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wrappingpaper's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
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
4.75
This series is just amazing. The last few chapters were simply insane?? The epilogue had me on the verge of tears🥲 Leigh Bardugo’s writing is truly a pleasure to read.
The entire world is so addictive, the characters feel so real and interesting. I’m in love with Ravka and the rest of the grishaverse - I can’t wait to jump into the other duologies.
The way Leigh crafts all of the characters is just amazing. The stakes are high, there’s plot points you could never see coming yet still make perfect sense, and once you leave this world you simply can’t wait to go back to find out what happens to the characters next.
Definitely recommend reading if you’re considering it, I was hesitant at first but now I’m obsessed!
The entire world is so addictive, the characters feel so real and interesting. I’m in love with Ravka and the rest of the grishaverse - I can’t wait to jump into the other duologies.
The way Leigh crafts all of the characters is just amazing. The stakes are high, there’s plot points you could never see coming yet still make perfect sense, and once you leave this world you simply can’t wait to go back to find out what happens to the characters next.
Definitely recommend reading if you’re considering it, I was hesitant at first but now I’m obsessed!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, and Murder
bubbly_lara's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I absolutely loved this. All the stars, 10/10, highly recommend this series! I literally did not know what to do with myself for hours after finishing it. We meet Alina and the group of survivors in the White Cathedral right where "Siege and Storm" ended. We follow along as they grow together as a group and plan their escape from underground to find Nikolai and his troops in order to face the Darkling and save Ravka. They venture on the journey to find the third amplifier while they learn more about the Darklings past, Ilya Morozova and how it is all interconnected. At the end of the day, they must each choose whether they can live with the price to be paid to end this war.
"What is infinite? The universe and the greed of men."
For a moment there, I thought my little heart could not take how the story was unfolding. In what the Darkling decided on as a punishment forNikolai we see once more how cruel he can truly be. The moments between Alina and Nikolai in his monster form made my heart ache for the both of them and the choices they must make. Also, how could I not talk about Alina and Mal. For a moment there, I thought they would not get to live the life they both want and deserve. What with Mal being the Third Amplifier and both of them knowing he must die in order for Alina to absorb the power within Mal. No words, just heartbreak. I did love the epilogue and how they rebuilt Keramzin to be a better home for others than it was for them. Zoya handing Alina blue Grisha robes with the note "You will always be one of us" makes me tear up even writing this review. .
Please do yourself a favour and go read this series. It deserves all the hype it's getting. I cannot wait to go dive back into the Grishaverse with "Six of Crows" next.
"What is infinite? The universe and the greed of men."
For a moment there, I thought my little heart could not take how the story was unfolding. In what the Darkling decided on as a punishment for
Please do yourself a favour and go read this series. It deserves all the hype it's getting. I cannot wait to go dive back into the Grishaverse with "Six of Crows" next.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Cursing, Alcohol, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, and War
Moderate: Suicide, Child death, Sexual assault, Animal death, Rape, Sexual violence, and Vomit
brekker_by_brekker's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Violence
Minor: Rape
ofpoetsandprose's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.5
I adored this. Best one of the trilogy, in my opinion. It was adventurous, the stakes were high, and I surpassingly actually liked the ending. It’s a trope I typically hate, but here, with these specific characters, I really enjoyed it. I am a Mal defender TILL THE DAY I DIE.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
fionamatilda's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
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
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Sexual assault, War, and Toxic relationship
matthiasreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Violence, and Death
Minor: Sexual assault and Ableism
what_karla_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Gun violence, Death, and Grief
Minor: Child death
toastyghosty13's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
I felt that this book actually started off pretty strong and was much better than the previous book of this series for the first half of it. As the book drew to a close, it felt too slow and too rushed in parts.
One thing that bothered me was that Mal was the third amplifier. This just seemed strange to me, especially when the idea of Morozova and his normal daughter surviving being drowned in chains is a huge reach, on top of the fact that Mal is some supposed descendant of the daughter. I found this to be a weird plot point, but I guess it can work.
Something that really bothered me that stems from this is that when Alina killed Mal to try to use him as the last amplifier as a last resort, she lost all of her power and it was reflected in all of the other normal citizens instead. I found this very cheesy and a weird way to take it. I doubt I am the only one that wanted to see Alina go super saiyan on the darkling in some massive showdown, so this was a huge letdown to me.
I did not realize how many people would die off, nor did I realize that they had even died until spoken about in past tense. Harshaw is one of these, plus Ruby and some others that were from the final battle and the battle at spinning wheel. I think all of these characters got done dirty, plus Genya got done dirty for no reason, in my opinion. Same goes for Botkin and anyone that was defending the orphanage; I feel that that was totally unnecessary for them to die and did not really add anything to the plot.
The end bothered me unbelievably. Leigh pulled a Game of Thrones, where we are all expecting some epic showdown just for the big ending move to be getting stabbed in the heart by some forgotten dagger. This was boring and a disappointing cop out, since she is the main character and I expected a lot more for the final scene.
The afterward I actually quite liked. It was quaint, and pretty wholesome. I enjoy that they still have contact with everyone that stayed on to be advisors to Nikolai in the palace and that Alina and Mal are not just cut off from the world completely. They opened an orphanage that they really care about and are able to reminisce whenever old friends from the palace come by to visit. Overall a great afterward.
I have heard that the other duologies are a lot better than this. I am pretty disappointed with the turn this series took after how much I enjoyed the first book. I have the boxset so I will at least be reading The Six of Crows Duology since I already own it. I would not purchase King of Scars unless Six of Crows makes a huge turnaround of what Shadow and Bone left me feeling.
One thing that bothered me was that
Something that really bothered me that stems from this is that when Alina killed Mal to try to use him as the last amplifier as a last resort, she lost all of her power and it was reflected in all of the other normal citizens instead. I found this very cheesy and a weird way to take it. I doubt I am the only one that wanted to see Alina go super saiyan on the darkling in some massive showdown, so this was a huge letdown to me.
I did not realize how many people would die off, nor did I realize that they had even died until spoken about in past tense.
The end bothered me unbelievably.
The afterward I actually quite liked. It was quaint, and pretty wholesome. I enjoy that
I have heard that the other duologies are a lot better than this. I am pretty disappointed with the turn this series took after how much I enjoyed the first book. I have the boxset so I will at least be reading The Six of Crows Duology since I already own it. I would not purchase King of Scars unless Six of Crows makes a huge turnaround of what Shadow and Bone left me feeling.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Torture, War, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Rape, Child abuse, and Suicidal thoughts
as610's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Body horror, and War
katarina_sarmo's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
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
Don’t read this if you want functional tear ducts at the end.
Might come back and write a more in-depth review if I ever recover emotionally.
Might come back and write a more in-depth review if I ever recover emotionally.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death