Monstress, Vol. 3: Haven by Marjorie M. Liu

"Maika Halfwolf has begun to unlock the mysteries of her past--but the challenges of the present are only growing. Maika's journey takes her to the neutral city of Pontus, where she hopes to find temporary refuge from her pursuers. Unfortunately, Pontus may not be as safe as Maika and her allies had hoped. As the impending war between humans and Arcanics creeps ever closer, and powerful players fight for the chance to control her future, Maika finds she must work with Zinn, the Monstrum that lives inside her, in order to ensure their mutual survival. But even that alliance might not be enough to prepare Maika for the horrors to come."--Page [4] of cover.

Probably a 3.5.

This series continues to be as confusing as ever. The world is too expansive and things are happening in different parts of the world at the same time, but I can't keep track of them. Nobody's intentions are entirely clear and I always feel that there are more questions than answers.

Maika hopes for some respite from all the people trying to kill her but she can't escape her predicament even in the neutral city of Pontus. When more horrors await, it was interesting to see her work together with the monster inside her, Zinn. I never thought I would enjoy their dynamic but I really did.

Cats are still the most mysterious of the characters but I was still shocked when I saw the truth about Master Ren. Kippa is the most precious character in this whole series and just reading about how good and compassionate she is brought tears to my eyes. She is probably the main reason I'm continuing with this but that cliffhanger ending has just made it impossible for me to give up. I LOVE YOU KIPPA ❤️❤️❤️

The art style is amazing and elaborate as usual and I commend the artist's talent of being able to convey so much through the panels. And the different kinds of characters depicted here are some of the best I've ever seen. I can't wait to see what more is in store for us.

Relies too much on info-dumping text because the complexity of the story is too great to convey through plot.
The art is still stunning but the fight scenes are too detailed to follow properly. Everything is a bit messy when things happen quickly.
This series has been consistently good so far but still hasn't really hooked me. Maika is not exactly a fountain of emotion so it's hard for me to truly care about her. I do love Kippa though!

WHY: Continuing the series in lockdown with awesome free delivery from my local library.
STORY: Unlike The Blood's journey across waters to the Isle of the Dead God, Haven is set completely in the city of Pontus, neutral in the Arcanic-Human war. Maika is trying to survive as the Blood Queens, Dusk (and Dawn) Court, Prime Minister and Pontus themselves try to use her and the ancient within for their own ends. There are a lot more POVs this volume, a welcome return from Volume 1 that helps the worldbuilding, and the plot seemed a lot more streamlined - war tensions are simmering, Pontus needs its shield from the old times to be activated and an Old God is straining against its bonds to enter this realm. The cats are also doing their own thing as usual, though this time it intriguingly includes the pure fox Kippa.
ART & WRITING: The art in this series is just amazing - the darkness seeping through the page, facial expressions and changing panel size and structure each page which drives energetic action and creates huge moments of dramatic tension. The themes of power and bloodlust are represented visually in graphic destruction, and otherworldly tales and creatures are visually engaging. I definitely take longer to read the writing here than with other graphic novels due to the sheer density of backstory to the world and inference of character motivation and relationships. The dialogue is brutally uncensored, gender flipped and still influenced somewhat by the Asian setting just like previous issues; "brother-f**ker/ father-f**ker".
WHO: If you are enjoying the Monstress series, then just keep reading it. I know that there's always something new to discover, although this definitely leaned more towards the style of Awakening which I preferred.