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opal360's review against another edition
4.0
A gripping read but I decided early on to skip any sections that involved Zyuganov torturing hapless women. I enjoyed the book but there were one or two plot points that left me unconvinced.
Spoiler
I somehow couldn't quite believe that Nate would have cheated on Dominika, or that the Moscow chief would be so woefully incompetent. I think in retrospect that part was satire, but when you are caught up in the narrative you still want the story to hang together in a credible way.erictlee's review against another edition
5.0
This, the second of the Red Sparrow books, continues where the previous one left off, and offers more of the same. It's written by a former CIA officer, so much of it has the ring of truth -- though obviously much of it is made-up nonsense as well. It's hard to tell sometimes which is which. Violent, sexy, and profoundly hostile to Vladimir Putin, what's not to like? I look forward to reading the third and final volume in the trilogy.
shrayirene's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture and Violence
tsubramaniam's review against another edition
3.0
Reading about Domi and Nate again felt like reuniting with old friends. Building upon the existing chemistry allowed this book to push into some interesting territory and more challenging scenarios. The tension was ratched up and it made for a fun fast paced spy thriller that I couldn’t put down even when I really should have been sleeping.
lshaner's review against another edition
2.0
I like the story in these books, I'm going to read the third one. But the male gaze problem is almost comic.
leannelovesbooks's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed the second book of this trilogy. Red Sparrow was an amazing book one and it was good to see how the story developed. I love espionage and this didn’t disappoint. I’m looking forward to reading the third book.
yomi's review against another edition
5.0
What a good start to the Summer Reading Challenge.
3 days = 2 books
Red Sparrow/Palace of Treason - It's been a while since we last saw someone with the dexterity of John le Carre and descriptive ability of Forsyth. Jason is like a chemist explaining an experiment !
3 days = 2 books
Red Sparrow/Palace of Treason - It's been a while since we last saw someone with the dexterity of John le Carre and descriptive ability of Forsyth. Jason is like a chemist explaining an experiment !
booksheep92's review against another edition
2.0
I liked the first book. The characters were interesting and felt real. In this book, however, the characters and the entire plot felt like it was pulled from a teenaged boy's fantasy of being a spy. Every female character was sexualized. For no reason. Characters had no agency besides sex and killing people. This series started off with promise: spies who felt real and stakes that I cared about. However, this novel was nothing more than tired cliches with the male protagonists effortlessly getting beautiful women and the extremely complex character of Dominika reduced to a scorned and jealous woman who had nothing besides her body. I will not be continuing this series after this disappointment. The only reason I finished this book was I was hopeful it was just middle book syndrome, but it got more and more cliche and painful to read the closer I got to the end.
jwoshka's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.5