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creolelitbelle'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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
My favorite aspect of this trilogy's ending is how when the tide turns for the worse, solutions are not magically found sitting around every corner. Alina and her allies have to work hard and struggle to survive to the battle and never expect the fighting and odds to fall in their favors. I love the realism of that, even if the story is full of fantasy. Parts of the ending feel underwhelming, but certain characters who took convincing for me to root for are beloved for me by the end. The battle's conclusion may fit the world-building, but I'm much more satisfied with the epilogue. Grishaverse lore is optimal in this book, and I look forward to learning more of it from other stories and books.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death of parent
oxfordcommas91's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Unfortunately this one was an underwhelming and disappointing way to round out the Shadow and Bone trilogy. This series really peaked with the second book and I wish that the author would have given the characters a more satisfying story arc throughout.
I really disliked Mal and Alina's love story throughout this last installment. It felt forced - they had absolutely zero chemistry at all and would have been better off staying friends. Alina would have been much better suited to Nikolai in the end and Bardugo's refusal to kill off any of the important characters also frustrated me. The beginning of this book was so slow and while it picked up as it went along, I found myself hoping for it to just end rather than being excited to reach the climax and the "final battle" as I should have with a series of this nature.
A 3 star rating feels generous but I don't think it deserves worse - it just wasn't the right finale in my mind for these characters.
A 3 star rating feels generous but I don't think it deserves worse - it just wasn't the right finale in my mind for these characters.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, Grief, Murder, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail
snowiceblackfruit77's review against another edition
dark
emotional
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
4.75
I loved this book so much I didn’t like at first that Alina lost her power, but it was necessary. I love this trilogy and the characters.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and War
matcha_pages's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Violence
Moderate: Rape
patchedspines's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-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
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, and War
Moderate: Blood
Minor: Addiction
glund_01's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
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
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Sexual assault, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Blood
jackacj's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
tense
medium-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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, and War
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, and Slavery
Minor: Vomit
wishyouweresober's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
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? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, and War
amypalmer's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
sad
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
4.0
This was an amazing finale. This was so much better than the TV shows end and had a lot of adventure and twists. I enjoyed the journey of this book and while extensive, they did not drag like the second book. This was the most fast paced of the three and had many moments of suprise.
My one issue was how Alina's story ended in this book
loosing all her powers which is a trope I hate. Lessened I would understand but completely is not fair on her growth.
though I am yet to read thr duologies.
My one issue was how Alina's story ended in this book
though I am yet to read thr duologies.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
bookedbymadeline's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.5
This is the least annoying Alina has ever been 😅 I sped through this book and I loved that Mal and Alina weren’t together for the most part. They finally stopped whining about each other and the romance wasn’t a large focus. I was feeling great about this book until chapter 15/16.
The ending felt rushed and honestly I’m mad about it. Why is it ending this way?! It makes no sense to me and is the only reason it gets a lower rating because before the last 3 chapters it would’ve been a 4-4.5 star book!
The pacing was so good throughout the book, much better than the other two, right up until the last 50ish pages. I’m in the minority opinion it seems but book 2 was the best book imo, then this and then book 1 🫠
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, and War
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Rape