Proven Guilty

Goddamn, I am a believer. Dresden is a great series.

“I don't care whose DNA is recombined with whose, when everything goes to Hell, the people who stand beside you without flinching, they are your family. And they were my heroes. “

We have reached the crux where Butcher's prose has noticeably leveled up- there were multiple beautiful or introspective passages that I appreciated for the first time- and also having the world and characters fleshed out enough that this entire book is just superb character development and growth for half a dozen or more characters. This was the first Dresden book where the entire second half I just wanted to not be doing the other stuff I had to do, and instead wanted to be reading Dresden. I will be reading White Night immediately, after usually waiting ~a month to continue the series between books. I finally understand where people are coming from when they call this one of, if not their favorite series. I do think the plot of Dead Beat was better, but the character development and character moments in this book, and world development was way more gripping and emotional for me in Proven Guilty.

Alas, Butcher couldn't help himself. “Let's constantly sexualize a 17 year old and make Harry seem so damn MATURE for not succumbing” because he needs a gold star for being able to not act with his penis when around teenagers. Honestly, the second half of the book made me almost forget how often Harry thought about a teenager's chest in the first half, but then there's a scene I hated near the end and I cannot give five stars to a book that has that scene in it. Maybe book 9 can refrain from shooting itself in the foot with this kinda thing.

8.5/10