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lia_24's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
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? Yes
4.25
Definitely my favorite book out of the trilogy. The ending was sort of bittersweet.
Not enough Nikolai content for my liking but then again, what is 'enough Nikolai content'? Such a thing doesn't exist.
Also, Mal and Alina were wayyy less annoying in this one. I actually found myself rooting for them.
but honestly, killing Harshaw was just unnecessary. He deserved to live a long, happy life with his cat
Not enough Nikolai content for my liking but then again, what is 'enough Nikolai content'? Such a thing doesn't exist.
Also, Mal and Alina were wayyy less annoying in this one. I actually found myself rooting for them.
Content Warnings
Minor: Murder, Blood, Violence, War, and Grief
david_slack110507's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
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? Yes
4.25
A year ago today, I received this book trilogy as a birthday gift and eventually got around to reading this starting the first book in August and finishing it in October before leaving the series for a little while and then picking it back up at the start of this year in which within a couple of months I would have started and finished the second book and now finally I have finished the third and final book in this trilogy.
Normally, I don't often finish book series that I start, or I take a while to do so (Like with these books) usually due to being interested in other books or just not wanting to continue the series right away but I'm very happy that I persevered after the first book because for me at least this trilogy kept on getting better and better with each instalment and each one managed to hold together my interest a whole lot better whether that was because what was happening was more interesting in each book or that when reading the 2nd and 3rd books I mainly read those and no other ones at the same time I don't know but I feel like this is one of the rare times that I read a series/trilogy that increased in quality with each instalment.
The characters are at their strongest in this book with formally side characters such as Zoya and David getting their own developments that make them just as endearing as our main characters. I feel like the plot twists and turns were interesting and unexpected and I actually quite liked the ending even if it did have a happy ending that felt kind of YA. I do wish that Alina had somehow ended up with Nikolai who for me was the much more interesting and endearing love interest but it was obvious that with their shared history, Mal and Alina would be the ending place in terms of relationship wise but I do feel like each relationship while they did not have an air about them with it being unpredictable about who Alina would end up with, they did have their own dynamics unique to them.
The action was actually pretty good even if the ending battle was a little short and I do like that the book for me was actually pretty fast-paced and engaging throughout. I am very much looking forward to reading the other books in the Grishaverse, particularly the Six of Crows duology soon-to-be trilogy which I will unashamedly admit was the main reason as to why I read these books so that I would have the background context for those books however I'm glad that I read these because not only did I really enjoy this story overall but it also introduced me to Nikolai and his character who has his own spin-off duology which will most likely end up on my tbr list soon.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book and this series as a whole and I'm glad that I stuck through with it when reading the 2nd and 3rd books. I am very much looking forward to reading the rest of the Grishaverse books and also finally watching season 2 of the Netflix show soon without spoilers for the ending of the trilogy.
Normally, I don't often finish book series that I start, or I take a while to do so (Like with these books) usually due to being interested in other books or just not wanting to continue the series right away but I'm very happy that I persevered after the first book because for me at least this trilogy kept on getting better and better with each instalment and each one managed to hold together my interest a whole lot better whether that was because what was happening was more interesting in each book or that when reading the 2nd and 3rd books I mainly read those and no other ones at the same time I don't know but I feel like this is one of the rare times that I read a series/trilogy that increased in quality with each instalment.
The characters are at their strongest in this book with formally side characters such as Zoya and David getting their own developments that make them just as endearing as our main characters. I feel like the plot twists and turns were interesting and unexpected and I actually quite liked the ending even if it did have a happy ending that felt kind of YA. I do wish that Alina had somehow ended up with Nikolai who for me was the much more interesting and endearing love interest but it was obvious that with their shared history, Mal and Alina would be the ending place in terms of relationship wise but I do feel like each relationship while they did not have an air about them with it being unpredictable about who Alina would end up with, they did have their own dynamics unique to them.
