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khall909's review against another edition
5.0
This was definitely out of my comfort zone with it being fantasy, but I LOVED IT. This helped me ease in a little bite more to the genre. Like a lot of people, I read this without reading the Shadow and Bone trilogy first and that made it a little harder to follow initially, but it was easy to catch on. The world building and character development was soo good. I love the characters so much. There are multiple POVs so you get lots of perspectives from diverse characters which made it very interesting. I loved the heist aspect and the unlikely crew.
el_dorado's review against another edition
adventurous
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
4.5
peterelparques's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
aerialthief's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail
iainormiston's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
toyajwilliams's review against another edition
5.0
Obsessed. Read it in 12 hours. Fell in love several times. Many feels - in fact, ALL the feels.
mediashadowreads's review against another edition
5.0
This book had me hooked.. once I initially got over the ever so slightly bump at the start. I’ve got to be honest, the first 40-60 pages didn’t really do anything for me.. I wasn’t gripped or particularly excited however in saying that I understand they had to get the initial introduction and information out there for us. However once the action really started things definitely heated up considerably. I’m so glad I listened to the wonderful world of bookstagram when it came to this book.
I liked the change in narrator in this book. At first I was a little skeptical of it, thinking that it wouldn’t run all that smoothly. However I was wrong. The transition between the narrators was incredibly well thought and well written. You didn’t have multiple characters replaying the same scenes, just in their point of view, instead it moved steadily forward on the timeline no matter who was narrating.
I particularly liked how dark Kaz seemed at the start of this book. He was ‘dirty hands’, a thief, a criminal… a mastermind on the darker parts of life. And of course.. incredibly skilled in magic and the art of deception. Despite all of that he came across with a certain charm.. that despite his wit, his apparent lack of care for his comrades he did in fact care. Maybe toward the start the money was his primary objective but his ‘love’ of Inej definitely started to make itself far more known towards the end of the book.
If I’m being honest I don’t think I could pick a favourite member of the crew. They were all utterly awesome and completely different. They all had their charms and all had ‘blood on their hands’ so to speak. I also like that they somewhat paired off, with Kaz and Inej and their complicated relationship… Nina and Matthias and their even MORE complicated relationship (one, which might I add, blossomed wonderfully towards the end of the book) and then dear little Wylan and Jesper. Somehow I see sparks between them.. I hope I’m not the only one sensing (and hoping actually) that something will happen between the two of them.
In terms of the story line.. it was a mouthful of epic-ness. It truly was. So much action and adventure and exploration in this book. Enough to keep me going for a sure while. All this action and planning and blowing things up all happening whilst each member of the ‘gang’ are facing their own personal dilemma’s and demons. I like that we got to know their dreams after gaining their share of the money. It really showed just what some people would really do for money, even if it meant facing death and trying to out smart it.
Kaz and his cunning ability for tricks and plans really shined for me in this book. I loved the deception… the art of disguise. The art of magic. But not Grisha born magic, street magic.. slight of hand. Not enough ‘criminals’ in books are of Kaz’s kind. Too many are rough and simply based on killing and controlling… and despite that being part of it, it wasn’t solely what Kaz worked for. He gave the other people in the gang a chance of picking their own destiny (somewhat)… or he at least gave them a better option that the positions they’d been in previously.
I think my favourite scene had to be when Nina took the ‘drug’ – jurda parem – and essentially possibly sacrificed her mind to save the gang. I think this is when we really see true Grisha power.. amplified obviously. She knew that the addiction could kill her yet for Matthias and the rest of the crew she didn’t care. The pure power of that scene was wonderfully written… and that scene also really truly showed just how far the relationship between Nina and Matthias had truly come. Considering he nearly killed her when they rescued him from Hellgate.
In terms of the conclusion to this book… I did see something going wrong. I didn’t know what and was somewhat surprised by the actual events but I just knew something was going to go down. To say it was an ‘epic showdown’ would be an overstatement however I think it needed to end that way… it needed to end with something more raw. It needed to end with Kaz determined to get Inej back after she was taken. I look forward to their relationship hopefully developing in the next book… I just need the two of them to confess their love to each other. Although, knowing what books are usually like, the likelihood of them getting their version of a happy ending is unlikely.
