Ritika Bhattacharjee

BAH! HUMBUG!

haha. I really, really liked this book. It's definitely the only classic i've read in one sitting It's only about a 100 pages long, so you should definitely check this off your tbr, as soon as you can. Every book I've read with a Christmas theme, talks about a Christmas carol by Charles dickens and now i can finally say i've read it. It's a heartwarming story that reminds us to be grateful and happy and spreads the message of compassion & humility. I listened to the audiobook simultaneously here:

https://youtu.be/ZmOioOyFMRk

and the voice modulations were my favourite thing ever. The narrator does a great job at Scrooge's voice and had me laughing at his dialogue in the beginning. The message conveyed is as beautiful as the story itself, and as you travel with the spirits of the Christmas past, Christmas present and Christmas yet to come, smile and be grateful for everything you have:)

rating-4/5
These books are so good T_T. I need to know what the author's putting in them because, once i start reading, it's all i do. I physically cannot stop.

one star less simply because the cult and the themes in the last 2 books are not my favourite genre of crime. i love the usual murder mysteries, serial killers etc etc. but once it gets religious/ritualistic, i seem to lose interest. Overall, good characterisation, phenomenal writing; the first 2 books were my absolute favourites. While the storyline of 3 & 4, isn't something I'd usually read, I'm still super attached to the characters and upset that the series is almost over.

On to the novella now (knowing that it's all I'm going to do for the rest of the day) sigh

It was times like these when I thought my father, who hated guns and had never been to any wars, was the bravest man who ever lived.

I've had this book in my shelf for the longest time and never got around to reading it. I'm so glad i finally did. The first half of the book was pretty slow and took me a while to read, but the brilliant prose makes up for the pace. Looking at the world through six year old Scout's eyes was an absolute delight. As a child, Scout doesn't understand the full implication of the things happening around her, making her an objective observer and a reporter in the truest sense. We see things exactly the way they happen which makes it so different from the usual adult pov. However, it's important to understand that the narrator is two Scouts: the little girl experiencing the story and the adult Jean Louise who tells the story. The adult Jean Louise can better understand the impact of various events while Scout as a child was simply living through them.

My favourite part about this book is how unflinchingly honest it is. Scout isn't afraid to ask questions. She looks up to her father (Atticus) and views him as a voice of reason and somebody who would answer her questions truthfully. Her relationship with Atticus stands out throughout the book.

SY75

“They're certainly entitled to think that, and they're entitled to full respect for their opinions... but before I can live with other folks I've got to live with myself. The one thing that doesn't abide by majority rule is a person's conscience.”

Final Thoughts

SY75

“Lawyers, I suppose, were children once.”

