Reviews

The Merciless Ones by Namina Forna

proseamongstthorns's review against another edition

4.0

I enjoyed this, but found myself a little confused for most of it. I think this was really setting up the third book and developing relationships, so there were moments where it just felt a little slow.

beereads_24's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

When the second book is dare I say, better than the first. OOF

littlemaggiemae's review against another edition

adventurous lighthearted 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? It's complicated

3.25

still good, but felt more juvenile than the original and a lot more confusing/convoluted than the previous one

teesbookishwonderland_'s review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring 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

4.5

pibbit's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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

4.0

artsyandbookishme's review against another edition

adventurous dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

moretisha's review against another edition

adventurous emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

tia_leona's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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

3.0

om_sammy's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad 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

3.75

A solid addition to the trilogy! I will say that for the first third of the book, I had a hard time getting into it and enjoying it as quickly as I did with The Gilded Ones; I found Deka to be annoying in some ways (especially when she would say "after all, I am the Nuru" to justify her behaviour in any way). To be fair, I do understand why she was like that, but it made it difficult to like her character as much as I did in the first book because I felt as though she lost some of the backbone that she grew. However, as the plot picked up and more was revealed to Deka (who really likes to bury her head in the sand), that backbone came back with a vengeance and I got to enjoy watching Deka come to her own conclusions and make her own choices once again. The storyline builds beautifully, and really makes connections to real life, which makes it that much more heart-wrenching. I can't wait to finish the trilogy!

legallyhot's review against another edition

4.75

Incredible sequel that expands on the themes of the first book perfectly! 
Ixa continues to be adorable 🫶🩷