The action was actually pretty good even if the ending battle was a little short and I do like that the book for me was actually pretty fast-paced and engaging throughout. I am very much looking forward to reading the other books in the Grishaverse, particularly the Six of Crows duology soon-to-be trilogy which I will unashamedly admit was the main reason as to why I read these books so that I would have the background context for those books however I'm glad that I read these because not only did I really enjoy this story overall but it also introduced me to Nikolai and his character who has his own spin-off duology which will most likely end up on my tbr list soon.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book and this series as a whole and I'm glad that I stuck through with it when reading the 2nd and 3rd books. I am very much looking forward to reading the rest of the Grishaverse books and also finally watching season 2 of the Netflix show soon without spoilers for the ending of the trilogy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Death, Violence, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, and Gore
Moderate: Cursing, Kidnapping, Stalking, Gun violence, Genocide, Sexual content, Emotional abuse, and Gaslighting
Minor: Sexual assault, Sexism, Rape, Child death, and Death of parent
kingspite618's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
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? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: War and Violence
talonsontypewriters's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Violence, Death, Injury/Injury detail, War, Gore, Body horror, Gun violence, Grief, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Classism, Body shaming, Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Child death, Drug use, and Torture
Minor: Slavery, Rape, Sexual assault, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Vomit, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Misogyny, Sexism, Infidelity, Alcohol, Incest, Cannibalism, and Sexual content
alexinitalics's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
An absolutely brilliant finale to the trilogy!! Although I found some parts, especially the start, to be a bit slower, the rest absolutely makes up for it. The twists are well set up without being predictable, in my opinion, and personally, I love the direction the ending went in (although I won't go into it here to avoid spoilers)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Death, Grief, and War
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail
shookie's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: War and Toxic relationship
Minor: Sexual assault and Trafficking
zaynascz's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I loved this trilogy so so much if i could give it 6 stars i would.
I think Bardugo perfectly balanced the morals of the characters and the idea that the more power Alina had, the more blurry her morals became.
For example, in book 1 (shadow and bone) we’re introduced to Alina, the main character, and her best friend mal. Alina works as a cartographer for the first army and mal is a talented tracker. After the incident in the fold Alina is found to be a very powerful type of Grisha called the sun summoner. Throughout the book we see Alina wishing her power away just to be back with mal in the first army again; and when the darkling, Alinas only match and the leader of the second army, is looking for something to amplify Alinas power, she ends up agreeing to it. She soon finds out that the darkling is doing it for the wrong reasons and runs away. Eventually she finds the stag from the help of mal but hesitates to kill it, from this we can see Alina has a strong moral compass at this point in the trilogy.
However, this heavily contrasts the end of book three when she finds out mal, her boyfriend at this point, is the third amplifier. Without much hesitation at all, certainly not as much hesitation as she had with Morozova’s stag, she puts a knife through him. She didn’t want to do it but eventually her greed for power took over, as we can see from the quote
“I would never know if it was greed or selfishness that moved my hand”.
We can also see that Alina is slowly turning into the darkling throughout the entirety of the trilogy, and if she would’ve kept the power of all three amplifiers and lived eternally, she definitely would’ve.
Another thing i loved about this trilogy is the way Bardugo portrayed the darkling, a morally grey character who’s heart is in the right place, but goes about it the wrong way. For example, throughout the series we start to see the reasons for why the darkling has done what he’s done, like taking control of Alina through the stags collar in order to enter and control the fold. At first, we’re completely against the darkling and what he’s doing but as the trilogy unravels we start to discover more and more of the Darkling’s character and with that, his reasons. It all started out as building a safe place for Grisha to live in peace, without the fear of others ; but then he got greedy. He started wanting more for Ravka, but he went about it the complete wrong way. He tried to invoke fear, and in that he did, but it only hurt Ravka in the end. His greed and hunger for power kept growing and although i will say he lost sight of his morals centuries ago, i wont say that he lost track of his end goal completely. He wanted a safe place for Ravka, and he wanted to do it using the fold. Right reason, terrible execution. I completely believe that if Alina would’ve lived as Long as Aleksander, she would’ve been just as bad, if not worse. Without her friends to ground her, especially Mal, Nikolai and Genya, she Would’ve lost track already.
