Ritika Bhattacharjee
"In the end, maybe love just meant longing for something impossibly bright and forever out of reach.”
rating- 4/5
overall series rating- 3.5/5
(skipping to my thoughts instead of my usual review format because i just need to get them out of my head.)
The book caught me off guard, not going to lie. I DID NOT expect the plot twist or the turn of events at the end of the book. The first few hours after I finished the book, was just me marvelling at the ending because,
a) not a lot of books surprise me with plot twists, since i think of probable ways it could end in my head. So if a book does have an ending I haven't thought about, I get really excited. (more on that in a bit)
b) i was expecting something predictable, like Alina destroying the fold, being the saviour of Ravka and the likes of that.
I did think of a possible ending that involved her leaving things behind and living a normal life with Mal, but i didn't know how that would work out with her powers being a factor.
(like i said, not sticking to a review format, so might as well include this)
So, coming back to me being excited, the first thing i did, was call my best friend (who has read six of crows, but not the grisha trilogy) and told her how the ending wasn't something i expected and i loved it.
The first thing she said was, "wait aren't you upset that Alina died?" and i was like "OH."
This is what made it cooler in my opinion. I remember how I'd read that six of crows contains spoilers for the grisha trilogy, however i didn't think they'd be given the narrative the rest of the people were given. It kind of makes me feel like I'm a part of this small group of people who actually know what happened in the battle. it makes me feel special okay? shush.
So i found out, on Leigh Bardugo's Instagram highlights where she says it's not necessary to read S&B before SoC, but preferrable because you'll be "spoiled (or deliberately misled by a wicked author)" HAHA
and this whole thing fascinates me so much, i don't even know why. and i've already started ranting so, there's no going back
there's tons of people i know who haven't read the Grisha trilogy but only the Six of Crows duology and they won't know this. (I'm aware they probably don't care, but just let me feel special okay.)
it's just so smart. the fact that, what people think is a spoiler isn't actually one and
also how, if people read SoC first and then move on to these books, they'll still be surprised. Leigh Bardugo is one smart author.
THE ENDING
now, when the initial surprise wore off, i actually began thinking about whether i liked the ending and if this was what i wanted for Alina.
“They had an ordinary life, full of ordinary things—if love can ever be called that.”
The thing with this is, people either absolutely love the ending or hate it.
i have mixed feelings about the ending. The romantic in me who loves happy endings is happy, she's thinking of the love Mal and Alina share, despite everything they've had to face. however there is also a cynic in me and while she's happy that Mal (who's suddenly a new person who wants the best for Alina. A starking contrast to Siege and Storm Mal, whom i did not like at all) and Alina get their happy ending, she's not sure if Alina wanted this for herself.
I'm sure nobody likes risking their lives constantly and the fact that she was considered a living saint, did not help with the-wanting to live a normal life part.
But we all know that Alina grows to like her powers, understands that they're a part of her and using them makes her feel content. She has immense character development in the first two books and starts believing in herself. So does this ending negate all that character development? yes.
In a way the full circle ending: Alina going back to keramzin, just a normal girl, an orphan makes it feel complete. However, the ending makes me happy, not content. I can't help but think about everything Alina could've been and everything she could've done (even WITH Mal by her side, since that's what she's so vocal about * sigh *)
I feel let down that, what could've been a really strong female protagonist in upcoming books, is now just living idly with no powers, (again there's nothing wrong with a domestic life, I'm just a little disappointed that she had to give up her powers.)
To me, it felt like Mal finally got what he wanted. Alina losing her powers, living a normal life with him.
In Siege and Storm, when Mal and Alina are on the run, hiding her powers makes her miserable. In my opinion, Alina's powers going to all the otkazats'ya because of Morozova was not some elaborate noble plotline to give powers to the common folk but a way for making Alina powerless and live her life with Mal without worrying about hiding it.
"Morozova was a strange man. He was a bit like you, drawn to the ordinary and the weak."
An indication of Alina not wanting this for herself is definitely how she describes herself as hollow, empty and not quite like herself without her powers.
"nothing left", i said softly feeling the emptiness inside me, the emptiness everywhere.
CHARACTER ARCS
Mal- still don't like him I'm sorry, but i guess love is love so, I'm trying to be happy for Alina and Mal, believe me i really am.
It's a little hard for me to believe that Mal is suddenly everything we've wanted him to be. I like him in this book, he's trying, acknowledging Alina's feelings and all in all, just not being a d!ck. But what didn't work for me is the transition. i was still seething over Siege and Storm Mal when i went into this book, only to find a whole new person there. it just didn't seem realistic to me.
“It’s a vow that if I can’t be anything else to you, at least I can be a weapon in your hand.”
“You were meant for more than me, and I'll die fighting to give it to you. But please don't ask me to pretend it's easy.”
