open his protein bar, so Ronan did for him, and THAT is character development.)

You are made of dreams and this world is not for you.

[dreams and their dreamers]

It explored the Dreaming magic and concepts so so deeply and I adored that. And the description of dreams still has left me wordless because this book is written about things you…can’t write about???? Concepts and shapes. Feelings made tangible. Like how do you describe what it looks and feels like in that muzzy moment between sleeping and awake? This book CAPTURES IT. I don’t sleep deeply, so I do a lot of lucid dreaming and just letting my mind wander greyishly — and every time I read a Stiefvater scene on dreaming, I’m like: “wow this is how it feels.”

The entire book is pure dreamer wildness and creativity and sheer imagination.

We have: Messed up dreams. New villains. New intangible threats. Magical blackmarkets. Fascinating chaacters. Gorgeous characters. An unexpected romance that I adored. Plot twists that genuinely had me floored.

[was this book everything I hoped?]

I’ve been pining for it for so so long and then, while reading, I had to remind myself to breathe. But it was incredible. I CRY. My heart is so full!!! I had twinges of things I wanted more of (aka Adam) and I still love TRC better when I wanted to love them equally (but like there’s TIME FOR REREADS). I can’t wait until I’m 4 rereads in deep and obsessing over single sentences at midnight.

This book is so clever too, I just…! The deft weaving of concepts and foreshadowing and cleverness. My heart leaps with wanting the next book.

I thought I’d have nothing to say in this review except all caps “I love it” just like, a million times. But I managed to just gush on and on which goes to show how good it was. Ahhhh.

But also…

I LOVE IT I LOVE IT I LOVE IT.

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. . .

Goodreads | Book Depository

| what do you think?|

is anyone else hanging out desperately for this? or have you read it? tell me all your thoughts!! and is there a series you’d love to have a spin-off for?