“Has anyone noticed this whole city is looking for us, mad at us, or wants to kill us?”“So?” said Kaz.“Well, usually it's just half the city.”― Leigh Bardugo, Crooked Kingdomrating- 4.5/5if that quote doesn't sum up the entire book, i honestly don't know what does.I finished reading this a week ago. It took me a week to recover , just enough, to put how i was feeling on paper. (screen?). Just saying.okay, so here goes nothing. This review contains spoilers for Six of crows and Crooked kingdom. Please DO NOT read it if you haven't read either.________________PREMISE [b:Crooked Kingdom 22299763 Crooked Kingdom (Six of Crows, #2) Leigh Bardugo https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1456172607l/22299763.SY75.jpg 42090179] picks off right where [b:Six of Crows 23437156 Six of Crows (Six of Crows, #1) Leigh Bardugo https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1651710803l/23437156.SY75.jpg 42077459] ends. It follows Kaz and his crew right after they pull off an impossible heist. Except things didn't turn out the way they thought it would. (when does it ever). Now they're up against powerful forces both from in and outside Ketterdam, with no money, allies or resources.THOUGHTS I liked Crooked kingdom even more than six of crows?? and i REALLY liked SoC. No because I am absolutely in love. I love the morally grey (but still somehow moral?) characters. SO MUCH. I love their character development and their banter. I love the group dynamic and I love the writing. i just love, love and love. “Crows remember human faces. They remember the people who feed them, who are kind to them. And the people who wrong them too. They don't forget. They tell each other who to look after and who to watch out for.”But i mean there has to be something i didn't like if i didn't give it 5 stars right? yeah we'll get to that {spoiler alert: i go back and forth over what I didn't like, a little bit (well a lot) and don't actually hate anything as such}, but lets start off with everything i liked:)I think my favourite part of both [b:Six of Crows 23437156 Six of Crows (Six of Crows, #1) Leigh Bardugo https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1651710803l/23437156.SY75.jpg 42077459] and [b:Crooked Kingdom 22299763 Crooked Kingdom (Six of Crows, #2) Leigh Bardugo https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1456172607l/22299763.SY75.jpg 42090179] is that the characters never lose themselves. In the face of adversity, when talked about in a relationship dynamic and honestly just in general, there was never a moment where i read something, say kaz or nina did and thought to myself- that doesn't seem like something he/she would do, you know? everything just seemed right. It's beautiful how [a:Leigh Bardugo 4575289 Leigh Bardugo https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1534446099p2/4575289.jpg] managed to give each character such a strong voice and a sense of individuality while still making sure this doesn't get blurred when they work in a group.Their backstories were further developed and wylan got the attention he deserves! (safe to say, he's definitely one of my favourites now).“Until this moment, Wylan hadn't quite understood how much they meant to him. His father would have sneered at these thugs and thieves, a disgraced soldier, a gambler who couldn't keep out of the red. But they were his first friends, his only friends, and Wylan knew that even if he'd had his pick of a thousand companions, these would have been the people he chose.”Pace inconsistency was an issue for me in [b:Six of Crows 23437156 Six of Crows (Six of Crows, #1) Leigh Bardugo https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1651710803l/23437156.SY75.jpg 42077459], but [b:Crooked Kingdom 22299763 Crooked Kingdom (Six of Crows, #2) Leigh Bardugo https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1456172607l/22299763.SY75.jpg 42090179] fares well in that aspect and is fast paced throughout. The transition between the books is smooth and the author doesn't waste any time but gets right into the plot.AND KAZ AND INEJ. I love them so much. (everybody freaking out over them just holding hands is just so funny in my opinion). also this quote absolutely broke me:“I would have come for you. And if I couldn't walk, I'd crawl to you, and no matter how broken we were, we'd fight our way out together-knives drawn, pistols blazing. Because that's what we do. We never stop fighting.”also nina & matthias and wylan & jesper. all of them. ugh.(there's so many cute moments, can't really pick a quote tbh)Something else i REALLY REALLY liked was the appearance of characters from the grisha trilogy. when characters from different books in the same universe have a crossover kinda or even just referenced, it's my favourite thing ever. worlds colliding. my heart<3. it just made me so happy to read nikolai's humorous sarcastic retorts again:') even if it was only for one chapter. okay, onto what i didn't like:SETBACKSso right off the bat, i know that both [b:Six of Crows 23437156 Six of Crows (Six of Crows, #1) Leigh Bardugo https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1651710803l/23437156.SY75.jpg 42077459] and [b:Crooked Kingdom 22299763 Crooked Kingdom (Six of Crows, #2) Leigh Bardugo https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1456172607l/22299763.SY75.jpg 42090179] are fast paced books, and i get that. i do. but to me at times it just felt like there was a lot going on? I struggled to keep up with the numerous sub plots and fail- safe plans. it's just A LOT was going on for my mortal brain to comprehend. I'll probably reread it a few months later and see if this changes the second time around.the ending!major spoiler¡ (adding tags too)something else I didn't like was matthias's death. honestly i think most people would agree that it did nothing to the plot whatsoever and felt extremely abrupt.i thought about this for a while and couldn't come to a conclusion so here i am.right so, execution? wasn't the best in my opinion. they went through ALL of that in both djerholm and ketterdam only for matthias to be shot a few streets away, AFTER they'd managed everything? i don't know..very anticlimactic honestly.the idea though? it makes sense in my opinion. I've seen so many people write off the death as unnecessary and i agreed. but after the initial shock and sadness wore off, i really thought about it and i feel like it does have some symbolism and merit. could it have been executed better? absolutely. but well, it is what it is :')and also when i say the death does have some merit to it, i don't mean that in the- (*read in mocking singsong old man voice*) "it's not possible for all of them to be alive after going through all that." or "well, somebody had to die" way. I'm a sucker for happy endings so it wouldn't have been unrealistic to me if they were all alive in the end. i mean they pulled off an entire heist, managed to deceive so many people. THE THEME IS HOPE and being able to pull off the impossible for saint's sake (yes I'm swearing like grishaverse characters now). so no I'm not FOR killing off characters, only to make it seem more realistic.But i thought of it this way and this just makes more sense to me. Matthias has immense character development; he goes from an angry barbarian {saying that makes me so sad now:''''') remember the princess and the barbarian story bahaha} to somebody who understands he grew up in the wrong environment and that he was filled with hate but not born with it. his younger self however was hateful and misogynistic, and he'd probably done a lot of hateful stuff before the ship with nina *sob*. The young fjerdan kid who shot him? he's so much like young matthias. It's almost like his past was catching up to him.So in a way, matthias was essentially killed by his younger self.poetic? RIGHT. still hurts i know:( but seems less unnecessary now doesn't it? moreover, i love how his last thoughts weren't hateful or of revenge, but just about nina and saving fjerda from their mindset. (crying, brb)something else to make you sob and break your heart even more?if you didn't already know this, matthias's first chapter and his last chapter starts and ends with the same words:“Matthias was dreaming again. Dreaming of her"heartbroken for the rest of my life < / 3OVERALLThis book definitely made it to my favourites. The grisha magic system is unique and the plot is captivating and catches you off guard just the right amount. you should absolutely read it, if you haven't already. it'll make you laugh out loud, cry and smile throughout. super excited to pick up the [b:King of Scars 36307634 King of Scars (King of Scars, #1) Leigh Bardugo https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1525110825l/36307634.SY75.jpg 57978319] duology next, since i personally loved the grisha trilogy and nikolai is one of my favourite characters:)my other reviewsmy review of shadow and bonemy review of siege and stormmy review of ruin and risingmy review of six of crows

