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literarydumpling's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
A great second installment of the Shadow and Bone trilogy. In a sense, very different time to the first book, but has just as much of a journey as the first book.
There world expands a little more and I liked the detail of how the map has gotten bigger and how the Fold has changed after absorbing Novokribirsk. There are new characters introduced that are done in a natural, but exciting, way and it doesn't feel like a huge character dump, each one is clear in terms of who they are.
I think it was great how they explored Alina and Mal's relationship and how things aren't all rosy now that they know they love one another, but that they have to grapple with Alina's new-found infamy and what that means for them.
The character development of Alina is great and you can see the parallels between her and the Darkling, and it really does keep you reading more because you can't tell what she will do next as opposed to the first book. You almost start thinking Alina is an unreliable narrator with her thoughts towards power and wanting to achieve more without stopping to notice how it is affecting the people around her.
One final thing I loved was the additional information on the politics of Ravka. With the introduction of Nikolai, you can see how Ravkan court is held as well as the split between politics, culture and religion in this world, and I think it is very well done without being too overwhelming!
You won't be disappointed by this book at all, and I'm very keen to read the second book.
There world expands a little more and I liked the detail of how the map has gotten bigger and how the Fold has changed after absorbing Novokribirsk. There are new characters introduced that are done in a natural, but exciting, way and it doesn't feel like a huge character dump, each one is clear in terms of who they are.
The character development of Alina is great and you can see the parallels between her and the Darkling, and it really does keep you reading more because you can't tell what she will do next as opposed to the first book. You almost start thinking Alina is an unreliable narrator with her thoughts towards power and wanting to achieve more without stopping to notice how it is affecting the people around her.
One final thing I loved was the additional information on the politics of Ravka. With the introduction of Nikolai, you can see how Ravkan court is held as well as the split between politics, culture and religion in this world, and I think it is very well done without being too overwhelming!
You won't be disappointed by this book at all, and I'm very keen to read the second book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Death, and Blood
emilywemily6's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I am really enjoying this series as a whole, but you can definitely tell this is a middle book in a saga where most of the book is spent in inner/external turmoil and not a lot happens in the plot. The last 100 pages blew me away and I couldn’t put it down though! This book feels necessary to introduce important characters, show character development in Alina, and set up for the final conflict in the third book, but it felt slow and was a little bit of a slog to get through. Mal got a bit annoying but as Alina understood him better I guess I did too. And I somehow have a crush on both Nicolai and the Darkling (despite everything).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and War
Moderate: Grief, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, and Bullying
Minor: Alcohol, Sexual content, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
bubbly_lara's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
In th3 second instalment of the Shadow & Bone saga, we get introduced to a new set of characters helping Alina and Mal first to support themselves in exile and then return to Ravka and fight the Darkling. We get more magical creatures (took me until I saw all covers next to each other how brilliantly the cover design ties into the story), we go back to Little Palace and are reunited with some of the Grisha we already met in the first book. I cannot wait to see ho the story unfolds and concludes in the following book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Gore, Violence, War, Medical content, Cursing, Death, and Alcoholism
noragoudie's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I enjoyed this sequel to Shadow and Bone more than the original. It was darker, but the stakes felt more real and I thought the characters began to develop nicely. I still find these books quite generic, which is stopping me from loving the series but I am entertained and excited to read the last one!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and War
av0universe's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Murder, Violence, Gore, and Gun violence
Moderate: War, Suicidal thoughts, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
Minor: War and Misogyny
as610'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? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, War, Animal death, Emotional abuse, and Stalking
aidareads's review
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and War
toastyghosty13's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
rant incoming
i found the majority of this book to be extremely boring. there were parts like when sturmhond was introduced that were interesting and exciting, but a lot of it was weird political and bureaucratic filler.
i also found the lack of real flirting and the overkill on sexual harassment to be annoying and unenjoyable. sturmhond came off as creepy, in fact most men in this book did besides tolya. at least sturmhond is still an interesting character with the fact that he is the prince and an infamous privateer, but his character is written as if he is a real ladies man but then defaults to being a creeper. i barely registered the fact that alina was interested in him romantically until it said she blushed at him touching her leg when she kicked him?? a weak watery lackluster attempt at enemies to lovers fit into one page.
mal had an existential crisis that could have been solved if he and alina had just slept together. i’m not sure what age range this book is meant to be for if there is no intimacy but one of the main characters can plunge deeply into alcoholism for a majority of the book. mal was so unbelievably jealous by 2 guys who were both repulsive in different ways, and alina should have trusted him enough to tell him the truth about her visions given the fact that they have known each other since they were children.
genya was done dirty imo and she would have fought for what is right, especially given that she is literally best friends with alina and would have had a much better quality of life at her side when this is all inevitably over. genya chose to follow the darkling because she wasn’t seen as a real person even though he literally gave her away as a gift to the queen. alina would never, but of course for some reason genya chooses to be on the darklings side of this war and then gets used as an object again shocker.
overall a pretty big disappointment for a sequel. i’m still invested in whatever the backstory is about saints and amplifiers, plus i already own the box set so i might as well finish it out. i’ve heard six of crows is a lot better thankfully so i’m holding out hope for that one.
i found the majority of this book to be extremely boring. there were parts like when sturmhond was introduced that were interesting and exciting, but a lot of it was weird political and bureaucratic filler.
i also found the lack of real flirting and the overkill on sexual harassment to be annoying and unenjoyable. sturmhond came off as creepy, in fact most men in this book did besides tolya. at least sturmhond is still an interesting character with the fact that he is
mal
genya was
overall a pretty big disappointment for a sequel. i’m still invested in whatever the backstory is about saints and amplifiers, plus i already own the box set so i might as well finish it out. i’ve heard six of crows is a lot better thankfully so i’m holding out hope for that one.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Alcoholism, Sexual assault, Death, War, Alcohol, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Torture, Animal death, and Infidelity
eguare's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I read the Shadow & Bone trilogy after reading the Six of Crows duology, and I'm sad to report that I found the plot, writing, and characters of the follow-up duology to be much more compelling than the Shadow & Bone trilogy. I found the magic system's rules confusing and not particularly well explained, and after reading SoC, the main character and main villain felt much more YA trope-y than original creations. That said, some of my favorite characters of the Grishaverse originate in this trilogy, and the complex political tapestry that Bardugo has woven begins here.
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Violence, and Emotional abuse
nat_pinche's review
adventurous
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
In comparison with the first book, the plot gets better as well as the characters interactions.
You can start to comprehend the characters a lot better, and it turns the reading more enjoyable.
You can start to comprehend the characters a lot better, and it turns the reading more enjoyable.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Toxic relationship, War, Alcoholism, Blood, Emotional abuse, and Gaslighting