jessicaludden'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
3.5
I loved being back in the Grishaverse and seeing what these characters are up to now. I loved the politics in this and there were definitely some plot twists I didn’t see coming. I really liked learning more about Nikolai and Zoya especially because we really didn’t get a lot from them in the books before. Of course I loved seeing Nina again, even if it meant hurting my heart every time she mentioned Matthias.
But I did feel like there was some pacing issues which caused a disconnect with the characters and the plot. I just couldn’t get into it and never really cared a huge amount about the characters. It was very slow in some parts and very repetitive which often left me feeling like I was reading parts that were unnecessary to the character and plot development. But overall, I’m excited to read the next one!
Minor: Sexism, Abandonment, Blood, Death, Misogyny, Murder, Miscarriage, Drug abuse, Grief, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, and Pregnancy
marine2907's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Addiction, Drug use, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Pregnancy, Animal cruelty, Death, Misogyny, Murder, Drug abuse, Grief, Hate crime, Injury/injury detail, Trafficking, and Violence
jessiereads98's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
Graphic: Drug use, Blood, Death, Drug abuse, Grief, Injury/injury detail, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Addiction, Gore, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, Genocide, Medical content, Miscarriage, and Animal death
Minor: Alcohol, Body horror, Forced institutionalization, Gun violence, Slavery, Child abuse, Confinement, Misogyny, Sexism, Classism, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Torture, and War
readingelli's review
4.5
Graphic: Injury/injury detail, Violence, Death, Fire/Fire injury, and Blood
Moderate: Miscarriage, Misogyny, and Pregnancy
trintrin'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
4.25
THE CHARACTERS!!!
Man I was already in love with Nikolai and Zoya and this is not helping!! Nikolai was the sole reason I picked up this book, and I enjoyed every bit of him. I did not expect to love Zoya's POVs but girl snatched my wig fr. I would die for these two at any given time istg. Isaak, you sweetheart, you stole my heart, and so did Hanne. And Nina, of course, I was beginning to worry she didn't contribute as much as she did in SoC, but she pulled through towards the very end. One more thing, I wanted to see Nikolai doing more king-y stuff. I wanted to see him in court. I wanted to see him rule. I wanted to see more of Sturmhond, more of the too-clever-fox, more of him charming people and just doing the Nikolai thing. By the looks of it, it will get more political in Rule of Wolves and I can't wait for that!
I have a love/hate relationship with the multiple callbacks to the previous books. Like yes I was nearly squirming with joy
The plot
I was very surprised when I realised the first 2/3rd - aka the sloooow part where pretty much nothing happens - was actually my favourite. Felt like that's where the characters shined the most. And then after that it was just uhhhh???
Spoiler
I wasn't really vibing with the whole Saints in the Fold thing but yay go Zoya the dragon ig? And I'm absolutely 1000% not a fan of reviving the DarklingSo yeah an exciting-but-confusing-but-still-got-you-wanting-the-sequel read
Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Grief, Pregnancy, Addiction, Drug abuse, Blood, Death, and Drug use
Moderate: Animal death, Religious bigotry, Murder, and War
Minor: Child death, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Vomit, and Sexism
lis4so'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
3.5
Graphic: Violence, Blood, Drug use, Gun violence, Death, Hate crime, Misogyny, Murder, Gore, Addiction, and Grief
Moderate: Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Miscarriage, War, Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Kidnapping, Violence, Child abuse, Murder, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, and Slavery
Minor: Abandonment, Animal death, Bullying, Rape, Dysphoria, Fire/Fire injury, War, Torture, Slavery, and Vomit
jackiepreston's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Fire/Fire injury, Medical trauma, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Child death, Misogyny, Drug use, Grief, and Death
spaghettii's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Moderate: Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Suicide, War, Animal death, Confinement, Cursing, Child death, Chronic illness, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Gun violence, Violence, Addiction, Child abuse, Kidnapping, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Murder, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Sexism, Death, Drug use, and Torture
jelliestars's review
- 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: Blood, Death, Drug use, Drug abuse, Grief, Violence, and Addiction
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, War, Trafficking, Slavery, Sexism, Pregnancy, Pedophilia, Misogyny, and Miscarriage
Minor: Ableism, Alcohol, Body shaming, Gun violence, Infertility, Injury/injury detail, Kidnapping, Pedophilia, and Vomit
littletiramisu'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: War, Grief, Violence, Misogyny, Hate crime, and Murder