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shadowsiren's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
kjthenerd3's review against another edition
5.0
I am absolutely loving this series! Can’t believe I’m already about to finish it
daniobsessivelyreads's review against another edition
2.0
So, I liked the first one just enough to read the 2nd one. I still don't like Alina. She pretends to have confidence in this book where in the first one she had negative confidence. I do not understand her motives as a character. Why does she want power? Is it the Darkling inflecting her that makes her want power?
I love Mal, but he just gets strung along and ALINA REFUSES TO TALK TO HIM ABOUT ANYTHING. They don't act like a couple, and by the end I think they both know they won't work as a couple. But then they still profess their love and save each other?
The Darkling is a very clique baddy. He says all the things all the bad guys say, and he just magically pops in without much explanation.
The plot needs work. The beginning of the book they just pop around the country with very little plot. Then they're stuck at the palace for most of the book and little to nothing happens in character development or plot development. Alina and Mal don't talk to each other. The Prince tries to slowly win over Alina, but then backs off when she says "she only thinks of Mal."
Overall not impressed with this series.
I love Mal, but he just gets strung along and ALINA REFUSES TO TALK TO HIM ABOUT ANYTHING. They don't act like a couple, and by the end I think they both know they won't work as a couple. But then they still profess their love and save each other?
The Darkling is a very clique baddy. He says all the things all the bad guys say, and he just magically pops in without much explanation.
The plot needs work. The beginning of the book they just pop around the country with very little plot. Then they're stuck at the palace for most of the book and little to nothing happens in character development or plot development. Alina and Mal don't talk to each other. The Prince tries to slowly win over Alina, but then backs off when she says "she only thinks of Mal."
Overall not impressed with this series.
allyreadsromance's review against another edition
5.0
Wonderful follow up to the first book! Continues the story with such creativity!! I cannot wait to read the 3rd!
rb8985's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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
3.5
anouk_vrmt's review against another edition
4.0
ENG: Siege and storm
This book left me with so much doubt. I dont know what to think. Overall the book was quite boring but the plot was epic. At the end of this book im having majuere problemes with nikolai and the darkling cause i dont know who to choose anymore. I really hope next book will be better.
This book left me with so much doubt. I dont know what to think. Overall the book was quite boring but the plot was epic. At the end of this book im having majuere problemes with nikolai and the darkling cause i dont know who to choose anymore. I really hope next book will be better.
poppyisabella's review against another edition
3.0
i have many thoughts. this book was so hard for me to get through and i’m not quite sure why. at some points i could not stand alina, at others i began to like her. i did, however, love sturmhound (reading SoC first spoiled it for me slightly)/ nikolai. i already know nikolai lantslov is going to be one of my favourite fictional men. he carrieddd the book. also i love baghra, tamar and toyla <3 i LOVE david and david and genya hurt my heart :(( I HATE THE DARKLING FOR DOING THAT TO GENYA. i loved mal’s jealousy and his bloodied fighting scene. i cannot stand zoya, i’m guessing this will change though. i still miss kaz brekker- though that will never change.
sophiesmith's review against another edition
4.0
Definitely preferred this book over ‘Shadow and Bone’. I feel that the characters became more realistic in the sense that none of them are truly perfect, they’re all quite far from it. Regarding the characters again, their individual motives and personalities are becoming clearer so it is easier as a reader to differentiate between them and ultimately pick sides. I thought the book was slightly slow paced at the start in comparison to ‘Shadow and Bone’ but this book was different in the sense that I think the author did a better job of ‘showing’ and not ‘telling’; not to criticise her writing because I did thoroughly enjoy it. I’m struggling to take fancy to Mal, the main character is describing him as too perfect and from the reader’s eye he is obviously not. This makes him seem almost manipulative and he has a sense of control over Alina just because of their history. Alina feels guilty every time she hurts him yet he never feels any remorse when he hurts her. Mal’s and Alina’s relationship in my opinion should stay as friends, if they didn’t know each other before then they wouldn’t be with each other now, there are far better characters. My favourite character (in the sense of writing) still remains as The Darkling, although he isn’t a nice character, he is very well written because somehow, despite his bad doings, he is not dislikable. The relationship between Alina and The Darkling is so strange, they truly are yin and yang, it gives Alina an anti-hero complex in some scenarios and it also makes The Darkling more human. My favourite character personality wise is NIckolai, though I didn’t really like him in the first half before his true personality was shown. After this however, I loved every word he spoke and found myself egging him on whenever I had the chance. In the third book I hope to see more of NIckolai because he is hard to hate and his motives are slightly different than Alina’s. I know from a Q&A at the end of this book that the author revealed there would be many character deaths in the final book, although I feel it is unlikely she’ll keep The Darkling alive as he is a villain, I’d rather him survive over characters I’m not really liking such as Mal. But that is an unrealistic wish :)