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david_slack110507's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
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
3.75
I don't know what it has been about this year so far but I have been really struggling with reading slumps and I feel like that has majorly affected my reading, particularly for certain aspects of this book as I feel mainly positive about this but I also do have my criticisms with it. For starters, this really does feel like a set-up book at times which makes sense given that it starts a new duology but it also means that at times it feels like there is a lot of new exposition being dumped at us and it can feel like a bit too much to handle. Another issue I have is that due to my reading slump whilst reading, the pacing felt really off and at times it felt quite slow and like not much was happening which didn't always help with making me come back to it.
However, I didn't absolutely hate this book and I actually quite enjoyed it as the positives definitely outweigh the negatives, especially in terms of the characters. This book follows Nikolai, Zoya, and Nina, the first two from the original Shadow and Bone series and Nina being from the Six of Crows duology meaning that those two series within the overall Grishaverse all collide and I love all 3 of them and each of them get to flourish in many different ways in this book. Nikolai was one of my favourite characters from the original Shadow and Bone books and here we get to see him 3 years removed from the ending of Ruin and Rising as well as dealing with the monster inside of him which is a remnant of the Darkling's power that he got in the aforementioned book. He's still effortlessly charming and he continues to have such character and screen presence that he is easily identifiable and his interactions/relationship with Zoya was enjoyable to read which speaking of: Zoya. I think Zoya is the character that gets the most growth in this book because we finally get to see more of her as well as also getting to see her perspective of the events of the Shadow and Bone trilogy and how that links to her past which was really interesting yet sad to learn about. I did quite like Zoya near the end of the original trilogy but this book managed to make her a standout character as well as properly establish her as one of the many victims of The Darkling whilst also allowing her to not be squeaky clean either as she admits her faults and the role she played in his evil.
Then, there is also Nina who I'm splitting up from the other two because she is the exact same in the actual book, split up from Nikolai and Zoya as well as most of the supporting cast in Ravka as Nina is in Fjerda following the events of Crooked Kingdom as I found her perspective to be the most mixed for me. On one hand, I loved getting more Nina content and I love how she continues her story from Crooked Kingdom in dealing with Matthias' death as well as her bout with Parem and how that makes her so resolute on helping the young women and girls kept in Fjerda that are secretly Grisha and being dosed on Parem. I loved these elements of her story and I found them to be really interesting, especially with the implicit commentary on the treatment of women and victims but I also found the middle part of her story to be quite uninteresting with Hanne as she just didn't really seem to jump out at me, especially when she's sharing the page with Nina, and so I feel like Nina's plot is the most obvious example of this feeling more like a set up than anything else.
There is also a new character that we follow for half of the book called Isaak who is called in to replace and pretend to be Nikolai after Nikolai and Zoya's disappearance and I found him to be a fine character but I did feel like he was more there for plot reasons than anything else and so I didn't find his story to be all that interesting though I feel like, with Nina's, the ending of his is going to hopefully be something much more interesting if it is carried into the second book and this was merely the setup. I also wasn't the biggest fan of where the plot turns in this book as while I'm not too upset with the 'resurrection' of The Darkling as he's not really resurrected but brought back to life in an interesting way, I'm not the biggest fan of how the book treats the rules of Grisha power as there are some choices made that did have me feeling like the previously established rules were being bent because they needed to be for the plot moreso than anything else.
I feel like my review is mostly negative but I did have a really fun time when reading the book and I really enjoyed it when I was reading it despite the slump I had that made my sit downs for it dispersed for far longer than I would have wanted them to be. I really do hope that not only will this be the last book to be affected by whatever reading slump it is that I'm in right know but that I also appreciate it more once I see what it is building towards when I read Rule of Wolves.