The darkling- yeah. I'm not going to lie, I'm a little devastated. one of the best written antagonists in my opinion. Leigh Bardugo does a great job at humanising him throughout the books, and especially at the end. the death scene upset me more than Mal's and that's saying something. His backstory is so well developed and the fact that this book gave us most of his backstory, is another reason for me to like it.
“In this moment he was just a boy - brilliant, blessed with too much power, burdened by eternity.”
Nikolai- Absolutely still love him. still my favourite character. his humour is unmatched and brightens up the book when required. the whole darkness plot, in the second half of the book seemed unnecessary to me, but i agree it makes him more interesting in the upcoming books and I'm excited to read King of Scars
“I hope you weren’t looking to me to be the voice of reason. I keep to a strict diet of ill-advised enthusiasm and heartfelt regret.”
"You are no Lantsov" snarled the king. NIkolai merely bowed. "I find i can live with that fact"
Genya- love her. although i disliked the whole nichevo'ya bite fate, i love how she embraced it; considering vanity was something that was very important to her. I wanted this to be remedied somehow, but i no longer want that. scars are reminders but they don't have to be terrible.
“Na razrusha'ya. E'ya razrushost."
translation: I am not ruined. I am ruination.
her relationship with David is also something that stands out. they both are beautiful together.
"Beauty was your armor. Fragile stuff, all show. But what's inside you? That's steel. It's brave and unbreakable. And it doesn't need fixing.”
I'm excited to see Genya in the upcoming books (i think she's there?) since she'll be leading the second army and i want to see her in a role of authority.
Setbacks
one thing that I've found to be a problem in both shadow and bone, as well as siege and storm is the pace inconsistency. this book fared better in that aspect and did have better transition from slow scenes to fast paced scenes, however towards the end of the book, there was just too much happening. The final battle was very short and didn't seem to have the depth that was required.
And of course, the damned ending.
What I loved
1. the amplifier plot twist.
2. Nikolai Lantsov.
3. also the ending (i can't decide if i like it or not, leave me alone.)
Overall
pros- unpredictable plot twists
cons- bittersweet ending?
Both Shadow and Bone and Siege and Storm surprised me, but Ruin and Rising, topped them both. Leigh Bardugo's books just get progressively better and better as the trilogy continues. Her writing has always stood out to me and the story's narrative flows extremely well, which makes them so much easier to read. I couldn't put the books down for too long, and I'm happy i finished the trilogy.
The world of the grisha is captivating and interesting. it's very unique and I'm glad the author decided to expand this world and continue writing more books in this universe.
i can't wait to read more of the grisha world in Six of Crows, I'm super excited for this one:)
"In the end, maybe love just meant longing for something impossibly bright and forever out of reach.”
rating- 4/5
overall series rating- 3.5/5
(skipping to my thoughts instead of my usual review format because i just need to get them out of my head.)
The book caught me off guard, not going to lie. I DID NOT expect the plot twist or the turn of events at the end of the book. The first few hours after I finished the book, was just me marvelling at the ending because,
a) not a lot of books surprise me with plot twists, since i think of probable ways it could end in my head. So if a book does have an ending I haven't thought about, I get really excited. (more on that in a bit)
b) i was expecting something predictable, like Alina destroying the fold, being the saviour of Ravka and the likes of that.
I did think of a possible ending that involved her leaving things behind and living a normal life with Mal, but i didn't know how that would work out with her powers being a factor.
(like i said, not sticking to a review format, so might as well include this)
So, coming back to me being excited, the first thing i did, was call my best friend (who has read six of crows, but not the grisha trilogy) and told her how the ending wasn't something i expected and i loved it.
The first thing she said was, "wait aren't you upset that Alina died?" and i was like "OH."
This is what made it cooler in my opinion. I remember how I'd read that six of crows contains spoilers for the grisha trilogy, however i didn't think they'd be given the narrative the rest of the people were given. It kind of makes me feel like I'm a part of this small group of people who actually know what happened in the battle. it makes me feel special okay? shush.
So i found out, on Leigh Bardugo's Instagram highlights where she says it's not necessary to read S&B before SoC, but preferrable because you'll be "spoiled (or deliberately misled by a wicked author)" HAHA
and this whole thing fascinates me so much, i don't even know why. and i've already started ranting so, there's no going back
there's tons of people i know who haven't read the Grisha trilogy but only the Six of Crows duology and they won't know this. (I'm aware they probably don't care, but just let me feel special okay.)
it's just so smart. the fact that, what people think is a spoiler isn't actually one and
also how, if people read SoC first and then move on to these books, they'll still be surprised. Leigh Bardugo is one smart author.
THE ENDING
now, when the initial surprise wore off, i actually began thinking about whether i liked the ending and if this was what i wanted for Alina.
“They had an ordinary life, full of ordinary things—if love can ever be called that.”
The thing with this is, people either absolutely love the ending or hate it.
i have mixed feelings about the ending. The romantic in me who loves happy endings is happy, she's thinking of the love Mal and Alina share, despite everything they've had to face. however there is also a cynic in me and while she's happy that Mal (who's suddenly a new person who wants the best for Alina. A starking contrast to Siege and Storm Mal, whom i did not like at all) and Alina get their happy ending, she's not sure if Alina wanted this for herself.