I will definitely be getting my hands on the next book hopefully sometime soon. I need to see more of Kaz’s wonderfully planning mind, I need to see what happens between him and Inej. I also want to know how much stronger Wylan becomes in the next book. I imagine he might be the character to watch out for in terms of character development.. he is perfectly set up for it. I’m also intrigued to see more of the Grisha influence and,in particular, just how the gang will cope with those Grisha when they’re under the influence of jurda parem. Because as we saw from the ending of the book, they aren’t the easiest of things to defeat.
Would I suggest this book to other bookworms? It lives up to its hype for sure!
Will I be reading the next book in the series? You bet!
Am I completely in love with this book? Criminals have never been so awesome!
I liked the change in narrator in this book. At first I was a little skeptical of it, thinking that it wouldn’t run all that smoothly. However I was wrong. The transition between the narrators was incredibly well thought and well written. You didn’t have multiple characters replaying the same scenes, just in their point of view, instead it moved steadily forward on the timeline no matter who was narrating.
I particularly liked how dark Kaz seemed at the start of this book. He was ‘dirty hands’, a thief, a criminal… a mastermind on the darker parts of life. And of course.. incredibly skilled in magic and the art of deception. Despite all of that he came across with a certain charm.. that despite his wit, his apparent lack of care for his comrades he did in fact care. Maybe toward the start the money was his primary objective but his ‘love’ of Inej definitely started to make itself far more known towards the end of the book.
If I’m being honest I don’t think I could pick a favourite member of the crew. They were all utterly awesome and completely different. They all had their charms and all had ‘blood on their hands’ so to speak. I also like that they somewhat paired off, with Kaz and Inej and their complicated relationship… Nina and Matthias and their even MORE complicated relationship (one, which might I add, blossomed wonderfully towards the end of the book) and then dear little Wylan and Jesper. Somehow I see sparks between them.. I hope I’m not the only one sensing (and hoping actually) that something will happen between the two of them.
In terms of the story line.. it was a mouthful of epic-ness. It truly was. So much action and adventure and exploration in this book. Enough to keep me going for a sure while. All this action and planning and blowing things up all happening whilst each member of the ‘gang’ are facing their own personal dilemma’s and demons. I like that we got to know their dreams after gaining their share of the money. It really showed just what some people would really do for money, even if it meant facing death and trying to out smart it.
Kaz and his cunning ability for tricks and plans really shined for me in this book. I loved the deception… the art of disguise. The art of magic. But not Grisha born magic, street magic.. slight of hand. Not enough ‘criminals’ in books are of Kaz’s kind. Too many are rough and simply based on killing and controlling… and despite that being part of it, it wasn’t solely what Kaz worked for. He gave the other people in the gang a chance of picking their own destiny (somewhat)… or he at least gave them a better option that the positions they’d been in previously.
I think my favourite scene had to be when Nina took the ‘drug’ – jurda parem – and essentially possibly sacrificed her mind to save the gang. I think this is when we really see true Grisha power.. amplified obviously. She knew that the addiction could kill her yet for Matthias and the rest of the crew she didn’t care. The pure power of that scene was wonderfully written… and that scene also really truly showed just how far the relationship between Nina and Matthias had truly come. Considering he nearly killed her when they rescued him from Hellgate.
In terms of the conclusion to this book… I did see something going wrong. I didn’t know what and was somewhat surprised by the actual events but I just knew something was going to go down. To say it was an ‘epic showdown’ would be an overstatement however I think it needed to end that way… it needed to end with something more raw. It needed to end with Kaz determined to get Inej back after she was taken. I look forward to their relationship hopefully developing in the next book… I just need the two of them to confess their love to each other. Although, knowing what books are usually like, the likelihood of them getting their version of a happy ending is unlikely.
I will definitely be getting my hands on the next book hopefully sometime soon. I need to see more of Kaz’s wonderfully planning mind, I need to see what happens between him and Inej. I also want to know how much stronger Wylan becomes in the next book. I imagine he might be the character to watch out for in terms of character development.. he is perfectly set up for it. I’m also intrigued to see more of the Grisha influence and,in particular, just how the gang will cope with those Grisha when they’re under the influence of jurda parem. Because as we saw from the ending of the book, they aren’t the easiest of things to defeat.
Would I suggest this book to other bookworms? It lives up to its hype for sure!
Will I be reading the next book in the series? You bet!
Am I completely in love with this book? Criminals have never been so awesome!