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A review by sumsreadsalot
Sjena i Kost by Leigh Bardugo
3.0
3.5 stars
So a little background before i start:
I'd heard all the hype surrounding this series especially as the show had just come out so those who hadn't read it were scrambling to read it in time before binging the show...and i happen to be one of them :) I'd also heard the negatives of the series and so i had a little bit of an idea what to expect. Before i read the book I'd watched 3 episodes of the show but stopped because i felt like although i knew the ins and outs of Kaz and the gang (having read SoC), i had no idea about the characters from Shadow and Bone so i really wanted to know more before hurling myself into the show. And so i picked up the book.
Ok onto the review...so I've heard one of the main issues from the series is Bardugo's writing style here compared to SoC. Everyone seemed to want to compare the two series which is understandable as there is huge differences in the quality. SoC is far superior, one of Bardugo's best works and totally deserves the hype.
While i can understand this, i didn't find anything wrong with her style of writing here. I still enjoyed it even though it is more simplistic than SoC.
I think where she failed here is in character development. The relationship between Alina and Mal could've been written so much better in my opinion. Mal didn't seem as much protective of Alina but more jealous and controlling. I get he was worried and angry and he'd lost his friends, but i felt some of the stuff he said to her was unwarranted and hurtful.
I also felt like the Darkling was devoid of any personality traits. I get he was the aloof, standoffish type but he just seemed...bland to me. I think she could've written his character better also.
Now let's talk about Alina- i don't know why but i didn't really warm to her. I mean aside from her relationship with Genya and the confusing one with Mal, we didn't get to see her getting along with anyone else and she just seemed annoying. I hope she gets better in the next books.
The saving grace of the characters has to be Genya! I loved her and Alina's relationship and her as a whole. I'm looking forward to reading more about her and David! Fingers crossed!
All in all the storyline was good...not great but good and enjoyable and i can't wait to read the next book!
So a little background before i start:
I'd heard all the hype surrounding this series especially as the show had just come out so those who hadn't read it were scrambling to read it in time before binging the show...and i happen to be one of them :) I'd also heard the negatives of the series and so i had a little bit of an idea what to expect. Before i read the book I'd watched 3 episodes of the show but stopped because i felt like although i knew the ins and outs of Kaz and the gang (having read SoC), i had no idea about the characters from Shadow and Bone so i really wanted to know more before hurling myself into the show. And so i picked up the book.
Ok onto the review...so I've heard one of the main issues from the series is Bardugo's writing style here compared to SoC. Everyone seemed to want to compare the two series which is understandable as there is huge differences in the quality. SoC is far superior, one of Bardugo's best works and totally deserves the hype.
While i can understand this, i didn't find anything wrong with her style of writing here. I still enjoyed it even though it is more simplistic than SoC.
I think where she failed here is in character development. The relationship between Alina and Mal could've been written so much better in my opinion. Mal didn't seem as much protective of Alina but more jealous and controlling. I get he was worried and angry and he'd lost his friends, but i felt some of the stuff he said to her was unwarranted and hurtful.
I also felt like the Darkling was devoid of any personality traits. I get he was the aloof, standoffish type but he just seemed...bland to me. I think she could've written his character better also.
Now let's talk about Alina- i don't know why but i didn't really warm to her. I mean aside from her relationship with Genya and the confusing one with Mal, we didn't get to see her getting along with anyone else and she just seemed annoying. I hope she gets better in the next books.
The saving grace of the characters has to be Genya! I loved her and Alina's relationship and her as a whole. I'm looking forward to reading more about her and David! Fingers crossed!
All in all the storyline was good...not great but good and enjoyable and i can't wait to read the next book!