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koiolee's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
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? Yes
4.5
As i grow older, i stray away from fantasy novels/series. This series (and Six of Crows duology) bring me back to my fantasy days. I adore the magic system and the writing that brings this world into the real world. The grief every character fights is palpable, as if you yourself lost that person.
Spoilers
My opinion on characters
Nikolai: i really like him as a king. Also live how he keeps his wits around him like a protective slime layer.
Zoya: i think my favorite character with so much depth. I loved learning more and more about her.
Nina: probably the character i relate to the most. Her chapters were hard for me to read because i imagine my own partner and that loss as my own. I was mad after crooked kingdom when she didn't lose her cool over her loss (literally my only critique was that she didnt go absolutely feral), but after reading this, i understand it so much more.... but i still think she should've gone feral. Or as feral as she could during recovery.
Spoilers
My opinion on characters
Nikolai: i really like him as a king. Also live how he keeps his wits around him like a protective slime layer.
Zoya: i think my favorite character with so much depth. I loved learning more and more about her.
Nina: probably the character i relate to the most. Her chapters were hard for me to read because i imagine my own partner and that loss as my own. I was mad after crooked kingdom when she didn't lose her cool over her loss (literally my only critique was that she didnt go absolutely feral), but after reading this, i understand it so much more.... but i still think she should've gone feral. Or as feral as she could during recovery.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Sexism
Moderate: Pregnancy, War, and Addiction
Minor: Confinement
kelshenka's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
lighthearted
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Blood, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body horror, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Miscarriage, Child death, Death, Addiction, and Genocide
nils_0's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
lighthearted
reflective
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Pregnancy, War, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
madisonstarkov's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Trafficking, and Grief
Moderate: Misogyny
ashleighamble's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
I love the characters, world, and magic, and I think that's what made this book enjoyable for me.
My issue is that the plot was not engaging or worthwhile. It was a little unclear why things happened the way they did and while I liked the multiple big sub-plots that were engaging, yet the main one was just weird and felt unnatural. I'm not sure how to explain it properly. I say this with every book I've read recently: I enjoyed reading it, but I will likely forget about it the second I pick up another book. I'm just slightly disappointed and not one bit starstruck.
I also want to note that I like the characters they introduced and the backstory for Zoya and Nikolai (my favorite pair <3).
My issue is that the plot was not engaging or worthwhile. It was a little unclear why things happened the way they did and while I liked the multiple big sub-plots that were engaging, yet the main one was just weird and felt unnatural. I'm not sure how to explain it properly. I say this with every book I've read recently: I enjoyed reading it, but I will likely forget about it the second I pick up another book. I'm just slightly disappointed and not one bit starstruck.
I also want to note that I like the characters they introduced and the backstory for Zoya and Nikolai (my favorite pair <3).
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Suicide, Violence, and Slavery
Minor: Infertility, War, and Miscarriage
audlittlebookshelf's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I enjoyed this so much! This one is more political drama with a touch of espionage. We also got to see characters dealing with grief and PTSD. Leigh Bardugo is a master at writing stories with multiple perspectives and giving each character a unique voice. There was a portion in the last half of the book that felt a bit hard to follow and didn’t flow as smoothly as the rest. In all fairness, that could have been intentional, given the context, but it made that section less enjoyable to read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, and Drug use
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Death, Violence, Kidnapping, Slavery, War, Grief, and Trafficking
Minor: Pregnancy and Miscarriage
cephalopodbot's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-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
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Xenophobia, Body horror, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Gaslighting and War
Minor: Pedophilia
brekker_by_brekker's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Death, and Grief
Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, and Pregnancy
Minor: Miscarriage
onecheesetoasty's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Pregnancy, Trafficking, Confinement, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Misogyny, and Addiction
kiwij96's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
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? Yes
4.75
The emotional whiplash that this book has left me with is astounding. Leigh Bardugo has perfectly crafted the Grishaverse and has perfectly tied in character history with the other books in the series. This one broke my heart and gave me hope for future books in the best way.
This book follows Nikolai, Zoya and Nina and takes place 3 years after the Shadow and Bone trilogy, and a year after the Six of Crows duology. All three of these characters are aome of my absolut favourites from this series.
As someone who loved Zoya from book one of Shadow and Bone, rightly or wrongly, this was more her book than Nikolai's story. This gave her already tenacious character a brutal backstory and an awe-inspiring yet tragic redemption. This gives us understanding of who she is and why. I am honestly in love with her.
This book, from the Triumvirate's perspective, and Zoya and Nikolai's perspectives turned the whole Grishaverse on its head and the second that happened I was lost in the story in the best way possible.
Nina's character has always been a law unto herself, but her story in this felt disconnected from the rest of it. I feel Nina, Adrik and Leoni could have done with their own spin-off really however I did love learning more about their characters and recognising the references to previous books.
However, I am very confused as to what happened with the men from the very start of the story. Maybe I misread that bit but the whole time I was asking where they went and if they ever made it to Ravka.
That ending honestly has me in a spin, what an absolutely genius yet evil way to end a book.
This book follows Nikolai, Zoya and Nina and takes place 3 years after the Shadow and Bone trilogy, and a year after the Six of Crows duology. All three of these characters are aome of my absolut favourites from this series.
As someone who loved Zoya from book one of Shadow and Bone, rightly or wrongly, this was more her book than Nikolai's story. This gave her already tenacious character a brutal backstory and an awe-inspiring yet tragic redemption. This gives us understanding of who she is and why. I am honestly in love with her.
This book, from the Triumvirate's perspective, and Zoya and Nikolai's perspectives turned the whole Grishaverse on its head and the second that happened I was lost in the story in the best way possible.
Nina's character has always been a law unto herself, but her story in this felt disconnected from the rest of it. I feel Nina, Adrik and Leoni could have done with their own spin-off really however I did love learning more about their characters and recognising the references to previous books.
However, I am very confused as to what happened with the men from the very start of the story. Maybe I misread that bit but the whole time I was asking where they went and if they ever made it to Ravka.
That ending honestly has me in a spin, what an absolutely genius yet evil way to end a book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug use, Grief, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, War, Miscarriage, and Murder
Minor: Body horror