Reviews with content warning for Bullying - Varjo ja riipus

I really loved the ideas of this book, especially the Grishaverse. However, I do have some qualms with the book.

1.) It felt like I was speed running the entire book. Every change of scenery and situations felt very abrupt and not fully explored. For example, I was so confused when Baghra told Alina to run. Perhaps this is a reflection of Alina’s life: never constant and always changing. I can get that, but this just felt too abrupt.

2.) Like some plot points, I thought some characters were underdeveloped. I wish we got more insight to Genya’s life, maybe a dramatic betrayal of trust/allegiance. Her losing her servant status just felt half-assed. I also think, if there were a betrayal, it would further Alina’s complexity as a character. Anyway, I also felt Mal was so underdeveloped. Like one minute he’s a playboy and the next he’s described as brooding. He gives the reader a tiny glimpse of what happened but I was just waiting for more. Also wish there was more indication that the Darkling was going to be evil—I wanted to guess and not just read dialogue from Baghra that he was evil. I guess I did connect Baghra to be his mother, but I could foresee him being evil from that.

3.) Alina’s powers are cool but I wanted them to be more badass. I was very happy when she managed to do The Cut at the end.

4.) I was expecting Alina to be more important in the last scene of the fold??? Like, she was used to create a path and then the Darkling just manipulated The Fold on his own???

5.) also, I didn’t like how long it took for the world building to happen, specifically around the explanation of the magic. Maybe I was missing it or forgetting details between my sporadic reading, but I felt like it took forever to understand all the different types of Grisha. I had to look up an article to fully understand who was in what group of Grisha and why.

Interesting story, not the best executed. Hoping the next books are a bit better.

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marissasa's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

I actually enjoyed this read a lot more than I thought I would, just from my limited knowledge of what this book and series is as a YA fantasy from the early 2010s. Although I didn't get attached to any of the characters, I was still interested in Alina's storyline and felt like I could continue reading quickly and easily as the plot progressed.

Maybe I'm just not into villains, but I wasn't surprised by the Darkling's actions at all and I didn't like his moments with Alina from the start just because I felt like they had no reason or buildup to liking each other. Some of the training chapters felt longer than they had to be, and it felt very YA trope-y when Alina had the vision of the stag in the last act and was able to summon her power over the Darkling's hold in the exact moment she needed it.

Despite these things I still decently enjoyed the book and like it enough to continue reading the rest of the trilogy before I jump on the Six of Crows train.

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wickedgrumpy's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

Decidedly on the okay to meh spectrum..

The world building and magic system is interesting (if not semi-lazy with the quasi-Russian culture) but the characters are flat and one dimensional. I was waffling on whether or not to continue the series but the idea of what comes next from the main character's POV doesn't thrill me so I'll probably look up what happens instead.

It's bizarre that the main character starts out as an orphan from war (roughly 8 years old), and seems mature beyond her 17 years by the time the main story arc starts (she is an apprentice cartographer in the army), and then regresses into angsty teenager drama full of petty, juvenile, and shallow plot points because of a chosen one trope?

Lastly, the romance was bad. Both dudes are controlling and manipulative, want to possess her, don't actually care what she wants. Think of any high school romance drama and you will understand the tropes thrown in this book. There's literally a glow up/makeover scene (multiple times actually because they want to emphasize how much she's changed from the 'skinny-but-not-in-a-hot-way' person she was before).

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thesecretsapphic's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes

3.25

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_piercingwords_'s review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Now I wanna say that I watched the show before reading this book, so I was spoilered which took the fun out of it a bit. (The show is a very good adaption thoug and stayed pretty close to this storyline, even though it is combined with Six of Crows duology)

It was... Fine. But it felt like a typical YA fantasy book and I read the Six of Crows duology first, which caught me a lot more. One who expects an equal to it may be a bit disappointed. Also not a huge fan of first person narrated stories.

Overall still an enjoyable read, if I get the chance I will read the other parts, the storyline has potential.

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faitherslibrary's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.75

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