toastyghosty13'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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
i found the majority of this book to be extremely boring. there were parts like when sturmhond was introduced that were interesting and exciting, but a lot of it was weird political and bureaucratic filler.
i also found the lack of real flirting and the overkill on sexual harassment to be annoying and unenjoyable. sturmhond came off as creepy, in fact most men in this book did besides tolya. at least sturmhond is still an interesting character with the fact that he is
Spoiler
the prince and an infamous privateer, but his character is written as if he is a real ladies man but then defaults to being a creeper. i barely registered the fact that alina was interested in him romantically until it said she blushed at him touching her leg when she kicked him?? a weak watery lackluster attempt at enemies to lovers fit into one page.mal
Spoiler
had an existential crisis that could have been solved if he and alina had just slept together. i’m not sure what age range this book is meant to be for if there is no intimacy but one of the main characters can plunge deeply into alcoholism for a majority of the book. mal was so unbelievably jealous by 2 guys who were both repulsive in different ways, and alina should have trusted him enough to tell him the truth about her visions given the fact that they have known each other since they were children.genya was
Spoiler
done dirty imo and she would have fought for what is right, especially given that she is literally best friends with alina and would have had a much better quality of life at her side when this is all inevitably over. genya chose to follow the darkling because she wasn’t seen as a real person even though he literally gave her away as a gift to the queen. alina would never, but of course for some reason genya chooses to be on the darklings side of this war and then gets used as an object again shocker.overall a pretty big disappointment for a sequel. i’m still invested in whatever the backstory is about saints and amplifiers, plus i already own the box set so i might as well finish it out. i’ve heard six of crows is a lot better thankfully so i’m holding out hope for that one.
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Alcoholism, Sexual assault, Death, War, Alcohol, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Torture, Animal death, and Infidelity
salem0's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
also my copy came with a short story about genya, called 'the tailor', which was pretty good and quite emotional. i'm probably biased because genya's one of my favorites from the trilogy so far. but i liked it a little more than the whole of s&s.
Moderate: Kidnapping and War
Minor: Sexual harassment
enderchilde's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
I really dislike Alina and the romantic and platonic relations she fastens.
The Darkling gives me the creeps in a very annoying way.
The "magic" is AMAZING I love the sciency way it is explained, hands down, FANTASTIC.
Almost everything else can f*ck off.
Moderate: Sexual harassment
talonsontypewriters's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, War, Death, Confinement, Violence, Murder, Gore, Emotional abuse, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Animal death, Classism, Racism, Gun violence, Torture, Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, Suicide attempt, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Xenophobia, Body horror, and Stalking
Minor: Sexual content, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Incest, Infidelity, Drug use, Fatphobia, Child death, Death of parent, and Child abuse
david_slack110507's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I found that this book was much more gripping that the previous one which very much felt like the first book in a trilogy (Not a bad thing but it definitely had that feeling) whereas while the long chapters remain in this one (And I'm assuming in all of Leigh Bardugo's work) I found it much easier and enjoyable to get through as well as it taking me less time. I liked a lot of the new characters the obvious being Nikolai who I feel brought a lot of charm to the novel and his back and forth with Alina was probably one of my favourite parts of the novel. Speaking of Alina, this time around while she still doubts herself and has her insecurities she felt a lot more involved in the action and getting to see her utilise the Cut and her power was nice to see throughout the novel.
I also really liked that we got to see more of the military-type operation and world of the Grishaverse/Ravka and Alina coming into control of the Second Army was really cool to see as it was a nice change of pace to have her decide to fight back against the Darkling (As briefly mentioned above). Tolya and Tamar were also a pretty good addition to the ensemble of characters even if they don't get a lot of backstory or much to do besides protecting Alina.
I can definitely see how some may not like this book as like how I feel with the first book feeling like the first book in a trilogy the same could be said for this one which can definitely feel like the second book and middle-point in a trilogy with its main goal being to set up the 3rd book/conclusion and filling out the rest of time with character dramas and a larger focus on dialogue and development that action (E.g the main real conflicts only come at the beginning and the end and The Darkling remains out of the picture for nearly all of the book aside from the final confrontation and appearing physically to Alina throughout after her nichevo'ya bite)
Overall, I might have the unpopular opinion that I preferred this book to the first and found it to be much more engaging (Perhaps due to the first book having set up everything that the second book could easily and comfortably ease back into the world). I'm planning on trying to finish this series as soon as possible rather than taking a couple of months break in between like I did with this book and the first.
Graphic: Blood, Violence, and Death
Moderate: War, Gore, Grief, Stalking, Kidnapping, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Cursing, Sexual assault, Animal death, Child death, Sexual harassment, and Animal cruelty
noxygens'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? It's complicated
4.0
Moderate: Blood, Violence, Death, Sexual harassment, and Torture
jomannisto's review against another edition
- Started back at shadow and bone because I really enjoyed six of crows, which was my entry to the Grishaverse.
- Became apparent I am too old for this book as I am pushing 30, and the relationships are really written for teenagers who crave the edginess of ”homely girl next door turns out to be special while Toxic Boy #1 is grossly jealous of Toxic But Ancient Old Man #2 And They Fight Over Her. Toxic Boy #1 does not acknowledge that Homely Protagonist was groomed and sexually harassed.”. Great candidate for a problematic twilight phase for a new gen of emo teens
- Mal turned into the whiniest and broodiest little piece of crap that I have ever had the misfortune of experiencing.
- The magic animal trio suddenly breaking the ”only one amplifier” seems tacked on.
Graphic: War, Violence, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Sexual harassment
empathreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Abandonment, Blood, Confinement, War, Death, Murder, Sexual harassment, Grief, Toxic relationship, and Violence
littletiramisu's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Murder, Blood, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Torture
Minor: Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Rape
zoecrepp'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
4.25
Moderate: Sexual harassment and Misogyny
Minor: Gaslighting and Rape