lolla_pot's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
morgansbookshelf's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
My new favourite book in the Grishaverse.
lydz1106's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Rape
emilyxclark's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- 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
raeanng14's review against another edition
4.0
I have so many conflicting thoughts on this book. I liked it more than King of Scars, but there were little things that bothered me here and there. The plot? *chef's kiss* Character development? Depends on who we're talking about.. I loved Zoya's character development, but I feel like Leigh Bardugo focused all her energy on her and and not enough on everyone else like Nikolai or Hanne (those were characters I wish I got more from).
My main conflicting thought was that I loved everything going on, but Leigh tried to shove 3 plots to join into one and it just didn't do it for me. I was interested in the Shu Han plot because Leigh set things up so perfectly, but then it just fell off all of a sudden. I think if this was a trilogy instead of a duology, this could have been avoided.
My main conflicting thought was that I loved everything going on, but Leigh tried to shove 3 plots to join into one and it just didn't do it for me. I was interested in the Shu Han plot because Leigh set things up so perfectly, but then it just fell off all of a sudden. I think if this was a trilogy instead of a duology, this could have been avoided.
charliauthor's review against another edition
4.0
Loved loved loved!
I was a little disappointed with KoS but RoW was just so much better in terms of action, resolutions and general satisfaction.
Without giving any spoilers, everything was just so much more complete in this one (which is to be expected in the conclusion of a duology of course) but it gave me CK vibes in that even though it was over, it was over and in a good way that made way for more adventures.
Leigh's strengths for me are definitely in her characters. While pacing can be a little off sometimes and certain locations and time jumps have you all over the place, the characters reign it all back in because you just love them so damn much!
I loved that we were able to see more of the Grishaverse but would like for Novyi Zem to get some play now as we've been all over the rest of the world. Lets see more Zemeni has a focal nation rather than consistent side characters.
Cannot wait for the next adventure in the Grishaverse because with that ending, an adventure definitely awaits.
My only concern is that it will delve back into 'travelling for endless pages' type style which i'm not a fan of but here's hoping!
I was a little disappointed with KoS but RoW was just so much better in terms of action, resolutions and general satisfaction.
Without giving any spoilers, everything was just so much more complete in this one (which is to be expected in the conclusion of a duology of course) but it gave me CK vibes in that even though it was over, it was over and in a good way that made way for more adventures.
Leigh's strengths for me are definitely in her characters. While pacing can be a little off sometimes and certain locations and time jumps have you all over the place, the characters reign it all back in because you just love them so damn much!
I loved that we were able to see more of the Grishaverse but would like for Novyi Zem to get some play now as we've been all over the rest of the world. Lets see more Zemeni has a focal nation rather than consistent side characters.
Cannot wait for the next adventure in the Grishaverse because with that ending, an adventure definitely awaits.
My only concern is that it will delve back into 'travelling for endless pages' type style which i'm not a fan of but here's hoping!
sathyadgs95's review against another edition
3.0
I must admit that I was awfully wary heading into this book. While King of Scars—for the most part—left me feeling fairly good about the development of Nikolai, Zoya, and Nina (even though Nina's storyline felt VERY disjointed from the rest of the book), I still wasn't quite sold on that other major plot development that took place at the end of KoS. I'm disappointed. I didn't get the closure I was looking for as I read the final sentence, and in many ways, it felt like LB was leaving the backdoor unlocked to capitalize on future opportunities with writing more in the Grishaverse. I've commented to a couple of people now that I wish these books would have ended with Crooked Kingdom, and I stand by that. I'd rather use my own imagination to play out what happened with our beloved characters. As it stands now, it seems very likely LB intends to cash in on everyone's favorite crew, the Crows, with perhaps more to come there. I didn't get closure for my favorite character in the whole series, there was a death that happened that didn't feel necessary, the reunion scene that happened in chapter 9 (which I've been anticipating forever) fell flat, and then there were cameos that came into play for the sake of happening. I wanted to love those scenes, but I didn't. Being a fan of epic fantasy containing elements of political intrigue and uprising, I couldn't get into those things with this particular duology. There were too many themes hit on pretty hard relating to religious fanaticism that I don't wish to read in fiction at the present moment. I read as an escape from the ugliness of current events, and these themes were so intermeshed in the books that I had a difficult time of being swept in—I quickly disengaged. Maybe it was the style of writing with these themes? I honestly don't know, but it didn't work for me. Furthermore, while I grew to like Zoya in the other books, I felt many of the things that were examined in her backstory here felt disingenuous. It was like LB took this as an opportunity to align Zoya's background with how she is portrayed in the Netflix adaptation. It just felt...forced? I wonder if she drafted this book at the same time she was working on the show script.
I've seen other readers comment how they don't understand why every character in a series has to be matched up with another romantically. My thoughts echo theirs. It's okay to be alone and to be perfectly happy that way.
"We're all monsters now." And I'm the grumpy one it seems.
I've seen other readers comment how they don't understand why every character in a series has to be matched up with another romantically. My thoughts echo theirs. It's okay to be alone and to be perfectly happy that way.
"We're all monsters now." And I'm the grumpy one it seems.
dearheart's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75