Scan barcode
gothutaoz's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
christinaj1021's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
ssssophie3745's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
cobaltbookshelf's review against another edition
3.0
Much better then first book for two reasons.
First reason: Nikolai Lantsov, Major of the Twenty-Second Regiment, Soldier of the King’s Army, Grand Duke of Udova, and second son to His Most Royal Majesty, King Alexander the Third, Ruler of the Double Eagle Throne, may his life and reign be long. I love him, manipulator with good heart, thank you sir for saving this series. Mal was right when he called him Prince Perfect.
Second reason: There isn't much for Darkling in this book, everyone with brain cheered. Every sentence from his mouth is super annoying or disgusting: “Because every day we don’t find the sea whip, I’ll peel away a piece of her skin. Slowly. Then Ivan will heal her, and the next day, we’ll do it all over again.”
Like Alina is potato, then there is him pretending to be Mal to kiss her and what he did to Genya, yes he deserves to die twice.
Also blaming Alina for stuff he does: “I’ve waged the war you forced me to, Alina,” said the Darkling. “If you hadn’t run from me, the Second Army would still be intact. All those Grisha would still be alive.
Crusty old man you did that but moving on.
Alina and Mal are both seventeen and insecure what do you'll want for them. It's clear they both care about each other and they fit together.
Overall Nikolai ilysm.
First reason: Nikolai Lantsov, Major of the Twenty-Second Regiment, Soldier of the King’s Army, Grand Duke of Udova, and second son to His Most Royal Majesty, King Alexander the Third, Ruler of the Double Eagle Throne, may his life and reign be long. I love him, manipulator with good heart, thank you sir for saving this series. Mal was right when he called him Prince Perfect.
Second reason: There isn't much for Darkling in this book, everyone with brain cheered. Every sentence from his mouth is super annoying or disgusting: “Because every day we don’t find the sea whip, I’ll peel away a piece of her skin. Slowly. Then Ivan will heal her, and the next day, we’ll do it all over again.”
Like Alina is potato, then there is him pretending to be Mal to kiss her and what he did to Genya, yes he deserves to die twice.
Also blaming Alina for stuff he does: “I’ve waged the war you forced me to, Alina,” said the Darkling. “If you hadn’t run from me, the Second Army would still be intact. All those Grisha would still be alive.
Crusty old man you did that but moving on.
Alina and Mal are both seventeen and insecure what do you'll want for them. It's clear they both care about each other and they fit together.
Overall Nikolai ilysm.
msaenger's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
gabthebookworm's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Violence
sam_hartwig's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed this SO much more than the first book. I can't really remember how I felt about the first book, but I noticed I gave it 3 stars so I definitely rate this higher than that.
This was just the book I needed. A fast-paced fantasy with lots of action, and humour & romance sprinkled throughout.
I can't wait to gobble up the last book and see where it ends.
This was just the book I needed. A fast-paced fantasy with lots of action, and humour & romance sprinkled throughout.
I can't wait to gobble up the last book and see where it ends.
cherbate's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
tencutepuppies's review against another edition
3.0
(3.5) This one did take me longer to read than the first one, but still I managed to finish it before the show came out, so my goal was kind of achieved. It was kind of the same as the first—nothing too groundbreaking or attention-gripping, and the characters (besides my love, Nikolai) were as dull-ish as they’ve always been. But also, it’s terrible. I was able to get through it, even though I did have to push myself in parts, with the help of the pretty constant action. Something was always happening, which I think saved it from being actually bad.
Alina and Mal were the same as the last book. On the boring side. Nothing new. Kind of just the cardboard cutouts that bland YA characters tend to be. Alina less so, but I’d say she has enough moments that make her fall into that category. Mal isn’t the devil that most readers make him out to be, but he is too possessive and too insecure in his relationship with Alina (which, again, was nothing that gripped me like the ships in SoC). Literally Nikolai pointed it out himself: that Mal has such a huge issue with Alina being alone with him that it points to their relationship not being the one true love pairing they make it out to be.
The way Mal and occasionally Alina acted in Nikolai’s presence made me want to punch them. Most of the times where Alina got mad at Nikolai were pretty deserved, like when he brought her back to the palace without her knowledge. And their banter was clever and nice most of the times. But at the beginning when he’d make jokes I thought were objectively funny, or at least charming, Alina would be thinking about shoving him overboard. Like girl?? First of all, he saved her ass with the mutiny. And it’s called a joke for a reason.
