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3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
Leiigh Bardugo is one hell of a writer. I see this trilogy as the protoype for [b:Six of Crows|23437156|Six of Crows (Six of Crows, #1)|Leigh Bardugo|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1459349344l/23437156._SY75_.jpg|42077459] because it tries a lot of the things out that happen in the next Grishaverse duology but doesn't always hit the mark. Regardless, it's a compelling read that invests you in something whether it be the characters, their relationships, or just the world setting itself. It also goes above and beyond the usual big battle then The End we get from many a novel, so while the ending didn't totally satisfy in terms of tension and drama it did in terms of finishing up the individual stories of our heroes.
I'm still a little disappointed by the character development and world building aspects - they seemed almost absent since the first book. Everyone becomes this team of sudden BFFs who snark and share easy banter despite not really having earned it (a theme that occurs and is dealt with so well in Six of Crows). I know their names, but beyond Mal and Alina everyone's a bit 2D and limited to a set of traits (Zoya = bitchy, beautiful; David = studious, oblivious; Harshaw = pyromaniac, cat-lover; Stigg = Fjerdan, ???) so it's hard to care much for them. There's so little friendly chemistry that it relies on their sarcasm, which while entertaining is a bit forced. I can't say I was overly struck on the coupling-offs that occurred either; again, they felt unearned.
Horcrux amplifier all along because... legendary reasons? And he can't be killed off because... legendary reasons? Stolen life force something something... Well, if you wanted a HEA that badly I guess.
Revelations in terms of the plot were a tad anti-climactic, more a case of "oh, really? Eh" then being shockingly wonderful. They just took so long to get to. Alina's narration is great for helping speed up the sometimes painful slow pace, but it could still be frustrating. I guess I just expected more tension and more heartache over characters' fates considering the length of the build up. There's closure for sure, but I didn't get the emotional heft I hoped for.
I preferred the first book to these later parts purely because it did more to set up the world and characters. Later it's more just stuff happens/people talk/people smooch/people die. It was very young adult academy with all it's infighting and fish-out-of-water politics, whereas books 2 and 3 wanted to be more adventure/romance. That switcharoo of tone and expectations is probably why I didn't find it quite as satisfying as I hoped.
But basically that I finished it and liked it in any way proves to me at least that Leigh Bardugo is an amazing writer. She can engage me even when I'm not 100% invested in what's going on, and her imagination is a strange and creepy place that's interesting to visit. I may not have loved everything about the story, but it was an enjoyable enough ride.
I'm still a little disappointed by the character development and world building aspects - they seemed almost absent since the first book. Everyone becomes this team of sudden BFFs who snark and share easy banter despite not really having earned it (a theme that occurs and is dealt with so well in Six of Crows). I know their names, but beyond Mal and Alina everyone's a bit 2D and limited to a set of traits (Zoya = bitchy, beautiful; David = studious, oblivious; Harshaw = pyromaniac, cat-lover; Stigg = Fjerdan, ???) so it's hard to care much for them. There's so little friendly chemistry that it relies on their sarcasm, which while entertaining is a bit forced. I can't say I was overly struck on the coupling-offs that occurred either; again, they felt unearned.
Spoiler
Frustrated ranty spoilers: Mal and Alina (and all her Grisha friends tbh) are bound together by circumstances and sarcasm, not chemistry. The Darkling was barely there and relegated to the evil-friend-zone. Nikolai is pretty much male Zoya. Deaths were just another thing that occurred rather than meaning something. Stigg, Harshaw, Sergei, even Baghra to a certain extent... Just chucked away and shortly forgotten about. The guys finallygo hunt the MacGuffin for an age before realising that Mal has been theRevelations in terms of the plot were a tad anti-climactic, more a case of "oh, really? Eh" then being shockingly wonderful. They just took so long to get to. Alina's narration is great for helping speed up the sometimes painful slow pace, but it could still be frustrating. I guess I just expected more tension and more heartache over characters' fates considering the length of the build up. There's closure for sure, but I didn't get the emotional heft I hoped for.
I preferred the first book to these later parts purely because it did more to set up the world and characters. Later it's more just stuff happens/people talk/people smooch/people die. It was very young adult academy with all it's infighting and fish-out-of-water politics, whereas books 2 and 3 wanted to be more adventure/romance. That switcharoo of tone and expectations is probably why I didn't find it quite as satisfying as I hoped.
But basically that I finished it and liked it in any way proves to me at least that Leigh Bardugo is an amazing writer. She can engage me even when I'm not 100% invested in what's going on, and her imagination is a strange and creepy place that's interesting to visit. I may not have loved everything about the story, but it was an enjoyable enough ride.
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
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.