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serendipity421's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Death, Physical abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, War, Blood, Colonisation, and Violence
trintrin's review against another edition
- 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
Do I know this book is mostly just a fan service? Yes. Do I still love every bit of it shamelessly? Absolutely.
Oh. My. God. I loved the way the different POVs didn't really align with each other but made sense in the grand scheme of things. And obviously, I loved the characters so much. That's where Leigh Bardugo's at her strongest. Genuinely had to hold myself back from squealing at some of the turn of events and I'm still thirsty for more Grishaverse content.
The plot was so much better than King of Scars. Like there's actually something going on in every chapter and I could feel the tenseness of the war.
There he comes, the man who can't let anyone be happy for once, the Darkling. Why in the name of all Saints and their mothers was he brought back? Really, it only seems like he was resurrected to give something to the Darkling stans and also to conveniently stash an immortal in a tree for world peace. This book could've done away with his plot
Anyways, forget about the Starless One, let's talk about my Crow babies. A cheap party trick to pull in more readers, I know. I love it. Literally the whole Titanium subplot and the mini heist weren't needed for any reason other than to give the Crows some screen time. I missed them. Honestly, a needed refreshment after the very sad scene before all this *cough* David *cough*. Man I forgot just how much I loved and missed Kaz. The Jesper/Wylan dynamic was sooo adorable but I really don't know what purpose they served to the plot. I wish we got more of Inej Ghafa, my queen, my wife and the love of my life, but that ending points towards another Crows book so we'll see. Fingers crossed it won't just be another fan service.
Zoya Nazyalensky, you've successfully occupied the place in my heart that was reserved only for Nikolai Lantsov, how do you feel? Was Zoya terribly overpowered
I loved the way war didn't just mean destroying the enemy until they are powerless and then sign a peace treaty. The moral dilemma of what is right and what is taking it too far, the constant where does it end? question raised throughout the book, and wondering who the actual monster is here. I know I'm contradicting saying the Darkling was included as a fan service and yet loving the Crows for the same reason, saying the Darkling's crimes cannot be forgiven and yet not minding the countless innocent lives taken away by the "good side" using the missiles. But that man was fine with a child being raped over and over I cannot vouch for him ever
TDLR; amazing book if you're a mega fan of the Grishaverse, else probably best to skip it.
Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, Grief, Murder, and War
Moderate: Addiction, Religious bigotry, Drug use, Genocide, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Hate crime, and Xenophobia
Minor: Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Forced institutionalization, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Confinement, and Physical abuse
overbooked207's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
7th book of January 2023 and 7th of the year:
I’m proud of myself because I read multiple books that were very long this month, and in a short amount of time if I may add, and I hope that I continue on with this trend throughout the year!
It was so nice to be back in this world as I wait for Shadow and Bone season 2! It had strong and lovable complex characters, great writing and world-building, beautiful relationships and friendships, witty dialogue, and well-written and engaging fight scenes. Six of Crows is still my favorite series in this world, but I still enjoyed this a lot and recommend the Grishaverse as a whole! Also, the sounds I let out when the crows were mentioned were alarming😂(and that’s not a spoiler because one of the point of view narrators is a crow). TW for ableism, abuse, addiction, blood, bullying, child abuse, chronic illness, classism, confinement, death, drug use/forced drug use, dysphoria, genocide, grief, gun violence and weapons use, forced institutionalization, kidnapping, medical content/trauma, misogyny, murder, panic attacks, rape, religious bigotry, sexism, slavery, slurs, suicidal thoughts, torture, trafficking, violence, war, and xenophobia📚🫀👑🐉
Graphic: Classism, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Medical trauma, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Addiction, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Dysphoria, Grief, Gun violence, Mental illness, Murder, War, Xenophobia, Ableism, Blood, Confinement, Kidnapping, Hate crime, Medical content, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, and Torture
antimony27's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Murder, Death, and War
Moderate: Addiction, Forced institutionalization, and Physical abuse
sammymilfort's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Forced institutionalization, Racial slurs, Death, Hate crime, Violence, Religious bigotry, Torture, and War
ehmannky's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
I think really my only complaint was the Darkling's chapters. I don't know if I particularly believe the inclusion of him brought much to this duology and I think a lot of the things Bardugo uses him for could have been accomplished with another character or something else. Like, I get the idea of her characters working beyond their trauma from him and I think narratively they did need to heal from the damage he did to them. But did he have to physically be there for them to do that??? I liked the focus on people really taking stock of the pain he did to them and their loved ones and really reckoning with his abuse, and trying to recover from that, I just don't know if he needed to be there as a character. I will say that a lot of reviews seem to be like "she's scolding us for liking the Darkling!!!" when this duology feels a lot more like, "hey, let's focus on the victims of the abuse and their trauma and how they're recovering from that."
Graphic: Blood, Drug use, War, Death, Forced institutionalization, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Xenophobia
Minor: Sexism
cleo_wylde's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Violence, Injury/Injury detail, War, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, and Death
Minor: Racism, Sexism, Animal cruelty, and Toxic relationship
luluslittlelibrary's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Death, Grief, Violence, Blood, Murder, Addiction, Body horror, Gore, Drug use, Torture, Gun violence, Child abuse, Confinement, Drug abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Medical content, Medical trauma, Child death, Chronic illness, Racism, Sexism, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Adult/minor relationship, Ableism, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Panic attacks/disorders
lennie_reads's review against another edition
- 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
In this book Ravka and Fjerda are at war. Nina is deep undercover in Fjerda, Nikolai & the monster are still joined but they've come to more an amicable arrangement and Zoya is trying to master her new powers.
This book is heavy, and definitely slow at some points but it's worth sticking with.
I also think that by the time you get to RoW (after reading all the other GrishaVerse books), you know not to immediately believe everything you read. Especially when it comes to Kaz and Nikolai; Leigh uses a Lot of similar plot devices and, well at least for me, I could always assume there was an alternative / back up plan.
We do have romance in this book, as well as tragedy (if you know, you know 😭) and there are a lot of different threads weaving together at the same time.
There is also discussions about race & heritage, as well as confirmation of a trans character and an aro/ace character.
And we get to see the Crows and Mal & Alina in this book 😍
I also really enjoyed seeing more of Shu Han; the characters, the governing, the Khergud etc.
A lot of issues are resolved in this book but not all of them and Leigh has left a few storylines open for the new third Crows book.
It's hard to review this book without giving away spoilers but if you enjoy the GrishaVerse and were annoyed by the ending of KoS, you should hopefully enjoy this!
There is Trans rep, pan / bi rep, lesbian rep, POC rep, aro/ace rep, mixed race rep and more
CW: reanimated corpses, addiction, death, grief, murder, body horror, torture, medical trauma, confinement, chronic illness, dead children
Graphic: Addiction, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Grief, Kidnapping, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, and Torture
Moderate: Sexual assault, Miscarriage, and Racism
kaylamoran's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The biggest thing I disliked about this one was the ending. I don't know why, exactly, but I don't like the direction it took some of the characters, as well as Grisha magic.
Nina's story was much more interesting this time than in book one. As she was one of my favourite Crows behind only Jesper, I was extremely disappointed with how little I cared about her part in book one.
I can't wait to see what Leigh does next with the Grishaverse! I just adore it, the characters and worldbuilding are amazing.
Moderate: Blood, Chronic illness, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Hate crime, and Religious bigotry