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emmysforeverbooked'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? It's complicated
4.0
I genuinely don't think I can give a real review of this book because I am simply experiencing every emotion listed in the English dictionary. All that I can say is that I thoroughly enjoyed myself and I cannot wait to pick up the next one. I'm actually so upset that I got a job in the middle of reading this so I couldn't finish it sooner.
Graphic: Death and Blood
Moderate: Violence, Injury/Injury detail, War, and Animal death
Minor: Cursing, Alcohol, and Suicidal thoughts
mckiheather's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Classism and Toxic relationship
Minor: War, Animal death, Alcohol, Death, Violence, and Blood
mythicsage's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Death, Sexual harassment, Violence, and Animal death
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Child death, Classism, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Gun violence, Alcohol, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Genocide, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, and Slavery
Minor: Abandonment, Cursing, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, Rape, Eating disorder, Alcoholism, Bullying, Confinement, Animal cruelty, Death of parent, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, War, and Xenophobia
emilywemily6'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? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Blood
Moderate: Violence and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Gaslighting, Sexual content, War, Colonisation, Emotional abuse, Grief, and Alcohol
tays_books's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Blood, Animal death, Toxic relationship, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Death, War, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, Adult/minor relationship, and Murder
Minor: Death of parent and Sexual assault
talonsontypewriters's review against another edition
- 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
2.0
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Murder, Emotional abuse, and Violence
Moderate: Gun violence, War, Abandonment, Body horror, Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, Grief, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Slavery, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Alcohol, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Death of parent, Racism, and Xenophobia
Relationship (explicitly unhealthy/abusive) between teenager and character who appears around the same age, but is 100+.emohell's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, and Animal death
Moderate: Grief, Death, Blood, Violence, and Kidnapping
Minor: Alcohol
konstantina's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Fine. Make me your villain.
If you're a lifelong fantasy lover, you will thoroughly enjoy the Grishaverse. Shadow and Bone is a typical ya fantasy novel of the 2010s, but the Grisha magic system is so unique that it allows you to look past plot clichés. The villain, Darkling, is interesting, although his abusive "relationship" (if you can even call it that) with the MC is romanticised by the fandom often.
A good start to the series!
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Death
Minor: Alcohol
livi74's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, and War
Moderate: Alcohol and Sexual content
Minor: Cursing
trintrin's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I don't understand why people love to hate on Mal, I found him perfectly fine. Maybe a little possessive at times but nothing other than that. Apart from the fact that Alina needed a man to feel like she belonged somewhere, I didn't find anything wrong with her either. And I finally understand the appeal of the Darkling lol although I don't really ship Darklina.
The world-building is so rich and that's why I wish I read this before SoC because so many things that I previously found confusing suddenly finally made sense to me, I felt like I opened a third-eye or something. I really loved seeing the fantastical side of the Grishaverse rather than just the heist-y side. I'd love to read more about the Grisha folklore, the Saints and all that good stuff.
As for Leigh's writing style, it's certainly not as breathtaking as I know it would be in her future books but it's still pretty solid. The first person POV felt weird for the first chapter but I got used to it after that. Her story-telling is still very good. This was certainly a page-turner, I binged it in one day and the only other book I'd binged in one day is Crooked Kingdom so it's all very fitting :D
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Animal death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Blood, and Violence
Moderate: Eating disorder, Gore, and Murder
Minor: Alcohol and Death of parent