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tashanixon_'s review
5.0
By far the best of all 3 books.... And most emotional. An easy 5 star for me.
SPOILERS AHEAD
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Overall: 5/5 Stars
Characters: 5/5
Setting: 4.5/5
Writing: 5/5
Plot and Themes: 4/5
I don't know where to begin. Despite the slow start, I was hooked from halfway through. This was an incredible conclusion to an amazing series, and I have very few critiques.
The writing I felt was even more thoughtful than the previous 2 books, and I definitely found myself laughing, awing and gasping at all the right times. There was definitely a lot of travelling in this plot, so the map so generously provided was extremely helpful, but it also gave a great excuse for more world-building, especially comparing the North and South Ravkan Borders. There was a gripping amount of plot-twists (some of which I was unhappy about *ahem Botkin, and Baghra and Nikolai at the Spinning Wheel), and the ending was by far my favourite of all three books. The background about Morozova had me fairly umm astonished? shocked? but I liked the additional information about the Darkling's lineage, and I was right there with Alina trying to guess the origins of the Sun Summoner too!
I really liked seeing Alina battle her angels and devils throughout because it was so... realistic?
About the ending... as I've stated before, I never really shipped Malina, however throughout this I became more "accepting" toward their romance, but even still I find Mal quite annoying. I understand that a relationship with the Darkling would be toxic - but I still love him, even if he is evil, manipulative... I'll stop. And also Nikolai, the too-clever fox, I couldn't stop crying whenever he was mentioned in the latter half of the book. It was absolute trauma to see once a cocky, sarcastic man reduced to the Darkling's curse, so for that point alone I can't forgive the Darkling.
The ending battle I felt was quite fast paced but it didn't bother me too much. What did, was that I did not feel affected one bit by Mal's death (nor subsequent resurection), but I SOBBED at Aleksander's death. And his last words really pulled on my heartstrings - terrible, I know. Additionally, his final wish "don't let me be alone" seemed so human to me in comparison I guess to how unbeatable he has always been. This final moment of weakness and finality pushed me over the edge, and there were tear everywhere. The fact that the last dialogue uttered is Alina saying "Aleksander" was I think really important for her character, I guess she still feels a connection and a duty to fulfill his wishes.
It felt great for Nikolai to be restored, but the disturbance he's left with gives me the need to add King of Scars to my TBR.
And if that wasn't enough, the After section was really nice and closing. The biggest critique I have is that Alina losing her powers, and becoming the same girl she was at the beginning of the series felt very underwhelming. And that's one thing I'll not be able to get over, the emptiness she's left with. The side characters became a favourite as well, especially the witty Zoya, and Genya became an absolute badass, and obviously I can't forget Tamar and Tolya, David, Harshaw (still not over that either) and the rest of the band.
So overall, I wasn't a fan of the Apparat malarkey, but I thoroughly enjoyed this finale, and it has therefore cemented the Grishaverse as a favourite for me.
SPOILERS AHEAD
<><><><><><><><><><><>
Overall: 5/5 Stars
Characters: 5/5
Setting: 4.5/5
Writing: 5/5
Plot and Themes: 4/5
I don't know where to begin. Despite the slow start, I was hooked from halfway through. This was an incredible conclusion to an amazing series, and I have very few critiques.
The writing I felt was even more thoughtful than the previous 2 books, and I definitely found myself laughing, awing and gasping at all the right times. There was definitely a lot of travelling in this plot, so the map so generously provided was extremely helpful, but it also gave a great excuse for more world-building, especially comparing the North and South Ravkan Borders. There was a gripping amount of plot-twists (some of which I was unhappy about *ahem Botkin, and Baghra and Nikolai at the Spinning Wheel), and the ending was by far my favourite of all three books. The background about Morozova had me fairly umm astonished? shocked? but I liked the additional information about the Darkling's lineage, and I was right there with Alina trying to guess the origins of the Sun Summoner too!
I really liked seeing Alina battle her angels and devils throughout because it was so... realistic?
About the ending... as I've stated before, I never really shipped Malina, however throughout this I became more "accepting" toward their romance, but even still I find Mal quite annoying. I understand that a relationship with the Darkling would be toxic - but I still love him, even if he is evil, manipulative... I'll stop. And also Nikolai, the too-clever fox, I couldn't stop crying whenever he was mentioned in the latter half of the book. It was absolute trauma to see once a cocky, sarcastic man reduced to the Darkling's curse, so for that point alone I can't forgive the Darkling.
The ending battle I felt was quite fast paced but it didn't bother me too much. What did, was that I did not feel affected one bit by Mal's death (nor subsequent resurection), but I SOBBED at Aleksander's death. And his last words really pulled on my heartstrings - terrible, I know. Additionally, his final wish "don't let me be alone" seemed so human to me in comparison I guess to how unbeatable he has always been. This final moment of weakness and finality pushed me over the edge, and there were tear everywhere. The fact that the last dialogue uttered is Alina saying "Aleksander" was I think really important for her character, I guess she still feels a connection and a duty to fulfill his wishes.
