#beverly brook

[bigjinx]

I always love Beverly Brook but I especially love Beverly Brook in Foxglove Summer

[beesetc]

"'Bath,' called Taiwo, arms wide, 'bath, bath, bath, bath.'

'Big bath,' said Kehinde, who was the intellectual of the pair.

'Sea,' I said. 'That's the sea.'

- Stone & Sky, Ben Aaronovitch

First time posting Peter, Beverly and the twins!! I loved how we got to know them in Stone & Sky 😁😍

[llalalalela]

I am now 4 books into The Rivers Of London series and I can confidently say it is shaping up to become one of my favourites of all time.

It has one of the most uniqe and interesting magic systems I have ever come across and a an incredible cast of compelling characters.

Peter is probaby my favourite narrator in any story. He is funny, witty and offers an interesting perspective on the world. I know I made a post about him being horny all the time but it was just something I found a bit annoying in the first two books and not really a major issue. He is a guy in his early twenties, it checks out. What can I say the guy grew on me. And as someone who recently had to take 2 years of latin, I feel for him.

My favourite character is probably Nightingale. I love seeing him interact with the modern world, see how things changed, forge new relationships. He just means a lot to me okay people BACK OFF.

Also shoutout to my queen Beverly Brook🙏. If that girl has no stans I am dead.

So yeah this isn't super in depth or anything but in my defense it the middle of the night where I am. Maybe I'll post something more coherent, maybe I won't, only time will tell.

[pigeonprey]

[peaceful-loon]

So, Waterstones sent me my copy before the release date and obviously as I have been impatiently waiting for this book, I read it all in an evening - and it was great!!

Spoilers/first thoughts/incoherent screaming below the cut

* DO NOT CLICK IT IF YOU DONT WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS! *

It was a really fun book, and we got to spend more time with Abigail who was the second narrator to Peter - something I thoroughly enjoyed, but people who didn't get on with her novella may not jive with.

But in my opinion, Aaronovitch was once again doing stellar work for the queers as Abigail's part included a SUPER CUTE sapphic romance with a MERMAID. Let me tell you I was INVESTED - it made me think back to my first lesbian experiences and it was just really wholesome and sweet? I think he captured the emotions really well and I felt like a teenager again seeing it all through Abigail's eyes.

Peter, Bev and the twins are great - and I liked seeing more of the family dynamic - also Bev (who, let's be fair, is always a badass) has an EVEN MORE badass moment in this book.

We got more info about the Talking Foxes which was fun, and also learned that the fox network is UK-wide.

It being set in Scotland was great and I think that the vibes were really very good - there is something about the way it talks about the sea and the beaches and the people and culture that just gives you the right feelings in your chest when you read them. I can't explain it better than that but you kind of feel Scotland in your heart by the time you get to the end - it's as much a main character as anyone else.

The mythology was brilliant - selkies and mermaids and the bonds of family; my ONE complaint was a lack of Kelpies but I figure that there may be time for that yet as clearly the book leaves room for the characters to return to Scotland in the future.

THERE ARE PEOPLE OUT THERE WHO KNOW ABOUT THE BLACK LIBRARY AND MAY WANT TO GET ACCESS - this was not part of the main plot but let me tell you I got ACTIVATED when I read that! Potentially laying groundwork for some intense conflict regarding that in subsequent books.

There wasn't enough Nightingale for my liking, although of course as my favourite character I want everything to be about him, but the bits we got were great and it was actually really nice to see him letting other people lead the way? And not trying to do everything himself? Talk about growth?? There was also a great moment near the end where Peter asks him how he dealt with losing people and Nightingale literally was like lmao I didn't deal with shit which is probably the most introspective and open he's been about, you know, all the crippling loss he's experienced.

Peter as always has made friends, snarked his way out of various situations and is very clearly levelling up on the magic - he mentions training with Nightingale and it's clearly paying off because he's genuinely getting to the point where he can face off against other practitioners on their level which was cool to see.

Lots of mentions of the American magic traditions - including summoning creatures from other dimensions was kind of cool, and I'm interested to see where that all goes.

The actual plot takes a pretty strong stand about oil drilling and human (?) trafficking, and yeah the oil company was the villain, but not necessarily all the people working for it - a differentiation I appreciated.

Overall, I enjoyed it very much, read it through in one evening and will be back to re-read because I'm sure I missed lots of stuff.

P.S. Zach Palmer manages Peters dad's band now ahahahahaha

[travellingdragon]

love that Peter meets the former, male iteration of Beverly, enjoys the kiss and admires his trained body

[erudipitous-art]

Beverly Brook

dreadlocks are magic and I’m still not happy with my ability to draw them, but I’m real happy with how the water turned out. started the drawing on paper, then uploaded a photo to my computer to finish it

[kristybluebird]

Some Rivers of London