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vickygiailevra's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
srpicard's review against another edition
4.0
This was a fun YA book - which I don’t read too often. And a pretty quick read.
What I learned: nothing like being young and in love amirite?
What I learned: nothing like being young and in love amirite?
emilyree's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
4.5
jenn_burros's review against another edition
5.0
This was so good. I loved the worldbuiliding and the characters. Alina was great and I can't wait to see what she does next. Leigh Bardugo is excellent at creating a world and I never want her to stop.
leonlovesbooks's review against another edition
3.0
This was good but the question is WAS IT WORTH THE HYPE?? and that's answer is No.
It is way overrated and the obsession with the darkling was just too much. Whenever I ask people about the book all they talk about his "the darkling", the darkling is this or that like you got to booktok and whenever they bring this book up yet always talk about the darkling. Bruh Chill'.
Also Mal and Alina romance was kinda.... Rushed, it was not really romantic. It felt like the author was hoping for some romance between the darkling and Alina but then remembered Mal and just slapped him a role. Ehh I wasn't really feeling the romance between Mal and Alina, it was cute yeah. It was that kinda romance that a 16 year old will believe is true love, like NAH. But I think Alina is 16 so nevermind, what I wanted to say was that the romance felt a little childish with me.
This also gave me MAJOR RED QUEEN SERIES VIBE Ahhhh. Also major spoilers for people who havent read red queen......
■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■
So The Drakling is Maven and Maven ALSO betrayed the main character and turned out evil. Mal is alo the backup romance interest like what's-his-name-again Cal Sorry had to search up his name again lol
In summary, this was good, it was okay, way overhype but good. It fast paced too
It is way overrated and the obsession with the darkling was just too much. Whenever I ask people about the book all they talk about his "the darkling", the darkling is this or that like you got to booktok and whenever they bring this book up yet always talk about the darkling. Bruh Chill'.
Also Mal and Alina romance was kinda.... Rushed, it was not really romantic. It felt like the author was hoping for some romance between the darkling and Alina but then remembered Mal and just slapped him a role. Ehh I wasn't really feeling the romance between Mal and Alina, it was cute yeah. It was that kinda romance that a 16 year old will believe is true love, like NAH. But I think Alina is 16 so nevermind, what I wanted to say was that the romance felt a little childish with me.
This also gave me MAJOR RED QUEEN SERIES VIBE Ahhhh. Also major spoilers for people who havent read red queen......
■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■
So The Drakling is Maven and Maven ALSO betrayed the main character and turned out evil. Mal is alo the backup romance interest like what's-his-name-again Cal Sorry had to search up his name again lol
In summary, this was good, it was okay, way overhype but good. It fast paced too
brennanaphone's review against another edition
3.0
I entered the Grishaverse books with Six of Crows, even though I knew the first book was Shadow and Bone. I am so glad I did. If I had started with this book, I doubt I would have read beyond the first chapter.
I was shocked by how Twilight-y this started: Clumsy, obnoxious, not-like-other-girls teen girl protagonist with laughably pointless chosen-one storyline stuff gets into a love triangle with a down-to-earth friend and a hugely powerful, ancient fey sort of dude who is way too sexually aggressive. Why is that a trope. Why do we have so much of that.
I guess Bardugo agrees with me at least on that front, and partway through there were some good twists to the point that it pulled my rating up quite a bit (including a resounding refutation of Twilight and all it stands for, so I do appreciate that). The second half was punchier and had better intrigue, and I was invested enough by the end to probably read the rest of the series.
I wish that were enough, but overall the prose is fairly flat and direct, lacking the punchy metaphorical language in her later books. I was actively rooting against both romance options, which I feel is rarely a good thing. Maybe it's that I didn't really believe that these two kids who were raised as basically siblings ended up with such an awkward, chilly dynamic, much less an uncomfortable romance. Or maybe it was because I disliked the narrator so much: Alina is uninteresting, two-faced, and unkind to most of the people around her, but she has a real persecution complex at the same time.
Genya was the closest to a full person, and even she felt like a proto-Nina, so again it felt better to just read Six of Crows instead. I strongly believe that Bardugo should narrate only in the third person--her writing is much stronger for it.
I was shocked by how Twilight-y this started: Clumsy, obnoxious, not-like-other-girls teen girl protagonist with laughably pointless chosen-one storyline stuff gets into a love triangle with a down-to-earth friend and a hugely powerful, ancient fey sort of dude who is way too sexually aggressive. Why is that a trope. Why do we have so much of that.
I guess Bardugo agrees with me at least on that front, and partway through there were some good twists to the point that it pulled my rating up quite a bit (including a resounding refutation of Twilight and all it stands for, so I do appreciate that). The second half was punchier and had better intrigue, and I was invested enough by the end to probably read the rest of the series.
I wish that were enough, but overall the prose is fairly flat and direct, lacking the punchy metaphorical language in her later books. I was actively rooting against both romance options, which I feel is rarely a good thing. Maybe it's that I didn't really believe that these two kids who were raised as basically siblings ended up with such an awkward, chilly dynamic, much less an uncomfortable romance. Or maybe it was because I disliked the narrator so much: Alina is uninteresting, two-faced, and unkind to most of the people around her, but she has a real persecution complex at the same time.
Genya was the closest to a full person, and even she felt like a proto-Nina, so again it felt better to just read Six of Crows instead. I strongly believe that Bardugo should narrate only in the third person--her writing is much stronger for it.
stephaniedc's review against another edition
4.0
Not as good as Six of Crows, but still fun. A pretty standard YA fantasy “chosen one” adventure in a unique setting.
crypticlore's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
zzz08_'s review against another edition
3.0
3.75 Actually kinda enjoyed it. Maybe I'm biased because of my high hopes for the show