baknata's reviews
110 reviews

I had a hard time getting into this book, at no fault to the book, I was just in a slump, so the first have of the book felt like it dragged on forever. Once I got halfway through, I was hooked on the story. Things moved slower in the first half, and there was a time jump, which made it hard for me to stay engaged. I couldn't keep track of the characters and the setting in the first half, but by the halfway point I got a grip on who was whom. This book really expanded on our understanding of the world, especially the history and the conflict between the different groups. What I liked about this book, which was also present in the first one, was how complex the conflict is. In this book, we get the different points of view which really expands our understanding of each side. We get to know the motivations of all the characters much better in this book and this just makes it that much harder to decide who to root for. Each side has done horrible things in the name of their cause or for revenge, so even though they have valid arguments it's hard to root for them. Not to mention, each side of the conflict has some good motivation and some bad. For example, Manizheh was justified in wanting to take down the Qahtanis, but her views on the Shafit were terrible, especially considering her daughter is a Shafit. And then we see the Shafit who obviously are oppressed and we want to root for them, but they allegedly are attacking Daevas whenever the Daevas aren't being protected. Overall it's hard to know which side of the conflict we want to succeed, but at the end of the day, I support Nahri. I especially loved seeing Nahri's development throughout this book and seeing the difference from the first book. It's clear that being manipulated and blackmailed has taken a terrible toll on Nahri, not to mention everything that happened between her and Dara before he died. But through this struggle she remains strong in her beliefs, she learns about her ignorance and makes an effort to change how things are. And ultimately she is able to push through everything that has happened to her and find a piece of the strong self-sufficient girl she used to be. She takes charge of her own destiny and doesn't give in to the pressures that are placed on her by everyone around her. I think her character was very well written in this book and her development was organic and satisfying. 
Overall I enjoyed the book, and if I were to reread it I would like it even more. 

**spoilers ahead**
This book took me by surprise. I figured, being a sequel, it wouldn't measure up to the first book. I was so wrong, other sequels should take notes from this one, it was exactly what a sequel should be. Undoubtedly, the best part of this book was the character development. I praised the first book for creating such awesome characters, and this book only got better. It kept the authenticity of the characters from the first book while developing the characters in important ways. One of the most obvious changes was Nina. Nina lost a fundamental part of her character, her powers, and had to learn to move on from there. Her discovery of her new abilities didn't feel like a cop-out like it could have. She learned to have strength and power without her abilities and then learned how her new abilities weren't a punishment but rather another new tool for her to use. Seeing Nina develop throughout was inspiring. It was also interesting to read about how Matthias dealt with the woman he loved going through so much pain. I loved seeing him be more comfortable and trusting of the group without compromising his fundamental character traits. His ending had me so shaken I was crying for a long time whenever I thought about him. Another character that had the waterworks going, Wylan. Wylan is probably my favorite character, and the scene with his mother and that whole reveal had me literally tearing up at work! I just loved seeing Wylan be more confident in himself and comfortable with his insecurities. When he openly told Genya about his inability to read, I almost started crying again. The end of Wylan's story was so perfect and I was so happy for him. I especially loved the story of Wylan and Jesper. From just about the moment we meet Wylan I was rooting for him and Jesper to get together. I was so emotional during the whole piano kiss scene, and then it was Kuwei!!! I just about died! But when they actually ended up getting together, I was so happy for them, it was perfect. I also liked seeing Jesper interact with his father, and I think the use of his father in order to develop Jesper's character was really smart. Jesper admitting he had a problem and fitting his nature was inspiring too. It was a compelling portrayal of addiction and how it isn't a choice that is made, it is a compulsion that cannot be easily fought. I think it was admirable that it wasn't just made to be a joke or used to belittle Jesper. His friends deeply cared about him and knew he wasn't purposely trying to hurt others. I also thought seeing Inej on her own was super powerful. After the first book, to the audience, it is quite obvious how much Kaz and the rest of the group appreciate and care for Inej. It was hard to see Inej doubt Kaz and believe that he wouldn't come for her. It goes to show that just because you feel like you are alone and uncared for doesn't mean that others don't care for you deeply. Inej is still a superhero in my eyes, and this book only proved that further. I also found it so impactful to learn more about her past and her experience both learning the highwire and her time at the Menagerie. It just adds to how powerful Inej is, that she went through so much in her life and lost so much and is still fighting and protecting others. I thought the development of Inej and Kaz's relationship was interesting. I wish Kaz had told her about his whole story, but it makes sense that he didn't during the events of this book. I liked seeing Kaz having to rely on his crew more in this book. Overall, Kaz is a genius that constantly shocks me with how complex the plans/schemes he creates are. 
In terms of plot, I think this one was harder to get into than the first book. This one doesn't have an obvious overarching plot so you don't really know where the book is going. Once you get into what going on though, it is impossible to put down. So much happens in this book and you never know if things are going terribly wrong or if it's all part of the plan, so you have to keep reading to find out. The end was unbelievable. When the scheme was revealed and everything started coming together I started freaking out. The plot was so well together that which made the reveal amazing. Every tiny detail played a part in the plan, even the random comments you thought weren't important. 
Overall, this book was incredible and the duology as a whole is top-tier writing. Highly recommend this to everyone!

