Broken Dove
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The cover of this book looks like it belongs on a discarded, discounted bookstore shelf, yet here I am, once again shocked that I love this series. Silver Elite, the first book, really left me wanting more, and Broken Dove delivers.
It’d been almost a year since I read Silver Elite, so I obviously needed a little refresher; I was immediately impressed with how Broken Dove reminded us about key plot points without being super expository. She wove it into the writing without making it seem like a ChatGPT summary.
Wren Darlington, the main character, is now on a completely different continent surrounded by completely different people. She also seems to be more open about her own vulnerabilities, and generally comes across as a more honest, fallible character. In my last review, I complained about the trope of a haughty heroine who becomes so emphatic about their own skills that they read as pick-mes. I never thought that Wren was that bad, but in this book she really dials it back even more. Perhaps it’s because she’s not in a high-performance, skill-dependent environment; now, she’s having to make new friends and trying to master one of her abilities that she’s yet to fully control. She also learns more about her family and upbringing, realizing that her past is more sordid than it seems. Of course, she does have her pick-me moments, like when she said, “I’ve never been into drugs, neither herbal nor chemical.” That’s all well and good, but calm down.
In general, I loved the pacing. Dani Francis, the author, really nails the art of gradually building suspense and then giving us the satisfaction of release before building again. I think one of my big complaints with the ACOTAR series is the build-up throughout that culminates a little too aggressively right at the very end. Francis’ suspense-release dynamic applies to many aspects of the plot– physical fights of war, sexual tension, acquisition of pivotal knowledge, etc. As such, it makes for a very satisfying read throughout.
My main gripe is that it ended with too many *gotchyas!* We got a lot thrown at us all at once, and I don’t like feeling as though I had the rug pulled out from under me. That being said, I am happy with the end result, because it will once again allow us to see Wren be forced to cope with a new set of issues. I continue to be surprised by this juicy dystopia, and Broken Dove receives 4 out of 5 flames.
**SPOILERS BELOW FOR THOSE WHO HAVE READ THE BOOK**
Random thoughts that I made note of:
- ‘Hawkins’ (hawk) and Wren/dove – a little too heavy-handed on the metaphor. Also, Hawkins being sketchy af was clocked from a mile away
- I sometimes don’t buy into the explanation of the powers, like when she compares inciting to holding a leash. It seems good in theory, but the comparison unravels if you think too much about it. She’s trying to show us on a practical level what this looks like in someone’s brain, and it doesn’t land for me– I end up wishing that I just rolled with it without the analysis
-It’s funny that I like the realism of the characters (them having genuine dialogue and relationships) but I’m always down for unlimited resources in their universes (like oh yes of course, the place is perfect, you have access to all amenities, and you get all the vices with no repercussions)
-still love when they say ‘keen’
-I’m curious about telepathy, since they do it so often. Is energy exerted, or is it just like shooting a text? How are they able to multitask (have conversations but engage in telepathy at the same time)? Probably something that, again, is better off with less analysis
-Xavier is a knucklehead. Why are you loyal to Wren just because Cross told you to be, and now you’ve thrown your whole life away?
-When Wren talks about Cross being sympathetic to mods, it makes me wonder. Do we know that he actually does anything to save lives/anything tangible, or is it all talk/his vision for the future?
-Kinda weird that Gray doesn’t have telepathy– it makes him sometimes feel like a side character. I thought that maybe he would show some crazy power the first time that he and Wren hooked up. Def more powers in the mix there
-Wren kept a secret from Cross that Adrienne scrambled both his parents’ minds feels wild… feels like you have no leg to stand on if you find out he’s been keeping any secrets
-Help, why are you practicing honing the skill of incitement with a knife
-Love that Wren’s immediate instinct is to incite Evlynne when she abandoned her, even though she bent over backwards to assure all of them that she would never do that (aka they are right to be wary of her because of this power)
-The fact that Wren never told Gray about Evlynne’s kid’s powers was a red flag to me. You aren’t tight with Evlynne. Tell your man, this is some serious stuff (and duh, came back to bite her)
-No chance that Poppy would have been at that site that became a warzone when Evlynne betrayed them. Her mom was way too overprotective at all times; she would not have gone out of her way to take her to a risky situation