Anyway Stan Nikolai he’s the loml 🤭🤭 and this book was so sad oml
I think Bardugo perfectly balanced the morals of the characters and the idea that the more power Alina had, the more blurry her morals became.
For example, in book 1 (shadow and bone) we’re introduced to Alina, the main character, and her best friend mal. Alina works as a cartographer for the first army and mal is a talented tracker. After the incident in the fold Alina is found to be a very powerful type of Grisha called the sun summoner. Throughout the book we see Alina wishing her power away just to be back with mal in the first army again; and when the darkling, Alinas only match and the leader of the second army, is looking for something to amplify Alinas power, she ends up agreeing to it. She soon finds out that the darkling is doing it for the wrong reasons and runs away. Eventually she finds the stag from the help of mal but hesitates to kill it, from this we can see Alina has a strong moral compass at this point in the trilogy.
However, this heavily contrasts the end of book three when she finds out mal, her boyfriend at this point, is the third amplifier. Without much hesitation at all, certainly not as much hesitation as she had with Morozova’s stag, she puts a knife through him. She didn’t want to do it but eventually her greed for power took over, as we can see from the quote
“I would never know if it was greed or selfishness that moved my hand”.
We can also see that Alina is slowly turning into the darkling throughout the entirety of the trilogy, and if she would’ve kept the power of all three amplifiers and lived eternally, she definitely would’ve.
Another thing i loved about this trilogy is the way Bardugo portrayed the darkling, a morally grey character who’s heart is in the right place, but goes about it the wrong way. For example, throughout the series we start to see the reasons for why the darkling has done what he’s done, like taking control of Alina through the stags collar in order to enter and control the fold. At first, we’re completely against the darkling and what he’s doing but as the trilogy unravels we start to discover more and more of the Darkling’s character and with that, his reasons. It all started out as building a safe place for Grisha to live in peace, without the fear of others ; but then he got greedy. He started wanting more for Ravka, but he went about it the complete wrong way. He tried to invoke fear, and in that he did, but it only hurt Ravka in the end. His greed and hunger for power kept growing and although i will say he lost sight of his morals centuries ago, i wont say that he lost track of his end goal completely. He wanted a safe place for Ravka, and he wanted to do it using the fold. Right reason, terrible execution. I completely believe that if Alina would’ve lived as Long as Aleksander, she would’ve been just as bad, if not worse. Without her friends to ground her, especially Mal, Nikolai and Genya, she Would’ve lost track already.
Anyway Stan Nikolai he’s the loml 🤭🤭 and this book was so sad oml
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Genocide, Fire/Fire injury, War, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Gore, Grief, Murder, Death, and Death of parent
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
Minor: Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Rape, Suicide attempt, and Suicide
sea_sea's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Woa, what a roller coaster. I think, that this book was the best of the three, but I though the ending was a little disappointing…
I think the trilogy improved with each book. The ending with the Darkling was very emotional and sad, but I don’t know if I like that Alina ended up with Mal. Especially in this book she keeps talking about how she has changed and is not the same anymore, but then she still ends up with Mal and opens an orphanage. I also think that Mal being revived takes the meaning out of his death and sacrifice. :/ But oh well, I didn’t completely hate the ending either, it just felt a little unfitting. Otherwise I think the story was really well told and super exciting! Poor Nikolai though ;^; I loved Zoyas character development in this book! I was so happy that Genya and David got a happy ending!!! Why did he have to die in the show ToT ?!?!? Also Oncat <3
I think the trilogy improved with each book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Blood, Death, Emotional abuse, Violence, and War
Minor: Death of parent, Stalking, Alcohol, and Fire/Fire injury
thebookaddict's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
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
5.0
In the beginning I thought this book was a bit boring just like the second book. But I take it back! Later on this book caught my full attention! And the ending is AMAZING it is worth the hype!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Blood, Gun violence, Physical abuse, War, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Death of parent, Grief, Gore, and Violence
elsaehho's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: War
Minor: Gore