However, I didn't absolutely hate this book and I actually quite enjoyed it as the positives definitely outweigh the negatives, especially in terms of the characters. This book follows Nikolai, Zoya, and Nina, the first two from the original Shadow and Bone series and Nina being from the Six of Crows duology meaning that those two series within the overall Grishaverse all collide and I love all 3 of them and each of them get to flourish in many different ways in this book. Nikolai was one of my favourite characters from the original Shadow and Bone books and here we get to see him 3 years removed from the ending of Ruin and Rising as well as dealing with the monster inside of him which is a remnant of the Darkling's power that he got in the aforementioned book. He's still effortlessly charming and he continues to have such character and screen presence that he is easily identifiable and his interactions/relationship with Zoya was enjoyable to read which speaking of: Zoya. I think Zoya is the character that gets the most growth in this book because we finally get to see more of her as well as also getting to see her perspective of the events of the Shadow and Bone trilogy and how that links to her past which was really interesting yet sad to learn about. I did quite like Zoya near the end of the original trilogy but this book managed to make her a standout character as well as properly establish her as one of the many victims of The Darkling whilst also allowing her to not be squeaky clean either as she admits her faults and the role she played in his evil.
Then, there is also Nina who I'm splitting up from the other two because she is the exact same in the actual book, split up from Nikolai and Zoya as well as most of the supporting cast in Ravka as Nina is in Fjerda following the events of Crooked Kingdom as I found her perspective to be the most mixed for me. On one hand, I loved getting more Nina content and I love how she continues her story from Crooked Kingdom in dealing with Matthias' death as well as her bout with Parem and how that makes her so resolute on helping the young women and girls kept in Fjerda that are secretly Grisha and being dosed on Parem. I loved these elements of her story and I found them to be really interesting, especially with the implicit commentary on the treatment of women and victims but I also found the middle part of her story to be quite uninteresting with Hanne as she just didn't really seem to jump out at me, especially when she's sharing the page with Nina, and so I feel like Nina's plot is the most obvious example of this feeling more like a set up than anything else.
There is also a new character that we follow for half of the book called Isaak who is called in to replace and pretend to be Nikolai after Nikolai and Zoya's disappearance and I found him to be a fine character but I did feel like he was more there for plot reasons than anything else and so I didn't find his story to be all that interesting though I feel like, with Nina's, the ending of his is going to hopefully be something much more interesting if it is carried into the second book and this was merely the setup. I also wasn't the biggest fan of where the plot turns in this book as while I'm not too upset with the 'resurrection' of The Darkling as he's not really resurrected but brought back to life in an interesting way, I'm not the biggest fan of how the book treats the rules of Grisha power as there are some choices made that did have me feeling like the previously established rules were being bent because they needed to be for the plot moreso than anything else.
I feel like my review is mostly negative but I did have a really fun time when reading the book and I really enjoyed it when I was reading it despite the slump I had that made my sit downs for it dispersed for far longer than I would have wanted them to be. I really do hope that not only will this be the last book to be affected by whatever reading slump it is that I'm in right know but that I also appreciate it more once I see what it is building towards when I read Rule of Wolves.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Kidnapping, Murder, War, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Addiction, Blood, Body horror, Torture, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Gore
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Xenophobia, Medical content, Sexual assault, Gaslighting, Genocide, Miscarriage, Religious bigotry, Abandonment, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Trafficking, Sexism, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, and Infertility
Minor: Classism, Emotional abuse, Dysphoria, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Toxic relationship, Pedophilia, Alcohol, Deadnaming, Animal cruelty, Death of parent, and Toxic friendship
readwithsophsx's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Grief, Drug abuse, Blood, Deportation, Kidnapping, Confinement, Physical abuse, Miscarriage, Death, Murder, War, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, Sexual assault, Gun violence, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, and Addiction
jess_garner's review against another edition
adventurous
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
not a masterpiece, but very good!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, War, Addiction, Drug use, and Child death
Moderate: Sexual assault
Minor: Vomit
caelfind's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, and War
s_nova's review against another edition
adventurous
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Kidnapping, War, and Pregnancy
Minor: Miscarriage
koiolee's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
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
4.5
As i grow older, i stray away from fantasy novels/series. This series (and Six of Crows duology) bring me back to my fantasy days. I adore the magic system and the writing that brings this world into the real world. The grief every character fights is palpable, as if you yourself lost that person.