God, Mal was a whole different story. Once Alina warmed up to Nikolai, they were nice together, but Mal never did. He always is sneaking Nikolai dirty glances and making jabs at him just for being close with Alina. Okay, Wattpad possessive bad boy wannabe. It’s like a pet peeve of mine when a new character like Nikolai is being charming and funny and none of the other characters react, and if they do, they take it badly. Like I know in my head that if I were in the book, I’d have enough flavor to singlehandedly kill Mal and probably Alina too. It pains me a little.
I really don’t get it. Why does Mal act like it’s such a heinous crime when Nikolai makes jokes?? Like sorry Mal, but if characters were getting arrested for having personalities, you’d be the only one walking free.
HOWEVER. This does not mean I hate Mal. I simply dislike him because he’s the most boring out of the three love interests. At least the Darkling is spicy in an evil/hot way. But Mal did have some good lines. “You are my flag, you are my country”???? That was good. I can see why Alina ends up with him; he’s the one that fits with her. Nikolai wants her because of what she can do for him, and the Darkling wants her power.
Speaking of the Darkling, I don’t really get why people are diehard Darklina shippers. He’s clearly a terrible person, and the only sort of affection/feelings he feels for Alina are shown to be a ruse, which makes it hard to feel for him. And when he does rarely show his soft side with his horrible loneliness and the weight of being the only of his kind, it’s hard to accept because we have no idea if it’s real or just manipulation. That makes him a great villain. But not a great love interest.
(But I do love the badass-character-goes-dark-to-smash-the-villain trope, of course. )
Spoiler alert: I already know what happens because I began King of Scars and I read spoilers before I wanted to read this series. But that won’t stop me from reading the final book in this trilogy just so I can get to the hidden gem at the end, which is Nikolai’s duology. I’m very excited for him.
Alina and Mal were the same as the last book. On the boring side. Nothing new. Kind of just the cardboard cutouts that bland YA characters tend to be. Alina less so, but I’d say she has enough moments that make her fall into that category. Mal isn’t the devil that most readers make him out to be, but he is too possessive and too insecure in his relationship with Alina (which, again, was nothing that gripped me like the ships in SoC). Literally Nikolai pointed it out himself: that Mal has such a huge issue with Alina being alone with him that it points to their relationship not being the one true love pairing they make it out to be.
The way Mal and occasionally Alina acted in Nikolai’s presence made me want to punch them. Most of the times where Alina got mad at Nikolai were pretty deserved, like when he brought her back to the palace without her knowledge. And their banter was clever and nice most of the times. But at the beginning when he’d make jokes I thought were objectively funny, or at least charming, Alina would be thinking about shoving him overboard. Like girl?? First of all, he saved her ass with the mutiny. And it’s called a joke for a reason.
God, Mal was a whole different story. Once Alina warmed up to Nikolai, they were nice together, but Mal never did. He always is sneaking Nikolai dirty glances and making jabs at him just for being close with Alina. Okay, Wattpad possessive bad boy wannabe. It’s like a pet peeve of mine when a new character like Nikolai is being charming and funny and none of the other characters react, and if they do, they take it badly. Like I know in my head that if I were in the book, I’d have enough flavor to singlehandedly kill Mal and probably Alina too. It pains me a little.
I really don’t get it. Why does Mal act like it’s such a heinous crime when Nikolai makes jokes?? Like sorry Mal, but if characters were getting arrested for having personalities, you’d be the only one walking free.
HOWEVER. This does not mean I hate Mal. I simply dislike him because he’s the most boring out of the three love interests. At least the Darkling is spicy in an evil/hot way. But Mal did have some good lines. “You are my flag, you are my country”???? That was good. I can see why Alina ends up with him; he’s the one that fits with her. Nikolai wants her because of what she can do for him, and the Darkling wants her power.
Speaking of the Darkling, I don’t really get why people are diehard Darklina shippers. He’s clearly a terrible person, and the only sort of affection/feelings he feels for Alina are shown to be a ruse, which makes it hard to feel for him. And when he does rarely show his soft side with his horrible loneliness and the weight of being the only of his kind, it’s hard to accept because we have no idea if it’s real or just manipulation. That makes him a great villain. But not a great love interest.
(But I do love the badass-character-goes-dark-to-smash-the-villain trope, of course. )
Spoiler alert: I already know what happens because I began King of Scars and I read spoilers before I wanted to read this series. But that won’t stop me from reading the final book in this trilogy just so I can get to the hidden gem at the end, which is Nikolai’s duology. I’m very excited for him.