I'm sure nobody likes risking their lives constantly and the fact that she was considered a living saint, did not help with the-wanting to live a normal life part.
But we all know that Alina grows to like her powers, understands that they're a part of her and using them makes her feel content. She has immense character development in the first two books and starts believing in herself. So does this ending negate all that character development? yes.
In a way the full circle ending: Alina going back to keramzin, just a normal girl, an orphan makes it feel complete. However, the ending makes me happy, not content. I can't help but think about everything Alina could've been and everything she could've done (even WITH Mal by her side, since that's what she's so vocal about * sigh *)
I feel let down that, what could've been a really strong female protagonist in upcoming books, is now just living idly with no powers, (again there's nothing wrong with a domestic life, I'm just a little disappointed that she had to give up her powers.)
To me, it felt like Mal finally got what he wanted. Alina losing her powers, living a normal life with him.
In Siege and Storm, when Mal and Alina are on the run, hiding her powers makes her miserable. In my opinion, Alina's powers going to all the otkazats'ya because of Morozova was not some elaborate noble plotline to give powers to the common folk but a way for making Alina powerless and live her life with Mal without worrying about hiding it.
"Morozova was a strange man. He was a bit like you, drawn to the ordinary and the weak."
An indication of Alina not wanting this for herself is definitely how she describes herself as hollow, empty and not quite like herself without her powers.
"nothing left", i said softly feeling the emptiness inside me, the emptiness everywhere.
CHARACTER ARCS
Mal- still don't like him I'm sorry, but i guess love is love so, I'm trying to be happy for Alina and Mal, believe me i really am.
It's a little hard for me to believe that Mal is suddenly everything we've wanted him to be. I like him in this book, he's trying, acknowledging Alina's feelings and all in all, just not being a d!ck. But what didn't work for me is the transition. i was still seething over Siege and Storm Mal when i went into this book, only to find a whole new person there. it just didn't seem realistic to me.
“It’s a vow that if I can’t be anything else to you, at least I can be a weapon in your hand.”
“You were meant for more than me, and I'll die fighting to give it to you. But please don't ask me to pretend it's easy.”
The darkling- yeah. I'm not going to lie, I'm a little devastated. one of the best written antagonists in my opinion. Leigh Bardugo does a great job at humanising him throughout the books, and especially at the end. the death scene upset me more than Mal's and that's saying something. His backstory is so well developed and the fact that this book gave us most of his backstory, is another reason for me to like it.
“In this moment he was just a boy - brilliant, blessed with too much power, burdened by eternity.”
Nikolai- Absolutely still love him. still my favourite character. his humour is unmatched and brightens up the book when required. the whole darkness plot, in the second half of the book seemed unnecessary to me, but i agree it makes him more interesting in the upcoming books and I'm excited to read King of Scars
“I hope you weren’t looking to me to be the voice of reason. I keep to a strict diet of ill-advised enthusiasm and heartfelt regret.”
"You are no Lantsov" snarled the king. NIkolai merely bowed. "I find i can live with that fact"
Genya- love her. although i disliked the whole nichevo'ya bite fate, i love how she embraced it; considering vanity was something that was very important to her. I wanted this to be remedied somehow, but i no longer want that. scars are reminders but they don't have to be terrible.
“Na razrusha'ya. E'ya razrushost."
translation: I am not ruined. I am ruination.
her relationship with David is also something that stands out. they both are beautiful together.
"Beauty was your armor. Fragile stuff, all show. But what's inside you? That's steel. It's brave and unbreakable. And it doesn't need fixing.”
I'm excited to see Genya in the upcoming books (i think she's there?) since she'll be leading the second army and i want to see her in a role of authority.
Setbacks
one thing that I've found to be a problem in both shadow and bone, as well as siege and storm is the pace inconsistency. this book fared better in that aspect and did have better transition from slow scenes to fast paced scenes, however towards the end of the book, there was just too much happening. The final battle was very short and didn't seem to have the depth that was required.
And of course, the damned ending.
What I loved
1. the amplifier plot twist.
2. Nikolai Lantsov.
3. also the ending (i can't decide if i like it or not, leave me alone.)
Overall
pros- unpredictable plot twists
cons- bittersweet ending?
Both Shadow and Bone and Siege and Storm surprised me, but Ruin and Rising, topped them both. Leigh Bardugo's books just get progressively better and better as the trilogy continues. Her writing has always stood out to me and the story's narrative flows extremely well, which makes them so much easier to read. I couldn't put the books down for too long, and I'm happy i finished the trilogy.
The world of the grisha is captivating and interesting. it's very unique and I'm glad the author decided to expand this world and continue writing more books in this universe.
i can't wait to read more of the grisha world in Six of Crows, I'm super excited for this one:)