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kate_arts's review
adventurous
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
4.5
I love how Leigh Bardugo can create such multifaceted characters that feel real. The way they think and feel and act feels very real to me and is nice to see in the fantasy setting. I don’t necessarily love all of the plot points she puts these characters through. Especially how they are increasingly more impossible of situations that everyone comes out of mostly unscathed. That being said she is good about having the consequences of her character’s actions stick around and change the trajectory of the story. I loved the first half of the book, but the second half, particularly when Zoya and Nikolai were in the saints fold I did not like. I had a hard time suspending my disbelief for this whole section of the book. I mostly enjoyed Nina’s POV, but I don’t feel ready for whatever her and Hanne have going on. I do appreciate that she is given time to mourn Matthais’s death, but like literally the moment after she buries his body she stumbles upon a new love interest. I also don’t completely know how I feel about the darkling coming back. Like yes he was around forever and had great power so it shouldn’t be so easy to kill him, but also I want these new POVs to have their own struggles and bad guys. I guess we’ll see how this all plays out in the next book. All that being said I really did like the book and it’s probably one of my favorite out of the grishaverse despite some of my misgivings of the plot.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Addiction, Gore, and Body horror
Moderate: Child death, Chronic illness, Drug use, and Pregnancy
bergha1998's review
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
spaghettii's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Suicide, War, Animal death, Confinement, Cursing, Child death, Chronic illness, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Gun violence, Violence, Addiction, Child abuse, Kidnapping, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Murder, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Sexism, Death, Drug use, and Torture
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