"The ox feels the yoke, but does the bird feel the weight of it's wings?"

rating- 3.5/5

The first book definitely surprised me, and although I had a few complaints, I loved it. Siege and Storm on the other hand, is harder for me to review.

The book was very, very slow towards the beginning and at certain points, to the point where i was so sure, i wouldn't like it. The pace was inconsistent and a few parts were incredibly slow, while a few had me struggling to keep up with everything that was happening. This is something that bothered me in shadow and bone as well, and I'm hoping will be resolved in the third book. (I understand a few scenes have to be fast paced, but the transition should be smoother so the reader is eased into the fast paced scenes instead of feeling like they were abruptly thrown in into an action sequence.)

However as soon as Nikolai was introduced, the rating of the book in my head significantly increased (i was thinking around 3 haha). Nikolai is definitely my favorite love interest with mal and the darkling as the other options, I'm pretty sure everybody thinks the same way, if not my favorite character (scratch that. he's my favorite character)

Also, was I the only one who wasn't surprised by the Sturmhond plot twist? I mean he's described as a young boy with green eyes, there's no way he's not a love interest. there's also so much foreshadowing for it, considering he never talks about where he's from (any doubts i had were later confirmed when I googled sturmhond fanart- i strongly advise against googling fanart until you're done with the book. google images are the dark web, for, every book spoiler to ever exist is on there.)

PREMISE

Alina and mal are trying to run away from their lives at Ravka but can Alina really hide her powers for too long? On the other hand, the darkling has new powers that further threaten Ravka's future. With the help of a funny, charming privateer she returns to the country she abandoned only to find it worse off. Alina finds herself slipping deeper into the darkling's magic and discovering a different side to herself, while trying to lead the second army, hoping to cope with the hopes of the common people who believe she's a living saint and also dealing with relationship problems (mal. why. just why)

CHARACTERS

ALINA

unlike a lot of people, i liked Alina in the first book. I understood her self deprecating nature and constant self destruction, it was what made her more real to me. Siege and Storm Alina, on the other hand has completely blown me away. I absolutely love her. She's embracing herself and understanding that she has a dark side under all that light. Her hunger for the third amplifier, calling to the darkness, feeling like the fold was a part of her, understanding the volcra, every single thing intrigued me. the character development is immersing and I'm looking forward to witness Ruin and Rising Alina. I'm curious as to how Leigh Bardugo will transition her from being extremely weak and unable to call her power to ultimately what I'm guessing will be the saviour of Ravka and the destroyer of the fold.

