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zaynascz's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I loved this trilogy so so much if i could give it 6 stars i would.
I think Bardugo perfectly balanced the morals of the characters and the idea that the more power Alina had, the more blurry her morals became.
For example, in book 1 (shadow and bone) we’re introduced to Alina, the main character, and her best friend mal. Alina works as a cartographer for the first army and mal is a talented tracker. After the incident in the fold Alina is found to be a very powerful type of Grisha called the sun summoner. Throughout the book we see Alina wishing her power away just to be back with mal in the first army again; and when the darkling, Alinas only match and the leader of the second army, is looking for something to amplify Alinas power, she ends up agreeing to it. She soon finds out that the darkling is doing it for the wrong reasons and runs away. Eventually she finds the stag from the help of mal but hesitates to kill it, from this we can see Alina has a strong moral compass at this point in the trilogy.
However, this heavily contrasts the end of book three when she finds out mal, her boyfriend at this point, is the third amplifier. Without much hesitation at all, certainly not as much hesitation as she had with Morozova’s stag, she puts a knife through him. She didn’t want to do it but eventually her greed for power took over, as we can see from the quote
“I would never know if it was greed or selfishness that moved my hand”.
We can also see that Alina is slowly turning into the darkling throughout the entirety of the trilogy, and if she would’ve kept the power of all three amplifiers and lived eternally, she definitely would’ve.
Another thing i loved about this trilogy is the way Bardugo portrayed the darkling, a morally grey character who’s heart is in the right place, but goes about it the wrong way. For example, throughout the series we start to see the reasons for why the darkling has done what he’s done, like taking control of Alina through the stags collar in order to enter and control the fold. At first, we’re completely against the darkling and what he’s doing but as the trilogy unravels we start to discover more and more of the Darkling’s character and with that, his reasons. It all started out as building a safe place for Grisha to live in peace, without the fear of others ; but then he got greedy. He started wanting more for Ravka, but he went about it the complete wrong way. He tried to invoke fear, and in that he did, but it only hurt Ravka in the end. His greed and hunger for power kept growing and although i will say he lost sight of his morals centuries ago, i wont say that he lost track of his end goal completely. He wanted a safe place for Ravka, and he wanted to do it using the fold. Right reason, terrible execution. I completely believe that if Alina would’ve lived as Long as Aleksander, she would’ve been just as bad, if not worse. Without her friends to ground her, especially Mal, Nikolai and Genya, she Would’ve lost track already.
Anyway Stan Nikolai he’s the loml 🤭🤭 and this book was so sad oml
I think Bardugo perfectly balanced the morals of the characters and the idea that the more power Alina had, the more blurry her morals became.
For example, in book 1 (shadow and bone) we’re introduced to Alina, the main character, and her best friend mal. Alina works as a cartographer for the first army and mal is a talented tracker. After the incident in the fold Alina is found to be a very powerful type of Grisha called the sun summoner. Throughout the book we see Alina wishing her power away just to be back with mal in the first army again; and when the darkling, Alinas only match and the leader of the second army, is looking for something to amplify Alinas power, she ends up agreeing to it. She soon finds out that the darkling is doing it for the wrong reasons and runs away. Eventually she finds the stag from the help of mal but hesitates to kill it, from this we can see Alina has a strong moral compass at this point in the trilogy.
However, this heavily contrasts the end of book three when she finds out mal, her boyfriend at this point, is the third amplifier. Without much hesitation at all, certainly not as much hesitation as she had with Morozova’s stag, she puts a knife through him. She didn’t want to do it but eventually her greed for power took over, as we can see from the quote
“I would never know if it was greed or selfishness that moved my hand”.
We can also see that Alina is slowly turning into the darkling throughout the entirety of the trilogy, and if she would’ve kept the power of all three amplifiers and lived eternally, she definitely would’ve.
Another thing i loved about this trilogy is the way Bardugo portrayed the darkling, a morally grey character who’s heart is in the right place, but goes about it the wrong way. For example, throughout the series we start to see the reasons for why the darkling has done what he’s done, like taking control of Alina through the stags collar in order to enter and control the fold. At first, we’re completely against the darkling and what he’s doing but as the trilogy unravels we start to discover more and more of the Darkling’s character and with that, his reasons. It all started out as building a safe place for Grisha to live in peace, without the fear of others ; but then he got greedy. He started wanting more for Ravka, but he went about it the complete wrong way. He tried to invoke fear, and in that he did, but it only hurt Ravka in the end. His greed and hunger for power kept growing and although i will say he lost sight of his morals centuries ago, i wont say that he lost track of his end goal completely. He wanted a safe place for Ravka, and he wanted to do it using the fold. Right reason, terrible execution. I completely believe that if Alina would’ve lived as Long as Aleksander, she would’ve been just as bad, if not worse. Without her friends to ground her, especially Mal, Nikolai and Genya, she Would’ve lost track already.
