The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! š
sginnaw'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: Addiction, Blood, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Violence, Vomit, and War
Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Pandemic/Epidemic, Slavery, Torture, and Trafficking
Minor: Child death, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, and Rape
mary_do12'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
This book quite literally clenched my soul, wrenched it, and threw it out of the window. I donāt have any words to describe how amazingly this is written, not to mention the brilliantly created plot line. Leigh Bardugo, you have all my respect and admiration. And the way you not only created an incredible story, but brought this incredible sense of humor in it, is simply unbelievable.
As someone whose native language is not english, this was hard to read at times. I usually donāt have problems with english books, in fact, theyāre all I read, but the vocabulary in this series was just a little different. This is something that I discovered in the Shadow and Bone series too, but I think thatās a sign of the greatness of the writing. There is so much happening in these books, itās hard to comprehend for me sometimes. And I think Iām not smart enough (or at least I wasnāt putting enough effort in) to fully understand every move they were scheming. Goodness, how could I, these people are brilliant. The world Bardugo managed to create is undoubtedly one of the greatest ever and I canāt get around being so grateful for being able to spend some time with these amazing characters.
We donāt even have to talk about
Kaz, heās simply a genius. Much more than that, heās a character you cannot help but sympathizing with, despite his questionable actions. Just like the other characters, he is neither fully good nor fully bad but I think that makes him even more lovable. Seeing more vulnerable parts of him, especially in this book, shifts the readers perspective a bit and helps to see what is behind that clever boy that managed to not only change but almost reign certain parts of his world at such a young age. Seeing his trauma and how he had to deal with it makes me admire him even more.
Inej. My beloved Inej. The amount of strength she has is out of this world. Her character is one of the best written ones Iāve ever read about. The way she described fear holds so much power, dang it, she holds so much power. I love that she was the first one directly involved in their plans and the way she was so close to Kaz from the beginning. Now some may say Kaz never trusted anyone fully and yes, even she didnāt know all about him, especially in the beginning. I feel like both of them were still loners, even when they got closer. But considering that Kaz was always really cautious about who he trusted, the fact that he himself said that he trusted her speaks so much more. The way they cared about each other even as independent thieves and fighters melts my heart. Also, the scene where he helped her with her bandages was just- AEKGDJABABSB
Sorry. Had to let that out. Those two human beings have my whole heart.
Nina is straight up a badass. She was from the very beginning and not only I admit that I wish to be like her, the others did too. I love when they talked about something they were not super good at and said they wished to be as good as another character. I love how in her relationship with Matthias, she was being the more dominant one at times and I love her bravery and how she stuck with her values even when he had different ones. Her rescuing him even though he was really freaking mad at her shows just how much she stands by her promises and beliefs. I mean, do we even have to talk about their relationship? The banter, the anger, yes, maybe the toxicity, but DANG they did that shit so well.
Matthias. Oh goodness, Matthias. I like how they author gave everyone different opinions and values, I like that Inej and and Matthias believed in a god and that even though the others didnāt agree with them, they still respected their beliefs. I have to admit, Matthias had questionable values to me at the start but I love that because it makes me develop a kind of respect for him and not reducing him to his opinions.
Jesper. I feel like he has similarities with Kenji from Shatter Me and I donāt know why. I mean, they donāt have the same sense of humor or whatever. Maybe itās his connection to Kaz. Him being the only one who had contact to his loving father made him different from the others. I like that he thought he was kind of spoiled because of that, even when itās definitely not true. He went through so much, too. I like his flaws, the fact that he tried to hide his gift and made it seem like he was fine to the others. He was stronger than he thought.
Wylan. Wylan was just the innocent little guy that somehow got caught up in a dangerous heist and wasnāt able to get out of it after. I like that he was kind of an outsider in the group because he really didnāt like doing bad stuff but I also like that he changed and somehow became a little bit more morally grey. Still, his innocence stuck with him and made him different. My view on him really changed during this book as I saw more of what his father had done to him. ThatĀ poor guy.Ā
Summed up, this book was perfection. No arguments. Go read it. Right now.
Graphic: Gun violence, Addiction, Murder, Violence, Blood, Physical abuse, Death, Drug use, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Torture, Emotional abuse, Cursing, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, and Child death
Minor: Vomit, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Sexual harassment, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, and War
rorythebean'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: Violence, Death, and Murder
Moderate: Sexual violence
Minor: Gun violence, War, Torture, and Vomit
alexandrabelze'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
Graphic: Ableism, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, Vomit, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Rape, Body horror, Sexual assault, Violence, Abandonment, Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Sexual violence, and Torture
Moderate: Classism, Drug use, Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Panic attacks/disorders, and Racism
Minor: Pregnancy, Slavery, and War
voxelbee'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
Moderate: Addiction, Blood, Violence, Torture, Murder, Kidnapping, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, and Gore
Minor: Vomit, War, Ableism, Abandonment, Sexual content, Pregnancy, Mental illness, and Medical content
zoeelora's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Moderate: Gun violence, Kidnapping, Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Gore, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Slavery, Torture, Violence, and Vomit
troisha'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
Graphic: Blood, Violence, Death, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Confinement, Ableism, Trafficking, Addiction, Injury/Injury detail, Slavery, and Grief
Minor: Child abuse, Sexual violence, Xenophobia, Pregnancy, War, Sexual content, Torture, Vomit, Forced institutionalization, Alcohol, and Death of parent
hannahwhiteyy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Death, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Slavery, Trafficking, Death of parent, Grief, Blood, and Body horror
Minor: Animal cruelty, Drug use, Eating disorder, Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, Alcohol, Pregnancy, Racism, Vomit, and War
jenarae's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Death and Murder
Moderate: Slavery, Trafficking, Vomit, War, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Gun violence, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, Blood, Body horror, Classism, Death of parent, Drug use, and Physical abuse
Minor: Pregnancy and Alcohol
mpbookreviews'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
4.75
Moderate: Abandonment, Cursing, Grief, Blood, Death, Violence, Vomit, Murder, and Medical content