New year, new Warriors arc. Spoilers ahead.
After Splashtail's defeat, the Clans are at peace. But trouble arises in SkyClan when Leafstar seems to be losing her ability to properly lead her Clan and Twolegs start taking over the territory and Moonpool with construction equipment. Tawnypelt in ShadowClan is struggling to make herself heard to the younger cats. Finally, Moonpaw of ThunderClan is hearing a voice in her head and she cannot seem to find out who or what it is. Is it from StarClan? Or perhaps something else?
Boy, what a mediocre start to a new arc. I was pretty pleased with how the latest Warriors arc ended. But this? Very "meh". My biggest issue with it is that it is very, very much just setup with very little payoff. Out of the entire set of plots and subplots set up in this book, only one is given somewhat of a conclusion (Leafstar stepping down as leader). Tawnypelt's crush on Crowfeather isn't expanded on. She is given a prophecy this book but we don't yet see her really do anything with it. Moonpaw learns who her voice is, but we still don't know jack shit about where it's coming from, what its other realm is, what its intentions are, what its name is, how it is making itself heard to Moonpaw, etc. The Twoleg threat is set up but not really expanded on further.
And before you go "oh, it's just a first installment. It will be answered in later books". I know, okay? I know. But even a separate installment of a larger series usually has at least some sort of progression or a somewhat semi-conclusive ending, rounding up a few subplots here and there or giving a few answers to questions raised, etc. This book just felt like it was 90% setup and practically no payoff whatsoever. And if you want your reader to remain engaged, you need to give them more than just setup and mysteries. Throw your reader a bone and give them at least some concluded subplots or questions. Because after finishing this book I still feel like I learned practically nothing other than that I need to buy future books to find out.
Okay, let's talk about the characters, shall we? I do like them okay. This is our first time getting an all-molly POV and I think it's a welcome change. I liked Moonpaw fine, I liked Leafstar and thought her arc was the most interesting, and Tawnypelt has always been one of my faves even going back as far as The New Prophecy. I think these characters were all written decently and the Erins did a decent job hooking me into their journeys, even if it's mostly just setup here.
One aspect that does absolutely suck about Tawnypelt's arc, though, is her crush on Crowfeather. Now, just to make this clear, I do not mind them giving Tawnypelt a crush and her possibly finding romance after her mate's death. That's not the issue here. The issue is the absolutely terrible way in which it was written. Her crush on Crowfeather feels like it comes right the fuck out of nowhere, they barely interact in this book, it's very surface-level pining from Tawnypelt's side, it doesn't go anywhere (yet), it's yet another cross-Clan romance which you know I'm usually not interested in. This definitely has to be one of the most sporadic, random and poorly written crushes in Warriors history. I know that's a low standard, but it absolutely sucked how they handled it here.
Tigerstar and Dovewing also feel wildly out of character in this book. They start neglecting their son Birchfeather after he falls in love with a SkyClan cat. Something that's not illegal anymore and just straight up feels hypocritical? They themselves were in a back-then illegal cross-Clan relationship until Dovewing joined ShadowClan to be with Tigerstar. Not only are they being wildly hypocritical and making their son feel unloved, it also just straight up goes against their pre-established personalities. Tigerstar and especially Dovewing have always cared a lot, even if not always in the right way (e.g. Tigerstar's handling of things in RiverClan in the last arc). But here they are suddenly cold and distant and neglectful and just...huh? Where does this come from? Especially if it's over something you once did yourselves. I can maybe, maybe see Tigerstar pulling this act, but Dovewing of all characters? One of the warmest, sweetest characters in the entire series? Just feels wildly out of character for them but especially for her.
As for the rest, it's mostly just mediocre. The plot is interesting enough, but it's 90% setup and very little is done with it I'm not exactly super hooked here. The mysteries it sets up (what the Twolegs are doing, who/what Moonpaw's voice is and what its plans are) are decent but I think I'd have been a bit more engaged if there was less setup and a tiny bit more payoff, as stated before.
So yeah, disappointing first installment. I will keep reading per usual, but do not consider me hooked. At least not yet.
Rating: 2.5/5
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