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bmg20's review against another edition
3.0
“The tenets of espionage were immutable—go forth and steal secrets—but technology was changing the Game.”
In The Kremlin’s Candidate, the race is on to identify the Russian spy who is one of three individuals currently in the running to become the next CIA director. This was hands down my favorite plot line of the trilogy and is by far the most thrilling in how Matthews brought everything full circle. Retelling Dominika’s time when she was still just a Sparrow, she was instructed to compromise U.S. Navy lieutenant Audrey Rowland and get her to agree to work with the Russians back in 2005. The mission was a success and Audrey’s been feeding information to them ever since. Flash forward back to the present, Audrey is in place to become the next CIA director and if she gains that position, she’ll be able to obtain the name of the Russian mole, Diva, who she knows intimately well as Dominika Egorova.
Matthews doesn’t settle for that one, immense plot, unfortunately, and it ends up far more convoluted than necessary. In addition to American and Russian spies, North Korean and Chinese spies are also thrown into the mix. There’s even mention of the Chinese version of the Russian “Sparrow” and while I understand we’ve been drilled on assassin and seductresses going hand in hand for three novels, this bit of added detail came off as cheesy more than anything. Sections certainly could have been omitted for a more streamlined story. The build-up to the grand finale does, in retrospect, feel like something I should have anticipated but it still managed to astonish. A lot of the details makes you question whether Matthews is including his actual knowledge from his own personal spying days, or if it’s simply randomly added detail. Either way, it was most convincing. This is the third and final story of the Red Sparrow trilogy and while it is obvious that Matthews has developed a formula by this point, it doesn’t matter, because it’s exciting and it works. In looking back on the near 60 hours I spent listening to the ordeals of Dominika Egorova and Nathaniel Nash, it was easy to lose yourself in the intricate web of the spy world. It was a most enjoyable thrill ride and I’ve never laughed harder at my new favorite insult: “I don’t know what’s wrong with you but I bet it’s hard to pronounce.”
I received this book free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
In The Kremlin’s Candidate, the race is on to identify the Russian spy who is one of three individuals currently in the running to become the next CIA director. This was hands down my favorite plot line of the trilogy and is by far the most thrilling in how Matthews brought everything full circle. Retelling Dominika’s time when she was still just a Sparrow, she was instructed to compromise U.S. Navy lieutenant Audrey Rowland and get her to agree to work with the Russians back in 2005. The mission was a success and Audrey’s been feeding information to them ever since. Flash forward back to the present, Audrey is in place to become the next CIA director and if she gains that position, she’ll be able to obtain the name of the Russian mole, Diva, who she knows intimately well as Dominika Egorova.
Matthews doesn’t settle for that one, immense plot, unfortunately, and it ends up far more convoluted than necessary. In addition to American and Russian spies, North Korean and Chinese spies are also thrown into the mix. There’s even mention of the Chinese version of the Russian “Sparrow” and while I understand we’ve been drilled on assassin and seductresses going hand in hand for three novels, this bit of added detail came off as cheesy more than anything. Sections certainly could have been omitted for a more streamlined story. The build-up to the grand finale does, in retrospect, feel like something I should have anticipated but it still managed to astonish. A lot of the details makes you question whether Matthews is including his actual knowledge from his own personal spying days, or if it’s simply randomly added detail. Either way, it was most convincing. This is the third and final story of the Red Sparrow trilogy and while it is obvious that Matthews has developed a formula by this point, it doesn’t matter, because it’s exciting and it works. In looking back on the near 60 hours I spent listening to the ordeals of Dominika Egorova and Nathaniel Nash, it was easy to lose yourself in the intricate web of the spy world. It was a most enjoyable thrill ride and I’ve never laughed harder at my new favorite insult: “I don’t know what’s wrong with you but I bet it’s hard to pronounce.”
I received this book free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
redhead_haze's review against another edition
4.0
It was good. It was a really good book but the ending... I feel like it was way too cruel. Killing Gable seems useless to me, firing Simon B. left me very frustrated and torturing Nate and having him die while Domi was watching was simply heartbreaking. I would have loved a different ending, but at least I can't say that this series was predictable...
darrenstj's review against another edition
3.0
I don't usually read spy novels. This series managed to keep me entertained the entire way through. Left me constantly wondering "how Nash and Dominika are going to get themselves out of this mess.".
this book was the weakest book of the series. This book left me in shock at the end.
i found this book a little dry in comparison. I did enjoy this book, and would recommend the series to anyone who is interested in the spy world.
this book was the weakest book of the series. This book left me in shock at the end.
i found this book a little dry in comparison. I did enjoy this book, and would recommend the series to anyone who is interested in the spy world.
pio_near's review against another edition
3.0
Jason Matthews... Why!!!
No spoilers... But the ending put the author on my list...
No spoilers... But the ending put the author on my list...
daniellearider's review against another edition
3.0
I adored Red Sparrow, was entertained sufficiently by Palace of Treason, and disappointed by Kremlin’s Candidate. It almost felt as someone else wrote this book, having lost the tone, feel, and tempo of the first two. Overall, fairly predictable ending but good story. Nice to have some closure on the storyline.
joestewart's review against another edition
5.0
An excellent story with plenty of complications and plot twists. On to the next one!
lazwright's review against another edition
4.0
Again, great layers of espionage! The ending, however, was highly unsatisfactory...but it could not have ended any other way. Although this is a spy novel and violence can be a part of espionage, it sometimes was a bit too graphic and gratuitous for my tastes. And speaking of tastes,was delighted to see the return of the odd recipe at the end of every chapter.
page_karla's review against another edition
3.0
I would have preferred another ending, but I guess it makes it more realistic. Still a little bit annoyed at the lack of punctuations in certain long paragraphs. Still enjoyed the series though.
maggies's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
What an end to the trilogy. The peril built and built and built and it was unputdownable for me. I have quibbles about the audiobook narrator's pronunciation of certain words and some continuity errors on the part of the author and editor(s) as well as, per usual, women-written-by-men moments, but overall was totally engrossed in the world of Nate, Dominika, and their supporting cast.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Murder, Death, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, and Blood
Moderate: Grief