Spoilers
My opinion on characters
Nikolai: i really like him as a king. Also live how he keeps his wits around him like a protective slime layer.
Zoya: i think my favorite character with so much depth. I loved learning more and more about her.
Nina: probably the character i relate to the most. Her chapters were hard for me to read because i imagine my own partner and that loss as my own. I was mad after crooked kingdom when she didn't lose her cool over her loss (literally my only critique was that she didnt go absolutely feral), but after reading this, i understand it so much more.... but i still think she should've gone feral. Or as feral as she could during recovery.
Spoilers
My opinion on characters
Nikolai: i really like him as a king. Also live how he keeps his wits around him like a protective slime layer.
Zoya: i think my favorite character with so much depth. I loved learning more and more about her.
Nina: probably the character i relate to the most. Her chapters were hard for me to read because i imagine my own partner and that loss as my own. I was mad after crooked kingdom when she didn't lose her cool over her loss (literally my only critique was that she didnt go absolutely feral), but after reading this, i understand it so much more.... but i still think she should've gone feral. Or as feral as she could during recovery.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Sexism
Moderate: Pregnancy, War, and Addiction
Minor: Confinement
sloan_emmi92's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
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? No
4.25
I put off reading this for too long, but now that I actually finished it, I REALLY liked it. It was exciting and funny and I had no idea I missed these freaking characters so so much. I love Nikolai, Nina, Zoya, Genya, Tamar, Nadia, Tolya, David, and literally everyone so muchhh.
This book was just so much fun, like the best way to describe it was just a wild ride that I enjoyed, it wasn’t on Six of Crows level, but I truly enjoyed the action and everything the characters endured in this.
I also LOVED being able to see more into the back story of the characters, especially Zoya and Nina.
Leigh Bardugo, you did it again, thank you so much for being an author I can count on for having a good time while reading a book and absolutely falling in love with these characters all over again!<3
This book was just so much fun, like the best way to describe it was just a wild ride that I enjoyed, it wasn’t on Six of Crows level, but I truly enjoyed the action and everything the characters endured in this.
I also LOVED being able to see more into the back story of the characters, especially Zoya and Nina.
Leigh Bardugo, you did it again, thank you so much for being an author I can count on for having a good time while reading a book and absolutely falling in love with these characters all over again!<3
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Grief, and Pregnancy
Minor: War
oceana_bookworm's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
reflective
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
4.5
I think this book fits into the Grishaverse pretty well and it was super fun to read. It took a lot longer to get into than most of the other books but was still really good! Overall I’m so excited to read Rule of Wolves!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Violence, War, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Rape, Death of parent, Grief, and Gore
nils_0's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
lighthearted
reflective
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Pregnancy, War, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
ashleighamble's review against another edition
adventurous
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? It's complicated
3.5
I love the characters, world, and magic, and I think that's what made this book enjoyable for me.
My issue is that the plot was not engaging or worthwhile. It was a little unclear why things happened the way they did and while I liked the multiple big sub-plots that were engaging, yet the main one was just weird and felt unnatural. I'm not sure how to explain it properly. I say this with every book I've read recently: I enjoyed reading it, but I will likely forget about it the second I pick up another book. I'm just slightly disappointed and not one bit starstruck.
I also want to note that I like the characters they introduced and the backstory for Zoya and Nikolai (my favorite pair <3).
My issue is that the plot was not engaging or worthwhile. It was a little unclear why things happened the way they did and while I liked the multiple big sub-plots that were engaging, yet the main one was just weird and felt unnatural. I'm not sure how to explain it properly. I say this with every book I've read recently: I enjoyed reading it, but I will likely forget about it the second I pick up another book. I'm just slightly disappointed and not one bit starstruck.
I also want to note that I like the characters they introduced and the backstory for Zoya and Nikolai (my favorite pair <3).
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Suicide, Violence, and Slavery
Minor: Infertility, War, and Miscarriage