The Mime Order is a testament to how I personally prefer succeeding books in a series to be, as it enriches the reading experience of the series by fleshing out the world, lore and plot. I remember how it felt to read this installment the first time - it surprised me in many ways, but also cemented my regard for Samantha Shannon's storytelling. Getting to have that experience again with this preferred text version was uniquely satisfying; I still harbor the same feelings, though dialed up a notch given how cool it is that the author was able to take the bones of the already brilliant tale she's told and just make it (somehow) even better. 

I'd prefer not to go into spoilers about the actual plot, though if I could, I'd certainly have plenty of moments to gush or scream about. But I find myself still feeling like it's best to dive into this book (and the rest of the series) without knowing too much about how things will play out. What I can confirm is that readers will get the following things from this sequel:

No words I use will be adequate to express how incredible this installment is, though it does cement the fact that The Bone Season is an all-time favorite series of mine. The second act of Paige Mahoney's story - jumpstarted in Oxford, kindled in London - is thrilling from beginning to end, and I can't wait to dive into the next book.

I started reading the Bone Season series, like many probably did, after reading The Priory of the Orange Tree (and its prequel). Thirsting for more of Shannon's work. I wasn't expecting the series to be as good, it was her debut after all, but I'm still finding it quite enjoyable. No doubt the revisions helped it a lot, I'll make sure to keep reading the author's preferred text. 

I have a deep love for Paige & most of the Seven Seals. I wanted to learn the world of the Syndicate in the first book so badly. I was incredibly excited for this book to understand who Paige was before & after Oxford.

I always knew Jaxon was a mf rat. When he said (I’m paraphrasing) that he knew more of Paige’s outings than she realized, I knew he was a rat. And I’m so so so sure that he was dying for money because he couldn’t sell Voyants since Paige was “home”

I loved her growth as a person, humanitarian, vigilante, savior, & dreamwalker. This book was nothing short of action packed, intriguing and difficult to put down. This is growing to be one of my favorite series, and I hope it only gets better from here.

Corruption upon corruption upon corruption. 

I went into this book understanding Shannon’s writing style, so it didn’t bother me as much as it did in the first book. 

Let me tell you - yall want SLOW burn? A romance than burns so slowly you want to spoon our own eyes out??? This is the series for you. It’s frustrating as hell but so satisfying. 

I wasn’t sure I’d continue with the series after book one, but the politics entranced me in book two. And of course, soft-spoken Warden <3 the banter between these two is so hilarious to me. And I absolutely love his little sayings to her. Yall want yearning?? Yall want slow burn???? Shannon gives you both in this story. 

even tho this was equally chonky as book 1, i found this to be a much faster read bc of the setting change and getting quite acquainted with the world in the previous book.

there was a faster pace to the actions as well, and i found myself very drawn in and intrigued by the mime crime rings and the underground world of the voyants in london.

i felt like this had very real challenges and downfalls this part of the story would lead to. there were some small twists and turns that i found surprising and interesting. in general, i think the worldbuilding of voyants and mimes is really what makes this series for me. it would be so cool to see how voyants are in "free worlds".

ARCTURUS MESARTHIM. YOU ARE EVERYTHING.

anyone who loves a good slowburn is going to die and wither away from the slow boil tension between him and paige. i love a mmc who recognizes a queen when he gets one

i wasn't really as devastated by the end as i expected to be, but i'm not gonna lie i am scared for what might be coming in the next two books 😅

i never know what’s going on burning that ending????

THE MIME ORDER is a slow-burn fantasy of allegiances and betrayal as Paige figures out what she wants from her newly reclaimed freedom, and starts to chafe under the formerly familiar restrictions of her Mime Lord. 

The first book told a little of what Paige remembered about her Mime Lord and the rest of the Seven Seals. Now, in THE MIME ORDER, she's returned to find things on edge. The world building continues to be excellent, this time around Paige is noticing what's different from before she was away, and it helps give a real reason for the narration to explain so much in book two. Even when it possibly shouldn't be new to her, it is because things have changed a lot. The politics of interrelationships between the factions and people are complex and absorbing, but the way Paige keeps her ambitions clear and (usually) simple keeps it from being overwhelming. There's a dizzying array of options available to her but because of her goals it feels like only one or two are truly available. As she changes what she wants, the narrow world of her choices swivels to a new set of goals. In a setting with endlessly nested factions and motivations (e.g. the Syndicate vs Scion, the Sargas vs the Ranthem, the various Mime Lords and Ladies vs each other), it would be easy to get lost in the details. I appreciated both that this level of detail was present, and that I could choose how much I wanted to try and track it while still understanding the main story. 

THE MIME ORDER wraps up a few things left hanging from the previous book. Its whole main storyline starts here and wasn't present previously, and includes a bunch of major things that are both introduced and resolved in it. It leaves some very big things to be picked up by the sequels. The main character is unchanged from THE BONE SEASON, and her voice is consistent across both books. This might make sense if someone started here and didn't know about the rest of the series. Part of that is because it's book two of a planned seven books, and so it doesn't quite yet have the depth of backstory as later entries will inevitably contain. The other part is that (probably because it's a seven book series) the main storyline is largely self contained. It matters that any reader knows Paige was imprisoned, and by whom, and that she has certain allies (both those she obtained during THE BONE SEASON and ones from before her imprisonment), but all of that can be picked up from the way events are handled here. I like this style, it works a little better than in THE BONE SEASON, where I constantly felt like Paige was talking about some earlier book I hadn't gotten to read, since The Seven Seals matter so much to the series as a whole but were mostly only described by Paige rather than shown in that first book. They matter here, and having learned about them previously helps that transition from her imprisonment to being back home. 

I love this book and I'm definitely going to keep reading the series. The ending is great, it's a perfect blend between resolving the main tensions from this book and setting up clear stakes for a conflict in the next one. I feel like I have closure as well as knowing what questions I want answered next time, which is ideal for such long books in a long series.

I'm going to need a while to process the mind-bending madness that Samantha Shannon just laid on me! If you haven't read The Bone Season books you really have to!

This is the second book in the series and picks up moments after the first book ended.... (Pause here for spoilers!)

Paige, some survivors and the Seven Seals have made their way out of Sheol 1 on a stolen train. The relationship between Jaxon and Paige is broken possibly beyond repair. Warden is missing and everything seems impossible. Enter a whole bunch more tension and plot!

The central focus of this book is Paige bringing the tyranny of Scion and the actions of the Rephaim to light for the public to rise and take a stand - but to save the lives of millions of voyants she's going to need the help of the Unnatural Assembly - they, however, are too focused on squabbling and making money. Fighting from every angle Paige is hunting down the truth and entering a battle she has to win. Long live the Mime Order!