It felt great for Nikolai to be restored, but the disturbance he's left with gives me the need to add King of Scars to my TBR.
And if that wasn't enough, the After section was really nice and closing. The biggest critique I have is that Alina losing her powers, and becoming the same girl she was at the beginning of the series felt very underwhelming. And that's one thing I'll not be able to get over, the emptiness she's left with. The side characters became a favourite as well, especially the witty Zoya, and Genya became an absolute badass, and obviously I can't forget Tamar and Tolya, David, Harshaw (still not over that either) and the rest of the band.
So overall, I wasn't a fan of the Apparat malarkey, but I thoroughly enjoyed this finale, and it has therefore cemented the Grishaverse as a favourite for me.
sofia_d's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
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
dembury's review against another edition
4.0
"They lived an ordinary life, full of ordinary things- if love can ever be called that."
😭😭😭❤️
😭😭😭❤️
grace_gloria's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
haley09's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
chaicedony's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
leaving some of my fave quotes here:
“I … I don’t understand half of what goes on around me. I don’t get jokes or sunsets or poetry, but I know metal. Beauty was your armor. Fragile stuff, all show. But what’s inside you? That’s steel. It’s brave and unbreakable. And it doesn’t need fixing.”
“I am not ruined. I am ruination.”
“Know that I loved you. Know that it was not enough.”
this is obviously my favorite book in the trilogy, it has a certain grip on me that i can’t explain
“I … I don’t understand half of what goes on around me. I don’t get jokes or sunsets or poetry, but I know metal. Beauty was your armor. Fragile stuff, all show. But what’s inside you? That’s steel. It’s brave and unbreakable. And it doesn’t need fixing.”
“I am not ruined. I am ruination.”
“Know that I loved you. Know that it was not enough.”
this is obviously my favorite book in the trilogy, it has a certain grip on me that i can’t explain
inook_u's review against another edition
4.0
I love being in the grishaverse. I can’t wait to dive into the other books
xsdam's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
впечатления положительные
приятный финал
слабее истории «шестерка воронов», но все равно хорошая трилогия
приятный финал
слабее истории «шестерка воронов», но все равно хорошая трилогия
farhana101's review against another edition
4.0
This book had a very satisfying ending! I was hoping we would get more interactions with the darkling and Alina but the way the story played out was very entertaining. I felt like we could’ve gotten a bit more insight to the end but understand that Leigh left some things open-ended for the story to continue on.
tckcallahan's review against another edition
5.0
An excellent conclusion to a wonderful trilogy. While the book ended in a manner I was somewhat suspecting- it did not go down the path that I thought it would while reading the first two books. I particularly enjoyed some of the twists and turns Leigh Bardugo threw in towards the end. If you would like a more spoilery review please view below
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I by far found my favorite character in Nikolai, his spunky attitude as well as general sense of surety in his own skills and blatant political outreach were refreshing. His diminutive reach to be with Alina was also well handled- starting out as a political manoeuvre and then moving to true friendship and caring.
The moment that shocked me the most in this book was the Darkling's response to Nikolai's care. Of all the things I was expecting it wasn't that. I felt my heart wrench at that moment. This was also the moment I loved most throughout the book because Nikolai wasn't magically healed. He still had those scars and although he was there within the monster he didn't just come back.
The ability to still hide and feel those wounds after the battle is what I have taken away from these books. I love Leigh Bardugo's ability to keep us in check that these characters are people, and people don't just get over this when the battle is won. I am thoroughly looking forward to reading the other books she has written in the future.
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Spoiler
Overall I really enjoyed this series. At the beginning I though I would be fed up with Alina rather quickly but I found her character and darker growth enjoyable. I also felt particularly close to Mal throughout the series- though there were some moments that the "I will be high and righteous" act fell a little flat (some where intentional others... well?)I by far found my favorite character in Nikolai, his spunky attitude as well as general sense of surety in his own skills and blatant political outreach were refreshing. His diminutive reach to be with Alina was also well handled- starting out as a political manoeuvre and then moving to true friendship and caring.
The moment that shocked me the most in this book was the Darkling's response to Nikolai's care. Of all the things I was expecting it wasn't that. I felt my heart wrench at that moment. This was also the moment I loved most throughout the book because Nikolai wasn't magically healed. He still had those scars and although he was there within the monster he didn't just come back.
The ability to still hide and feel those wounds after the battle is what I have taken away from these books. I love Leigh Bardugo's ability to keep us in check that these characters are people, and people don't just get over this when the battle is won. I am thoroughly looking forward to reading the other books she has written in the future.