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anna_lovegood's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Gore, Blood, Violence, Murder, and Death
Moderate: Cursing
bookishfads's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Still, I enjoyed this read and its perfect if you want to get to know a fun group of characters, read some snappy dialogue full of clever clap backs and see more of the Grishaverse.
Read more about it in spoiler section below.
So why 4 stars? I took off .25 because the last part of the book kinda started to get a bit too plot-armory for the characters and the clever plans got less and less clever and the plot twists at some points were simply because information was left out to the reader. Lame.
Another .25 is Wylan. I really liked him and wanted to get to know more of him... shame the author didn't feel the same. Not a single POV from a character who's supposedly member of the titled ensemble... For what? A cheap plot twist? Wylan's reading disability would have been just as effective in the middle as it was at the end of the book.
Half a star is taken away because of Kaz Brekker.
Let's start with this age - 17! And he's this edgy criminal mastermind at 17. Ugh, it YA, I get it, marketing and all that, but making him 20 at least wouldn't have scared the teenagers away, trust me. Age aside, Kaz is so full of edge (some other characters had straight up edgy sentences torn from a local emo's diary, but Kaz takes the cake) it actually disrupted my immersion in the story and made me snort back a frustrated laugh. I can't take seriously this edge lord, who apparently first got arrested at age of 12.
Then his whole skill set is all over the place. Okay, he's the mastermind with neat sleight of hand and lock picking abilities. How come he can take down a dude who strangled a wolf with his bare hands?? With a disabled leg?? Okay, maybe the way he did it was plausible, but that still doesn't justify making Kaz good at everything just because the author wants you to think hes So Kewl! One scene - he hardly climbes up to third floor, another- he's running around and fighting and - you've guessed it - it has no impact on the plot at all.
Kaz's weaknesses would have been so cool to explore: the touch aversion, injured leg, obsession with revenge and control, but they get swept aside to show us another clever triumph of Kazzle Dazzle. I really want to like him, but so far his comebacks, thieving tips and romance with Inej are the only fun part of the character, otherwise he's an edgy killjoy that course-corrects the plot just when it's about to get interesting.
Man just look at that paragraph.
Graphic: Drug abuse, Slavery, Trafficking, Torture, Hate crime, and Vomit
Moderate: Ableism, Injury/Injury detail, Religious bigotry, and Violence
Minor: Rape, Vomit, and Sexual assault
nooweljayy's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Torture, Physical abuse, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, and Blood
Minor: Abandonment, Addiction, Child death, Sexual assault, Kidnapping, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Domestic abuse, Xenophobia, Death of parent, Child abuse, Toxic relationship, Gore, and Trafficking
joslynmyers's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Racism
Moderate: Slavery, Child death, Cursing, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Drug use, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Abandonment, Addiction, and War
Minor: Death of parent, Sexism, and Vomit
claire_not_rebecca's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Gun violence, Ableism, Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Kidnapping, Racism, Murder, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, and Cursing
Moderate: Violence, Slavery, Trafficking, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Rape, Child abuse, Addiction, and Classism
aribookishly's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Alcohol, Death, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Ableism, Misogyny, Torture, Addiction, Blood, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Murder, Gore, Sexual assault, Trafficking, and Violence
elbell1012's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Violence
lovorka's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Rape, Child abuse, Blood, Murder, Torture, Addiction, Gaslighting, Sexual assault, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Sexual harassment, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, and Trafficking
jestareader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
If I had read it when I first got it as a teenager, it would have been perfect. However, now that I am out of my teenage years, the characters felt uncomfortably young for their stories in a work fiction which discussed sex, SA, violence, and murder. So in my head, they're older.
Inej and Waylan - 22
Kaz, Jesper, Nina - 23
Matthias - 24
Graphic: Drug abuse, Death, Addiction, Drug use, Violence, Trafficking, Murder, Child death, and Blood
Moderate: Torture, Sexual harassment, Rape, and Sexual content
thestarsaresad's review against another edition
- 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
Moderate: Violence, Blood, Death, Gun violence, Murder, Physical abuse, Confinement, Kidnapping, Slavery, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Trafficking, and War
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders