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madeliney's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
3.0
this is tough, because there is a lot of potential here. i know this was Leigh's first series, and it shows in many ways, but the main way it shows to me is that there is a strong reliance on what were currently popular themes and tropes of the time it was written with such surface-level commentary on those themes and tropes, with a forced love triangle to boot. it doesn't dive into what it should be diving into -- namely, the anti-hero that is Alina. this should be a dark book that really hones into the way the amplifiers take away humanity and transform the wearer, and it would be way more interesting to explore the connection that gives her to the Darkling (like calls to like, etc...) and how Alina and the Darkling have been impacted in similar ways with different results, but we don't do this. it, quite unfortunately in my opinion, remains very surface-level. because it remains so surface-level, i feel no investment in the story or the characters. it is incredible to me the difference in the writing, plotting, and characterization here, when i compare this to the Six of Crows series set in the same universe, which is fucking fantastic.
in terms of other more random thoughts i have... i really liked the new character in Nikolai, and the twins. i thought Nikolai was interesting and added a great political intrigue element to this story that was much-needed. however, there is no chemistry whatsoever between him and Alina, and it felt so forced. additionally, Mal was frustrating and admittedly felt a little dull -- i found myself frequently comparing him in my head to Gale from The Hunger Games; dismissive of the reality of the situation, stubborn, not accepting of the woman and wanting her to fit the idea he has in his head, etc... though i understood his motivations, i still found myself frustrated with the path of his character arc. in terms of the Darkling, i wish he had more depth in this particular book. he COULD be such an interesting, complex character and i thought that was going to happen, but unfortunately his arc also falls flat for me. i am quite puzzled by all of the readers i see falling apart about this character, he is so surface-level... do they need to read more books? is the bar for the hots so low? i just don't know. i will wrap up this series, for sure, and i hope characters and plot get more fleshed out in the final book. i hope for more depth.
TLDR: very much gives baby's first fantasy series. though there are some interesting plot points and ideas here, it isn't fleshed out as much as it could be and should be. if it fully dove into the dark story it could be and relied less on sell points the marketing department recommended, this would be so much better. with how saturated the fantasy market is, i struggle to recommend this series unless you are already invested in the lore, which is where i fall -- the Six of Crows series is just SO MUCH BETTER than this. read that instead.
in terms of other more random thoughts i have... i really liked the new character in Nikolai, and the twins. i thought Nikolai was interesting and added a great political intrigue element to this story that was much-needed. however, there is no chemistry whatsoever between him and Alina, and it felt so forced. additionally, Mal was frustrating and admittedly felt a little dull -- i found myself frequently comparing him in my head to Gale from The Hunger Games; dismissive of the reality of the situation, stubborn, not accepting of the woman and wanting her to fit the idea he has in his head, etc... though i understood his motivations, i still found myself frustrated with the path of his character arc. in terms of the Darkling, i wish he had more depth in this particular book. he COULD be such an interesting, complex character and i thought that was going to happen, but unfortunately his arc also falls flat for me. i am quite puzzled by all of the readers i see falling apart about this character, he is so surface-level... do they need to read more books? is the bar for the hots so low? i just don't know. i will wrap up this series, for sure, and i hope characters and plot get more fleshed out in the final book. i hope for more depth.
TLDR: very much gives baby's first fantasy series. though there are some interesting plot points and ideas here, it isn't fleshed out as much as it could be and should be. if it fully dove into the dark story it could be and relied less on sell points the marketing department recommended, this would be so much better. with how saturated the fantasy market is, i struggle to recommend this series unless you are already invested in the lore, which is where i fall -- the Six of Crows series is just SO MUCH BETTER than this. read that instead.
lillybookland's review against another edition
3.0
3,5
It's better than the first one, I really liked it until chapter 18, I hate Mal with a passion
It's better than the first one, I really liked it until chapter 18, I hate Mal with a passion
hazee's review against another edition
3.0
Estuvo un poco tedioso a ratos y creo que pudo haber sido varias páginas más corto, pero eso no importa porque NIKOLAI TE AMO FLACO, ERES EL MEJOR PERSONAJE Y LITERALMENTE EL ÚNICO CON EL QUE PUDE CONECTAR
abiaustin's review against another edition
3.0
Mal is the absolute worst and if Nikolai is the only one to make it out of this series alive I would be fine with that.
3.5⭐️
3.5⭐️
flamepea's review against another edition
2.0
Honestly don’t even want to review this book, it was a mess. I only didn’t rate it one star because of the AMAZING narrator for the audible that kept me from DNF’ing this book. I will not be finishing the series thank god audible and Nikolai exists.
innae's review against another edition
4.0
This one drug for about half the book and then…oh my gosh, I couldn’t put it down! On to book 3!!!
matcha_pages's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Death, and War
pansy_ass's review
3.0
Nikolai and the last 10% of this book were definitely the best parts. And the Darkling is always a 10/10 to me. The worst parts were Mal and Alina, especially together, and as our main characters, that’s a huge problem.
perpetuallyreading's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
lyakimov's review against another edition
3.0
Well after 2 and a half years of waiting, I finally picked this up. Doesn't help that I know the ending of the series smh.
The Darkling is my favorite character and I loved him in the story but he was not in it as much as the first book and I was like UGH
I liked Nikolai though and I'm excited to see more of him. Even tho I ship Alina with world domination I actually kinda like her and Nikolai together, almost as much as I like her and the Darkling together.
Who made this book a 3 star instead of a 4?? Mal, that annoying ass motherfucker. Can he just go die already like shut the fuck UP bitch, nobody asked for your bitch ass to be here. UGH HE JUST PISSES ME OFF SO MUCH and I don't even have to say why; it's such a given. Who tf reads this series and likes this asshole?
But anyways I did love Alina wanting more power and understanding that her abilities could be more. It was great and when she told Mal she would NEVER give up her powers?? FUCK YEAH YOU GO but ya know I know the ending of the series and I'm kinda like wtf happened but you know whatever. time to go read that disaster.
The Darkling is my favorite character and I loved him in the story but he was not in it as much as the first book and I was like UGH
I liked Nikolai though and I'm excited to see more of him. Even tho I ship Alina with world domination I actually kinda like her and Nikolai together, almost as much as I like her and the Darkling together.
Who made this book a 3 star instead of a 4?? Mal, that annoying ass motherfucker. Can he just go die already like shut the fuck UP bitch, nobody asked for your bitch ass to be here. UGH HE JUST PISSES ME OFF SO MUCH and I don't even have to say why; it's such a given. Who tf reads this series and likes this asshole?
But anyways I did love Alina wanting more power and understanding that her abilities could be more. It was great and when she told Mal she would NEVER give up her powers?? FUCK YEAH YOU GO but ya know I know the ending of the series and I'm kinda like wtf happened but you know whatever. time to go read that disaster.