Scan barcode
booksandcat's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Murder, and Torture
Minor: Slavery
aseel_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
incoming rant review:
first thing first, i love these characters SO MUCH. i would literally die for zoya, nikolai, genya, david, the gang, everyone (except the darkling, he can leave). bardugo created a bunch of characters that i root HARD for, which is rare for me these days :'(
BUT - this book was something... incoming spoilers
everything from the plot to the characters actions/dialogue/(questionable)development was flat and odd and argh, so DISAPPOINTED.
first thing: what was with zoya's inner monologue for her development? all this stuff about needing to open up and love other people, not be so cold etc etc etc. it just felt so forced and inorganic and honestly, why cant we have a strong female MC who does not apologize for being like that????? also her suli heritage? was so random and not really played a massive role in the plot, when it could have
nina: what was that? i dont like her staying at fjerda with Hanne (who i liked being trans [?] but i dont like how vague it was made and not dealt with properly, like pronouns) and kind of not grieving mathias in this book (it was a sudden shift from the first book)
nikolai: loved him giving up his crown but his relationship with zoya went from 0-100 in this book. we had the slow burn/sass in KoS, which was lovely. but in this one, it was so quick, and not much banner etc. it just felt too rushed and i wish it wasnt because i loved there relationship so much
other points: WHY DID DAVID DIE??? not really a consequence being as he wasnt there much and then didnt come back to impact the plot for long...
generally: i wish we only focused on the politics and not the magic. we had magic in the first series so it would have been cool to see the political problems of Ravaka. and since we had both, neither were done well. a third book would have helped make the ending not rushed at all. and the darkling? juris? that whole subplot was so weak and just an afterthought really. and i can't believe they are literally going to make the crows go on a heist to get the heart so they can kill the darkling, HE IS A SUCKY VILLAIN LET HIM STAY DEAD. also, why the cameo of the crows??? it felt so fan-servicy and unnecessary
in conclusion: super disappointed in this from both a weak plot point and illogical/weird character development/action. still love these characters though
first thing first, i love these characters SO MUCH. i would literally die for zoya, nikolai, genya, david, the gang, everyone (except the darkling, he can leave). bardugo created a bunch of characters that i root HARD for, which is rare for me these days :'(
BUT - this book was something... incoming spoilers
everything from the plot to the characters actions/dialogue/(questionable)development was flat and odd and argh, so DISAPPOINTED.
first thing: what was with zoya's inner monologue for her development? all this stuff about needing to open up and love other people, not be so cold etc etc etc. it just felt so forced and inorganic and honestly, why cant we have a strong female MC who does not apologize for being like that????? also her suli heritage? was so random and not really played a massive role in the plot, when it could have
nina: what was that? i dont like her staying at fjerda with Hanne (who i liked being trans [?] but i dont like how vague it was made and not dealt with properly, like pronouns) and kind of not grieving mathias in this book (it was a sudden shift from the first book)
nikolai: loved him giving up his crown but his relationship with zoya went from 0-100 in this book. we had the slow burn/sass in KoS, which was lovely. but in this one, it was so quick, and not much banner etc. it just felt too rushed and i wish it wasnt because i loved there relationship so much
other points: WHY DID DAVID DIE??? not really a consequence being as he wasnt there much and then didnt come back to impact the plot for long...
generally: i wish we only focused on the politics and not the magic. we had magic in the first series so it would have been cool to see the political problems of Ravaka. and since we had both, neither were done well. a third book would have helped make the ending not rushed at all. and the darkling? juris? that whole subplot was so weak and just an afterthought really. and i can't believe they are literally going to make the crows go on a heist to get the heart so they can kill the darkling, HE IS A SUCKY VILLAIN LET HIM STAY DEAD. also, why the cameo of the crows??? it felt so fan-servicy and unnecessary
in conclusion: super disappointed in this from both a weak plot point and illogical/weird character development/action. still love these characters though
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Kidnapping, Medical content, Murder, and Torture
jennalwiegand's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
sad
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? No
4.5
Really loved this book! I have to say it was wayyyy better than the king of scars in my opinion. I loved the character development and general badassery of the female characters, the diverse cast and the cameos from the Dregs. My only “issue” was that a new point of view was added that I didn’t love, but I understand why it was there.
Content Warnings
Minor: Blood, Bullying, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Hate crime, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Murder, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Torture, and Violence
More...