Anyway Stan Nikolai he’s the loml 🤭🤭 and this book was so sad oml
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Genocide, Fire/Fire injury, War, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Gore, Grief, Murder, Death, and Death of parent
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
Minor: Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Rape, Suicide attempt, and Suicide
cecinamo's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Woa, what a roller coaster. I think, that this book was the best of the three, but I though the ending was a little disappointing…
I think the trilogy improved with each book. The ending with the Darkling was very emotional and sad, but I don’t know if I like that Alina ended up with Mal. Especially in this book she keeps talking about how she has changed and is not the same anymore, but then she still ends up with Mal and opens an orphanage. I also think that Mal being revived takes the meaning out of his death and sacrifice. :/ But oh well, I didn’t completely hate the ending either, it just felt a little unfitting. Otherwise I think the story was really well told and super exciting! Poor Nikolai though ;^; I loved Zoyas character development in this book! I was so happy that Genya and David got a happy ending!!! Why did he have to die in the show ToT ?!?!? Also Oncat <3
I think the trilogy improved with each book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Blood, Death, Emotional abuse, Violence, and War
Minor: Death of parent, Stalking, Alcohol, and Fire/Fire injury
thebookaddict's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
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
5.0
In the beginning I thought this book was a bit boring just like the second book. But I take it back! Later on this book caught my full attention! And the ending is AMAZING it is worth the hype!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Blood, Gun violence, Physical abuse, War, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Death of parent, Grief, Gore, and Violence
booksbytheglass's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
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
4.0
screaming crying throwing up!!!!!
I cannot believe I’m done with this epic trilogy!! I haven’t been this invested in a series since ACOTAR and TOG 🥹🥹🥹
and I haven’t felt this annoyed by an ending since game of thrones …
okay, don’t get me wrong, I’m very happy that this wrapped up nicely and had a happy-ish ending, but it felt so rushed and almost was a letdown for me. I just think alina and the darkling deserved SO much better than their endings 😅 and I’m glad at least the majority of the internet agrees with me lol
ending aside, this one was action-packed and full of surprises! leigh bardugo is the queen of dialogue-forward, fast-paced, heart-pounding stories, and I cannot wait to start SOC!!!
I just still think that the ending contradicted the rest of the series and was a big injustice to alina’s journey throughout it all. and the darkling’s ending was way too simple for the most complex character I’ve read in a long time …
anyway, I’m completely obsessed with this grishaverse so stay tuned for further rants in this series!!!!
rating: 4 stars
wine pairing: napa valley merlot
I cannot believe I’m done with this epic trilogy!! I haven’t been this invested in a series since ACOTAR and TOG 🥹🥹🥹
and I haven’t felt this annoyed by an ending since game of thrones …
okay, don’t get me wrong, I’m very happy that this wrapped up nicely and had a happy-ish ending, but it felt so rushed and almost was a letdown for me. I just think alina and the darkling deserved SO much better than their endings 😅 and I’m glad at least the majority of the internet agrees with me lol
ending aside, this one was action-packed and full of surprises! leigh bardugo is the queen of dialogue-forward, fast-paced, heart-pounding stories, and I cannot wait to start SOC!!!
I just still think that the ending contradicted the rest of the series and was a big injustice to alina’s journey throughout it all. and the darkling’s ending was way too simple for the most complex character I’ve read in a long time …
anyway, I’m completely obsessed with this grishaverse so stay tuned for further rants in this series!!!!
rating: 4 stars
wine pairing: napa valley merlot
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Death of parent
konstantina's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
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? Yes
3.75
An ending to a marvelous trilogy.
The "heroine loses her powers at the end" is one of the plots that I really hate, but I have to admit that it was done beautifully in this case. I don't consider this a happy ending, but it doesn't have to be. The character growth in this book is excellent, and provides the most human villain I've read of. I would be able to enjoy it more and give it a higher score, if Mal was not just another uninteresting love interest.
The grishaverse has so much to offer, and if you're reading this as a new fan, be aware that the next ones are even better!
The
The grishaverse has so much to offer, and if you're reading this as a new fan, be aware that the next ones are even better!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Grief
Moderate: Death of parent, Gun violence, and Rape
themiscyra_anna's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, War, Self harm, Violence, Gaslighting, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Rape, Sexual violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Slavery
Minor: Death of parent and Suicide
Rape / sexual violence is in the past but discussed at length featuring the aggressor and the victim in a small court-like settingitsmemiana's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- 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? Yes
5.0
GURLLLL this was such a good ending for the trilogy.
I still think a certain someone deserved worst for everything he did but oh well. I loved the confort of the last few pages. and I may or may not have shed a tear.... or maybe cried a lot who knows...
Nikolai has his own little space in my heart and I would love to have a chance to be his queen. 😌 I hope to see him in the other grishaverse books 🥺
I loved this trilogy and I definitely will be revisiting it one day.
I'm so excited to read the other grishaverse books, I've heard Six of Crows is even better so I'm sooooo excited.❤️
I still think a certain someone deserved worst for everything he did but oh well. I loved the confort of the last few pages. and I may or may not have shed a tear.... or maybe cried a lot who knows...
Nikolai has his own little space in my heart and I would love to have a chance to be his queen. 😌 I hope to see him in the other grishaverse books 🥺
I loved this trilogy and I definitely will be revisiting it one day.
I'm so excited to read the other grishaverse books, I've heard Six of Crows is even better so I'm sooooo excited.❤️
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, War, Blood, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Death of parent, Rape, and Sexual assault
michaelat21's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
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? It's complicated
5.0
This book was by far the best in the series. I could NOT put it down it was so engaging and had so many twist and turns that kept it exciting and interesting. The characters somehow become even more developed and lovable. The world building also grows so much more (something I didn’t think possible). It’s so deeply human and relatable despite being fantasy. Each character has something you find likable even if they are the bad guy. Even the hero’s are not perfect it’s so deep and incredible. I was crying my eyes out for the last 30 pages of the book it was just that good.
Content Warnings
Minor: War, Death of parent, and Murder
lqne's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and War
Moderate: Confinement, Self harm, Violence, Religious bigotry, Rape, and Child death
Minor: Death of parent, Torture, Fire/Fire injury, and Classism
emilia_thereader's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
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
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Death
Minor: Toxic relationship and Death of parent