I feel like it's not very often the second book in a trilogy or a series is better than the first, but in my opinion Hollow City was so much better than Miss Peregrine (Which I didn't think was possible!) I loved this book and it left me wanting so much more (in a good way). I can't wait to read Library of Souls and see how this all ends. Ransom Riggs, you sly devil. You have skills, my friend. 5 out of 5 stars. ( )

I personally found that this was an improvement from the first book. The characters were developed more, and things actually happened throughout the story, instead of just at the end. However, it still doesn't stand out as amazing or really anything special to me. I also don't find the romance between Jacob and Emma to be compelling. ( )

Initial Thoughts
I really enjoyed the first book in this series and I was really excited for this one. It took me much too long to start it but when I did I couldn’t stop. I love the idea of using the vintage photography but I was nervous that it wouldn’t be as good in this second book since we’d already met all the characters. I loved how the book just continued directly where the last one left off. There was no in between where you don’t know what happened.

My New Best Friend
I really like Emma. She’s brave and admirable. She’s the kind of female character that I enjoy reading about. I love how she kind of took the position of leader in this book, it made her stand out more to me. I have a hard time not picturing all the kids as 12 year olds though. For some reason that’s how they appear to me even though they’re at least 16. Maybe it’s the pictures of the younger kids that were in the book. I don’t know.

My Crush
I’m not sure if I had a crush in this book. As I said before, the characters felt young to me. I really like Millard though because he always just pops up when they need him. I love that he was always figuring out where they should go next. Who doesn’t like a smart guy?

Writing Style
The writing sometimes seems a little formal to me but that’s the only flaw. I don’t usually like books that take place in the past but this one was different for me. The author only writes what needs to be written. There aren’t any parts where you’re wondering why is that there. Everything is important and makes sense.

Closing Thoughts
I loved this book as much as the first. The bar was set really high and I think he met my expectations. I love how he mixes fantasy with history. It’s a fun twist. It’s nice when an author tries hard to be different and succeeds. It’s not quite up to 5 stars since I found it a little bit slow at the start. It was also a little weird that they met peculiars everywhere when they’re supposed to be rare. I know it was part of the story but it could have been a little better. I was a little disappointed that all they really did in this book was run around looking for someone. I’m hoping it will be the next book is full of action. It just felt like the author kind of stretched the story based on the photos when he should have stretched the photos to be part of the story. Either way it was still a great book.

Bonus
The author adds pictures to his story which makes it really unique. They’re real pictures that haven’t been altered which makes it kind of cool. ( )

Finally done and I'm not sure why this story took me so long.

I think it was a few things. This story felt much more disconnected than the first one. The story and themes felt forced by the photos instead of the photos being woven in. I felt like the story took turns that didn't necessarily make sense just to add a photo or two. Most disappointing was the story around the cover photo.

Although I am glad to see where the story is going, this one also suffered from being a middle book. The plot moved slowly and there was a lot of filling in the back story and gaps that made it feel like it was just dragging on and on with little movement.

I'm not sure I'll read the next one. ( )

Ransom Riggs is hitting his stride with this second book. More verbs, fewer adjectives. Good pacing, in my opinion.

This installment follows Jacob and the Peculiar Children as they try to figure out what to do to save their ymbryne (time-manipulating bird-woman-person), Miss Peregrine. They escape their island and travel to various time loops, not to mention 1940s London, which figures prominently.

The thing that made me stumble the most over it was that I don't think Riggs quite has his own time theories figured out. It seems that when Peculiar Children who have been living inside of a time loop for many years step out of it, they could start to age rapidly within days. In the first book, I assumed that this was because they had all entered the loop in the 1940s, so if they came to Jacob's time in the present, that would be what caused them to age. However, in the second book, the children are traveling in 1940 and the late 1800s for most of it, yet Emma Bloom still mentions that for some reason she might age and fall to dust just from being outside of a loop in general (as I understood it, anyway). So, I think the author needs to clarify whether it's just being outside of a loop after living in one for a long time that causes rapid aging, or whether it's only living outside of a loop that's too far in the future from one's time of origin. If it's the latter, then Jacob and Emma acting like star-crossed lovers doesn't make any sense--when all this is over, Jacob could just venture out into 1940 to live with Emma--no problem. Except for the part about leaving his parents, though, I guess.

Other than that little annoying thing, I really enjoyed this book. It doesn't matter to me that it may not be one of the Great Works of the 21st Century--it's hugely imaginative and fun. I love the combination of historical fiction with sci-fi with weird-x-men-mutant-like-people.

It also strikes me that much like Harry Potter, it's a story about a world that exists on the edges of our own. I've always been a sucker for stories about people traveling to other worlds, but these types of stories are even a sub-set of that--they're about the hidden, invisible beauty and danger that exist side-by-side with our everyday lives. And don't we all, to some extent, contend with that undercurrent even in our "normal" world? Whether you're a person of faith like I am who considers a spiritual reality or not, we are all living our own stories, and they weave together with the rest of time in ways that we don't always understand. ( )