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david_slack110507's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
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
4.25
A year ago today, I received this book trilogy as a birthday gift and eventually got around to reading this starting the first book in August and finishing it in October before leaving the series for a little while and then picking it back up at the start of this year in which within a couple of months I would have started and finished the second book and now finally I have finished the third and final book in this trilogy.
Normally, I don't often finish book series that I start, or I take a while to do so (Like with these books) usually due to being interested in other books or just not wanting to continue the series right away but I'm very happy that I persevered after the first book because for me at least this trilogy kept on getting better and better with each instalment and each one managed to hold together my interest a whole lot better whether that was because what was happening was more interesting in each book or that when reading the 2nd and 3rd books I mainly read those and no other ones at the same time I don't know but I feel like this is one of the rare times that I read a series/trilogy that increased in quality with each instalment.
The characters are at their strongest in this book with formally side characters such as Zoya and David getting their own developments that make them just as endearing as our main characters. I feel like the plot twists and turns were interesting and unexpected and I actually quite liked the ending even if it did have a happy ending that felt kind of YA. I do wish that Alina had somehow ended up with Nikolai who for me was the much more interesting and endearing love interest but it was obvious that with their shared history, Mal and Alina would be the ending place in terms of relationship wise but I do feel like each relationship while they did not have an air about them with it being unpredictable about who Alina would end up with, they did have their own dynamics unique to them.
The action was actually pretty good even if the ending battle was a little short and I do like that the book for me was actually pretty fast-paced and engaging throughout. I am very much looking forward to reading the other books in the Grishaverse, particularly the Six of Crows duology soon-to-be trilogy which I will unashamedly admit was the main reason as to why I read these books so that I would have the background context for those books however I'm glad that I read these because not only did I really enjoy this story overall but it also introduced me to Nikolai and his character who has his own spin-off duology which will most likely end up on my tbr list soon.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book and this series as a whole and I'm glad that I stuck through with it when reading the 2nd and 3rd books. I am very much looking forward to reading the rest of the Grishaverse books and also finally watching season 2 of the Netflix show soon without spoilers for the ending of the trilogy.
Normally, I don't often finish book series that I start, or I take a while to do so (Like with these books) usually due to being interested in other books or just not wanting to continue the series right away but I'm very happy that I persevered after the first book because for me at least this trilogy kept on getting better and better with each instalment and each one managed to hold together my interest a whole lot better whether that was because what was happening was more interesting in each book or that when reading the 2nd and 3rd books I mainly read those and no other ones at the same time I don't know but I feel like this is one of the rare times that I read a series/trilogy that increased in quality with each instalment.
The characters are at their strongest in this book with formally side characters such as Zoya and David getting their own developments that make them just as endearing as our main characters. I feel like the plot twists and turns were interesting and unexpected and I actually quite liked the ending even if it did have a happy ending that felt kind of YA. I do wish that Alina had somehow ended up with Nikolai who for me was the much more interesting and endearing love interest but it was obvious that with their shared history, Mal and Alina would be the ending place in terms of relationship wise but I do feel like each relationship while they did not have an air about them with it being unpredictable about who Alina would end up with, they did have their own dynamics unique to them.
The action was actually pretty good even if the ending battle was a little short and I do like that the book for me was actually pretty fast-paced and engaging throughout. I am very much looking forward to reading the other books in the Grishaverse, particularly the Six of Crows duology soon-to-be trilogy which I will unashamedly admit was the main reason as to why I read these books so that I would have the background context for those books however I'm glad that I read these because not only did I really enjoy this story overall but it also introduced me to Nikolai and his character who has his own spin-off duology which will most likely end up on my tbr list soon.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book and this series as a whole and I'm glad that I stuck through with it when reading the 2nd and 3rd books. I am very much looking forward to reading the rest of the Grishaverse books and also finally watching season 2 of the Netflix show soon without spoilers for the ending of the trilogy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Death, Violence, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, and Gore
Moderate: Cursing, Kidnapping, Stalking, Gun violence, Genocide, Sexual content, Emotional abuse, and Gaslighting
Minor: Sexual assault, Sexism, Rape, Child death, and Death of parent
talonsontypewriters's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Violence, Death, Injury/Injury detail, War, Gore, Body horror, Gun violence, Grief, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Classism, Body shaming, Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Child death, Drug use, and Torture
Minor: Slavery, Rape, Sexual assault, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Vomit, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Misogyny, Sexism, Infidelity, Alcohol, Incest, Cannibalism, and Sexual content
shookie's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: War and Toxic relationship
Minor: Sexual assault and Trafficking
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
aliensmileyface's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Violence, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment
effy's review against another edition
3.5
Whilst I still don't really like Mal and Alina as endgame (I would have loved Nikolai and Alina as the eventual pairing), the ending of this series did not bother me, I think maybe because it felt as though they had earned their peace. In a lot of ways, it was quite bittersweet because Alina had loved being Grisha but the epilogue did paint a beautiful picture of life where their friends still visited.
I am frustrated that this book featured the resurrection trope - even if the reasoning seemed pretty solid - and the fact that the price of war wasn't very severe felt like a missed opportunity but I guess overall this series has not shied away from character death so minimal deaths in the final battle was okay, I guess.
My review seemed to have mostly been griping but those were my only real issues with a book that was actually a pretty compulsive listen and kept me guessing for most of the story.
I also loved how much Nikolai and Genya we got!
Favourite quote:
I am frustrated that this book featured
My review seemed to have mostly been griping but those were my only real issues with a book that was actually a pretty compulsive listen and kept me guessing for most of the story.
I also loved how much Nikolai and Genya we got!
Favourite quote:
I am not ruined, I am ruination.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Death, Rape, and Grief
sxndaze's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
It’s a good end to the trilogy. There were some parts that seemed anticlimactic and other parts that were really wild and wonderfully paced. A bittersweet ending that balanced grief and joy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Violence, Grief, Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, and War
Minor: Sexual content
poodily's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual assault and Rape
neko_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Option 1
Alina saves the Darkling and falls in love with him. listen I found the Darkling's past interesting and he's a great villain but as a love interest? I hate him. if this happened I would have hated the books so much I would have liked to burn them.
Option 2
Alina marries Nickolai and goes into a political marriage. now I love Nickolai, his character, everything about it but there is absolutely nothing between him and Alina. this would just end up being more misery and fighting with mal.
Option 3
Alina kills mal to kill the darkling. Hurray, now she's miserable for the rest of her life.
Option 4
the plan worked out and mal and Alina go off together to get an alliance and work out the rest of the story. this would basically just be a repeat of siege and storm, and that was all-around terrible.
option 5 (what actually happened)
well, I certainly did not expect that. this honestly just feels like a way to end the series with a nice happy ending without really having to go to any work. this is the best ending out of the possibilities but that doesn't mean I like it. I wish Alina hadn't lost her powers and mal hadn't lost his own abilities in the most confusing, convoluted ending ever. I hate that they became completely different people and left behind literally all of their development, but I do love how they ended up at Keramzin.
Now the rest of the characters were actually amazing. The twins, Nickolai, Genya and David, Zoya, Nadia, Adrik, Baghra, Misha, and even Harshaw and Sergei were terrific characters. they are the reviving factor of this story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Rape, Grief, and Murder
Minor: Sexual assault
itsmemiana'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