"So many men had tried to make her a queen, now she understood that she was meant for something more"

MAL

no. just no, I'm sorry. shadow and bone mal was okay in my opinion, but book 2 mal is just not it. he loves alina, there's no doubt about that. he protects her, and even abandons his post as a tracker, something that is very dear to him, for her. But he loves the Alina who was his childhood bestfriend, who was at the sidelines, not the grisha Alina. he's constantly insecure about the fact that he's an otkazats'ya, while Alina is powerful. I now understand why so many people disliked him in the first book, they saw what was coming and the behaviour that indicated the same. the fact that he is oblivious that Alina isn't doing her best and continues to push his insecurities at her just infuriates me. the darkling('s vision? I'm still a little confused) that made Alina flinch while mal was stupid enough to think that it was about him (I know I'm being harsh but he just can't look past himself.) was the last straw. I don't see Alina with mal and will be very disappointed if that's what happens in the end.

"i don't need to think about it", Mal shouted "and neither does she"

This is him talking about going back to Os Alta when Nikolai, Alina and Mal arrive at Kribirsk. ugh. just, ugh

"At least she didn't flinch when i touched her" he spat

this was when alina had WAY too much on her plate already, i just dislike him so much, i can't, i'm sorry. i don't know if mal can redeem himself after this.

NIKOLAI

I am absolutely and completely in love with Nikolai Lantsov. He is everything. i repeat, everything, mal is not. he understands Alina, while also NOT being extremely morally grey like the darkling. he's humorous, sarcastic and extremely endearing. The birthday dinner scene with Vasily and the political intrigue in it, was one of my favourite scenes in the book.

"When people say impossible, they usually mean improbable.”

"i like mongrels", i said. "they have cute floppy ears." "my ears are very dignified"

“I took a breath. “Your highness—”

“Nikolai,” he corrected. “But I’ve also been known to answer to ‘sweetheart’ or ‘handsome.”

THE DARKLING

I cannot stop hoping for a redemption arc * sigh *, but then again, this is for the darkling's personality and not as a love interest. I don't see the darkling as a love interest anymore and in my honest opinion, his personality and character wouldn't be suitable for the same. his motivations and backstory are just way too strong to be deterred by something as trivial as feelings. he's still one of the best written and extremely well developed characters. And although he was absent throughout most of this book, the few appearances, use of the nichevo'ya and the visions/appearances Alina could see, left me wanting more.

"we are alike", he said, "as no one else will ever be", the truth of it rang through me. like calls to like.

Things i loved:

1. NIKOLAI. NIKOLAI LANTSOV. ABSOLUTELY.

2. The character development of Alina

3. The ending. i have to admit, the ending is definitely not something i expected. it saved the book for me.

"For the living and the dead, she would make herself a reckoning. She would rise. "

4. Did i mention, nikolai lantsov. yes. him.

Setbacks:

1. as mentioned earlier, the pace inconsistency

2. mal's character development

3. genya. (this was dropped out of nowhere, and goes long lengths to tell us how far the darkling's willing to go, to assert authority and fullfill his motives. it really upset me, considering Alina couldn't even tell her apart from Baghra. i hope this is remedied in Ruin and Rising, because Genya did nothing wrong and does not deserve this. It breaks my heart that she had to choose between helping Alina and her loyalty to the darkling since he gave her status, something that she has never had and has forever wanted.

Overall, despite the issues, i couldn't stop reading and just had to know what was going to happen, which according to me, is a good sign. The world building is immersing and the world of the grisha is growing on me and I absolutely cannot wait to read Ruin and Rising to see what happens to Alina and Nikolai and what's in store in terms of plot:)