Harley Quinn’s journey gets even more chaotic as she falls in love and embraces her inner villain. Follow Harleen’s rise from anxious college student to ravenous, chaotic feminist icon in the second installment of the Harley Quinn origin trilogy.
Our discussion on Book One can be found right HERE.
If you’ve read it (or plan to) and wish to discuss, drop your thoughts below when you’re ready!
You can join or learn more about Harley’s Crew HERE.
Just noticed this thread today, nice work on it Razzzcat.
I’ll post my thoughts on the book later, but just wanted to say that this series has been a wonderful alternate take on the Harley Quinn origin story. It’s also one of the better attempts at doing the “Harley was Harley before she fell into the acid” story.
Also for people who like audiobooks, the reader does a fantastic job on this. Has a unique, but fitting take on Harley.
Reckoning (since I don’t think I reviewed it here yet): was…fantastic. I could be biased, of course, but I’ve recommended it numerous times, to both comic readers and non-comic readers. Even though Harley is a teenager here, it gives Harleen a run for its money as far as HQ origin stories go, which is saying something, as I am a huge shameless Sejic fangirl ( Hey, Stjepan Sejic). It deals with her Adhd and bisexuality openly, which was great, there are plenty of references for fans, great pacing and mystery and we get a taste of vigilante-Harley, rightfully. We can empathize with it, too, thanks the all too relatable and/or deeply frustrating representation of harassment and abuse. She dances the line between good and bad, beautifully. I just can’t think of any flaws, honestly. If you like Harley, and can handle a few ugly truths about the world, you’ll enjoy Reckoning. Well done.
Ravenous: Wow. Sometimes second installments suffer after a strong start, but this didn’t. I think I might even like it more than the first book. Rachel Allen gets Harley, which I sadly cannot say for many writers, so this second book is another good time, from start to finish. The pace felt faster, there’s mystery (spoiler )— Harls putting together the pieces of herself and who she will become is aces (plus we meet Ivy. Unsurprisingly, one of my fave parts. Hey, Ivy! Ignore those girls, btw. They suUUck. Your woman is here now, it’s all gonna be okay) and it delivers a bit more chaos, but that’s prbly the point, since its always been one reliable way Harley can disarm people. She’s not as crazy as some seem to think, so much as she is clever and naturally charming, imo. I have long considered Harley both a hammer and scalpel, and this series is pulling it off. It’s fun, it’s got heart and grit and more easter eggs—again, if you like Harley, or stories of self-discovery in the midst of a less than ideal world, you won’t be disappointed.
I picked this one up but haven’t gotten very far into it yet. The first one was great, the story goes really well with harley and i plan to keep reading the series, it’s one of her better origin stories so far. Thanks for posting a topic on it!
Since they are part of the DC Icons line of prose, I wouldn’t expect them to be on the service unless they get graphic novel adaptations like the previous books have.
Otherwise, I don’t know if you ever use Audible, but when you start a trail you get a free book, and if you have Prime, you get TWO free books… and there’s lots of DC novels on there just sayin…
Slick. I’m about it, thanks! I was thinking I should just go to the library, but since I prefer audiobooks and I want to own them, starting an Audible account is the way.
I’ve read Warbringer, Soulstealer, and Breaking Silence so far.
Those are great choices! Warbringer, especially. I hope you enjoyed them too, and if you decide to go for these HQ books come on back and let us know what you thought!
I just finished Ravenous. That was a true nail bitter! It starts off with a bang, and I’m caught in the .
I ended up doing the audible, since that seemed to be the easiest/quickest option for me. You never know with audiobooks if it translates over well, but I thought it did with this book.
Anthing with HarlIvy is going to be good! The twist on her origin story was great. All the Gotham extras were a good fit at Arkham Asylum. Talia being her intern case study and taking her under her wing in a sense was completely believable. I loved the added science aspect from Rachel. The book leaves us on a cliffhanger and I’m excited to see where it takes Harley and of course seeing more Pamela.
I can’t wait for the last installment which I saw will be released in 2024.
Awesome @Chain_Twix! I’m really glad you enjoyed it. And thanks for coming by and sharing your thoughts w/ us!
I’m looking forward to the next one, too. Audiobook was definitely the way to go w/ these. I’m all about them in general in recent years (even tho sometimes the narrators can be horribly disappointing ), but it made this story even more enjoyable, I think. How would you rank it as far as Harley origins go?