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3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
3.5 ☆
When I first started reading this book, I was hesitant. The ending in the second one was not what I had expected, and I overall felt I had "lost" the Alina and Mal I knew from the first book (and liked a lot).
I started it and it was reaaaaally hard to get thorugh. I think I read 50 or 80 pages until the book sat at my bedtime table at least for a month. Then I got a feeling I could continue with this book.
When you get through the approximately first 100 pages the pace picks up and I was once again in it. The ending surprised me a lot (I had only seen the Netflix show before I read these books) and was overall surprised how much they changed some details in the series (then again, I understand it happens when you cram in two seasons three books + the Six of Crows storylines). The epilogue was wonderful and probably in my mind the best part of the book.
So, overall, the beginning was a bit ruff and the changes from the series surprised me, but other than that I enjoyed this book more than I first thought!
When I first started reading this book, I was hesitant. The ending in the second one was not what I had expected, and I overall felt I had "lost" the Alina and Mal I knew from the first book (and liked a lot).
I started it and it was reaaaaally hard to get thorugh. I think I read 50 or 80 pages until the book sat at my bedtime table at least for a month. Then I got a feeling I could continue with this book.
When you get through the approximately first 100 pages the pace picks up and I was once again in it. The ending surprised me a lot (I had only seen the Netflix show before I read these books) and was overall surprised how much they changed some details in the series (then again, I understand it happens when you cram in two seasons three books + the Six of Crows storylines). The epilogue was wonderful and probably in my mind the best part of the book.
So, overall, the beginning was a bit ruff and the changes from the series surprised me, but other than that I enjoyed this book more than I first thought!
adventurous
challenging
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
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A generous two stars. I struggled to get through this, and it was deeply unsatisfying. By the last 50 pages, I simply did not care what happened.
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
What is with YA always being so weirdly written? It’s such a strange in between land in the style of Britney Spears’s classic song “Not A Girl Not Yet A Woman”.
Examples of this include predictable and bland plots, sophomoric dialogue, very little cursing, and sudden graphic descriptions of horrific mutilations, maulings, and murders...but weirdly shying away from graphic sexual content. What is it with American culture being all right with children and young adults witnessing graphic violence but not anything affectionate? It’s so weird. I say American because the author is American, the base audience is American, and the YA genre at its core is American. Therefore it comes back to the root issue of it being an American problem.
I’m giving this three stars because the story was overall enjoyable, although it definitely is formulaic. Mary Sue, love triangle, magic, not a full understanding of the cultures the story is based in, and again, pretty bland writing. A lot of telling over showing. I am looking forward to the Netflix series, however.
I’m also posting this review on the other two books in the series, because it applies to the trilogy as a whole.
I did like the end of this book, btw - the “after” was sweetly written, especially the final paragraph and line.
Examples of this include predictable and bland plots, sophomoric dialogue, very little cursing, and sudden graphic descriptions of horrific mutilations, maulings, and murders...but weirdly shying away from graphic sexual content. What is it with American culture being all right with children and young adults witnessing graphic violence but not anything affectionate? It’s so weird. I say American because the author is American, the base audience is American, and the YA genre at its core is American. Therefore it comes back to the root issue of it being an American problem.
I’m giving this three stars because the story was overall enjoyable, although it definitely is formulaic. Mary Sue, love triangle, magic, not a full understanding of the cultures the story is based in, and again, pretty bland writing. A lot of telling over showing. I am looking forward to the Netflix series, however.
I’m also posting this review on the other two books in the series, because it applies to the trilogy as a whole.
I did like the end of this book, btw - the “after” was sweetly written, especially the final paragraph and line.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
The second time around made me realize how slow 50% of this book is