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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
shelbyrodger's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Violence, and Grief
themiscyra_anna's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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? Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery, Pregnancy, Murder, Misogyny, Gun violence, Sexual violence, Violence, War, Torture, Grief, Gore, Genocide, Death, and Body horror
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Child abuse, and Animal death
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
s1x0fh03s's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
gripping and vivid storytelling, the descriptions of grief and loss were so expertly written, Bardugo completely describes the effects of the civil war on both a societal and personal level
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide, Grief, Drug abuse, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Torture, War, and Violence
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
eguare's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
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
3.75
I enjoyed this more than the original Shadow & Bone trilogy, not as much as the Six of Crows duology. This book was a happy return for beloved characters, but I wasn't always happy with where they went. While I loved hearing more from Nina, I was heartbroken that the found family of the Crows broke up so thoroughly after Crooked Kingdom. It was also too soon after Matthias to enjoy Nina's burgeoning tension with Hanne (though I adore that Nina is canonically bisexual). I loved seeing Nikolai and Zoya continue to develop both independently and together .
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Violence, War, Gun violence, and Addiction
Moderate: Religious bigotry and Dysphoria
bergha1998's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
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
4.0
I hadn’t done enough research to even realize this one should be read after the Shadow & Bone Trilogy & the Six of Crows Duology, but luckily I did read it after. I found it really fun & insightful to finally have Zoya & Nikolai’s POVs, but also so happy to get Nina’s again too. The duo storylines were interesting, too, but with all Nina’s grief I did find Zoya/Nikolai’s more compelling.
Found Family, No True Romance Subplots
“Each spine had been an open doorway whispering, Come in, come in. Here is a land you’ve never seen before. Here is a place to hide when you’re frightened, to play when you’re bored, to rest when the world seems unkind.”
“Hope was the wind that came from nowhere to fill your sails and carry you home.”
“It must be easy to ponder the universe, safe in your palace, away from the petty, brutal dealings of man. Maybe you don’t remember what it is to be powerless. I do.”
“You’ve spent your life only choosing the paths at which you knew you could excel. It’s made you lazy.”
“Most of us can hide our greatest hurts and longings. It’s how we survive each day. We pretend the pain isn’t there, that we are made of scars instead of wounds.“
“Stop punishing yourself for being someone with a heart. You cannot protect yourself from suffering. To live is to grieve. You are not protecting yourself by shutting yourself off from the world. You are limiting yourself.”
Found Family, No True Romance Subplots
“Each spine had been an open doorway whispering, Come in, come in. Here is a land you’ve never seen before. Here is a place to hide when you’re frightened, to play when you’re bored, to rest when the world seems unkind.”
“Hope was the wind that came from nowhere to fill your sails and carry you home.”
“It must be easy to ponder the universe, safe in your palace, away from the petty, brutal dealings of man. Maybe you don’t remember what it is to be powerless. I do.”
“You’ve spent your life only choosing the paths at which you knew you could excel. It’s made you lazy.”
“Most of us can hide our greatest hurts and longings. It’s how we survive each day. We pretend the pain isn’t there, that we are made of scars instead of wounds.“
“Stop punishing yourself for being someone with a heart. You cannot protect yourself from suffering. To live is to grieve. You are not protecting yourself by shutting yourself off from the world. You are limiting yourself.”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, Violence, War, Slavery, Kidnapping, Grief, Racism, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Bullying, Chronic illness, and Death of parent
alyssadavis'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? It's complicated
3.5
“Zoya of the lost city. Zoya of the garden. Zoya bleeding in the snow. You are strong enough to survive the fall.”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism and Misogyny
Moderate: Addiction, Murder, War, Abandonment, Violence, Child abuse, Death, and Grief
Minor: Sexual assault, Drug abuse, and Rape
fantasycat'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? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Grief, Death, and Confinement
Moderate: Addiction, Drug use, and Drug abuse
Minor: War, Miscarriage, Vomit, and Child death