Reviews with content warning for Slavery - Das Lied der Krähen

“No mourners, no funerals. Another way of saying good luck. But it was something more. A dark wink to the fact that there would be no expensive burials for people like them, no marble markers to remember their names, no wreaths of myrtle and rose.”

A dark, twisty, beautifully haunting tale of six teenagers with miserable pasts who are bound together by an impossible heist that should get them killed. In their universe, there is a species called Grisha, who have the power to manipulate natural elements. They are being hunted down, deemed “witches” who shouldn’t exist. In a hustling and bustling city called Ketterdam, two workers and a ruthless boss are attempting their next mission, joined by a Grisha Heartrender, a former prisoner, and a runaway with a rich past.

Leigh Bardugo brilliantly diversified this book. Two of the six are people of color (Zemeni and Suli, using their world’s cultural terms) and disability is shown without being something freakish or unnatural. A non-working leg, dyslexia, ADD (though that one is unconfirmed). The main focus of the book isn’t romance, but the author wrote it so enticingly and I ate up every delectable scrap.

Overall, you will become invested in these six people. Everyone should read this book!

Content Warnings

amyiris's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark 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

Content Warnings

terezasuchan's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark funny 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? It's complicated

4.0

Content Warnings

bookaholic84's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging 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? It's complicated

5.0

I was enraptured with this book from chapter one, I absolutely loved the plot, the characters and the twists..
cannot wait to start book two

Content Warnings

fiolud's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense 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? It's complicated

4.5

Content Warnings

zzara's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

This!! book!! I love this book!! The highlight of this book for me was just the world-building. I'm glad I read the Shadow and Bone trilogy first to get an understanding of the world and magic system, but this book adds an element of international and inter-ethnic tensions between the Ravkans, Kerch, Fjerdans, Shu which was just amazing. Bardugo just writes so well, I loved how we weaved between the different characters and the past and the present but did so in a way that was very comprehensible. I was rarely lost while reading this book, which is such a feat because the plot was complex! The characters were amazing, the romance was soooo subtle which I loved, just all in all a fantastic read.

Content Warnings

More...