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charli_bear's review against another edition
3.75
Moderate: Blood, Death, and Violence
Minor: Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Mental illness, War, and Suicidal thoughts
cecinamo's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Sometimes this book is a bit week from a storytelling perspective, but the characters definitely make up for it!!! Alina, David, Genya, Nikolai, Tolya, Tamar, Zoya - literal PERFECTION!!!!
Graphic: Gore, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Violence, Grief, War, Death, and Stalking
Minor: Bullying, Alcohol, and Child death
lia_24's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Minor: Sexual assault and Death
david_slack110507's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I found that this book was much more gripping that the previous one which very much felt like the first book in a trilogy (Not a bad thing but it definitely had that feeling) whereas while the long chapters remain in this one (And I'm assuming in all of Leigh Bardugo's work) I found it much easier and enjoyable to get through as well as it taking me less time. I liked a lot of the new characters the obvious being Nikolai who I feel brought a lot of charm to the novel and his back and forth with Alina was probably one of my favourite parts of the novel. Speaking of Alina, this time around while she still doubts herself and has her insecurities she felt a lot more involved in the action and getting to see her utilise the Cut and her power was nice to see throughout the novel.
I also really liked that we got to see more of the military-type operation and world of the Grishaverse/Ravka and Alina coming into control of the Second Army was really cool to see as it was a nice change of pace to have her decide to fight back against the Darkling (As briefly mentioned above). Tolya and Tamar were also a pretty good addition to the ensemble of characters even if they don't get a lot of backstory or much to do besides protecting Alina.
I can definitely see how some may not like this book as like how I feel with the first book feeling like the first book in a trilogy the same could be said for this one which can definitely feel like the second book and middle-point in a trilogy with its main goal being to set up the 3rd book/conclusion and filling out the rest of time with character dramas and a larger focus on dialogue and development that action (E.g the main real conflicts only come at the beginning and the end and The Darkling remains out of the picture for nearly all of the book aside from the final confrontation and appearing physically to Alina throughout after her nichevo'ya bite)
Overall, I might have the unpopular opinion that I preferred this book to the first and found it to be much more engaging (Perhaps due to the first book having set up everything that the second book could easily and comfortably ease back into the world). I'm planning on trying to finish this series as soon as possible rather than taking a couple of months break in between like I did with this book and the first.
Graphic: Blood, Violence, and Death
Moderate: War, Gore, Grief, Stalking, Kidnapping, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Cursing, Sexual assault, Animal death, Child death, Sexual harassment, and Animal cruelty
infjkiki's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Violence, War, Gun violence, and Gore
Minor: Sexual assault
kimidol's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
ps it feels long overall but goes by fast/makes u want to keep reading (didn’t have to trudge thru it after I truly started)
pps darkling apologists are ……… unacceptable
Graphic: War and Violence
Moderate: Sexual assault
Minor: Fatphobia
trintrin's review
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I love that Alina is becoming a much stronger character but she still kinda relies on men to feel like she matters and I hope she changes in the next book. It's so refreshing to read about her not-so-moral thoughts
Let's talk about Alina's love interests. Okay I admit Darklina is hot but nahhh ain't no way I'm gonna ship them that dude is an ancient fossil and he's evil on top of that. Nikolai seems too good to be true and even though I love him, I don't think him and Alina would make a good pair. There was a part where I thought Leigh was gonna kill Mal off (maybe even hoped that would be the case) but that didn't happen and I'm not sure if I like it or not. Because out of the options Mal would be the best fit and they're most likely gonna end up together but I still wish things were a little different. Maybe if Mal was just a little more likeable or maybe if Alina and Nikolai fit together a little better but oh well.
Some parts of the book felt like it's repeating scenes from the first one.
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Violence, and Death
Moderate: War, Body horror, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Alcohol and Sexual assault
nmtthews's review against another edition
- 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? No
3.0
Graphic: Blood, Death, War, and Murder
Moderate: Toxic relationship
Minor: Sexual assault
onefineelephant's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Animal death, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, Genocide, Grief, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Violence, War, Toxic relationship, Death, and Gore
littletiramisu's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Murder, Blood, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Torture
Minor: Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Rape