*warning, minor spoilers ahead*
This book was, first of all, a total emotional rollercoaster. Leigh Bardugo is very good at getting you invested in the characters and story, she also likes to switch from funny, happy scenes to sad or tense scenes often, which keeps the reader engaged but also throws your emotions around like crazy. Overall, the plot was engaging and adventurous. It had enough twists and turns to keep you on your toes while still feeling grounded. The world-building isn't as in-depth as other books, but that's because most of it is done in the previous series (Shadow and Bone) so the reader is assumed to know about the world. I think it was very smart of Leigh to explore the places in the world that weren't as focused on in Shadow and Bone, it makes you really feel like part of the world, as well as giving context to the motives and lives of those in the rest of the world. Overall, the story was highly enjoyable to read. 
The part of this book that stood out most to me was the characters, specifically the main six characters. Each of the characters was completely flushed out. They each had unique backstories and personalities that informed their decisions and drove the plot. Each of their backstories was consistent with their choices throughout the story, which made them feel very genuine and real. To begin, Kaz Brekker. I knew from the first time we meet Kaz that he would be a favorite of mine. I really loved seeing the comparison between how others talked about Kaz and how his actual internal monologue was. I especially loved learning more about his backstory throughout the book and seeing how it affected him both at the beginning and further along in the book. Learning about how his behaviors throughout the book are informed by his childhood trauma is heartbreaking but so well done. I think my favorite thing to see is how everyone assumes Kaz only cares about the money, but time and time again he shows he truly is fiercely loyal to his friends. Another top-notch character, Inej. Inej also was a favorite from the beginning. She is pretty much a superhero, she is so powerful and cool. Inej really took the worst life could give her and rose above it, and maybe she's a criminal, but she hasn't lost who she is and that's admirable. Seeing Inej grow throughout the book and stand up to her abusers is so powerful and inspiring. Next, another of my favorites, Jesper. I want to give Jesper a hug, honestly. He is just so precious and clearly uses humor as a coping mechanism, but also wants to impress Kaz so bad, and he just wants to be liked. He knows how to make people happy, and I think he tries so hard because he doesn't want to let anyone down because he feels like he already has. I honestly usually love the comedic relief character, and Jesper is one of the best ones. I also really loved Wylan. The only thing Wylan has ever done to make me not like him, is say he doesn't like chemistry (I am a chem major) but I can excuse that since he's so precious. I really loved seeing how Wylan went from being some kid they brought along as insurance to being a crucial member of the team. Seeing him flourish in the last several chapters was so exciting. Also, Wylan and Jesper are in love, I will be taking to comments. Next is Nina, who is also awesome. When she was introduced, I didn't really see her as an awesome warrior lady. She seemed hung up on the whole Matthias situation, and we didn't know much about her past. As the story progressed and we saw her being a total badass, and also learned about what she had been through, she became one of my favorites. She is so strong and she lets her emotions motivate her instead of holding her back. Finally, Matthias. I really didn't expect to like Matthias by the end of the book. He had a bad attitude, poor motivations, and his personality wasn't one I usually like. I started warming up to him, but couldn't actually say I liked him until very close to the end when he turns against his people to protect his new family. I think the main reason that I didn't like Matthias was that I couldn't trust him. I was pretty convinced throughout the whole book that he would betray the team, which made it hard to connect with him. What I really liked about these characters was how they were each so different, yet their unique personalities and histories blended so well together. They were each so deliberately crafted to suit one another, while still representing a plethora of different stories. Leigh did a phenomenal job creating a gang of characters that different types of people could see themselves in while integrating them into a realistic and entertaining story. 
I am so glad I read this book and I cannot wait to read Crooked Kingdom, though I'm sure my emotions will be a wreck. This is officially on my list of favorite books! I would recommend this book to anyone and everyone. 

This book was just what I needed. It was a sweet book with a happy ending and an overall adorable plot. The main character is super relatable and is a realistic and likeable character. I think what I liked most was that it felt like the characters where actually modern day teenagers without it feeling awkward or forced. I also found the school so reminiscent of the high school I went to. My high school was also a wealthy, mainly white, Midwestern school and while prom wasn't that big of a deal, the whole vibe felt familiar. I kinda felt like I was living vicariously through Liz since I was a pretty antisocial teen and I never did anything like what she did. It was a very uplifting, stress-free book, perfect for a quick read or to get you out of a slump.

Reading this book had me so stressed out, I always felt like something bad was going to happen. The thing is so many bad things kept happening. (Major spoilers ahead, beware) This book wrapped up the story fairly well and I felt like it wrapped up all the loose ends. I was disappointed with the ending though. Firstly, I was never a fan of Mal, which I'll expand on later, but I felt like his sacrifice was cheapened by the fact that he came back from the dead. Like I was on board with him dying, even though that scene had me bawling. I think it would've been a good ending to his story and fit the established character. I also think it would have juxtaposed the usual trope of women being sacrificed for their male love interest well. Instead, Mal basically came out of it without much sacrifice (save for his tracking skills but he still was good enough so hardly a loss) and Alina lost all her power. I know Leigh probably didn't intend for it to be this way, but for me it just felt like the only reason Alina lost her power was so she could end up with Mal. Not to mention, for me it felt like it negated all her development and her growth as a Grisha to just be like "okay your normal now". I would've liked to see her find a place as a Grisha without having to save the world. Even if she did end up running the orphanage w Mal, her still having her powers would've been nice because then we would know it was her choice to do that instead of her just finding something she could do without her power. Other than Alina and Mal's endings, I liked the way the characters' arcs were completed. I liked Genya getting a leadership position, especially with David. I really ended up liking Zoya. The way her character developed in this book was really cool. I felt bad for Nikolai since he didn't really have a happy ending, but I imagine it got better from where the book ended. I didn't like how Harshaw ended up dead and it was brought up so nonchalantly. We didn't know about it until later and it took me so off guard. Most of the other deaths were at least talked about, and I liked Harshaw so it was shocking to hear of his death just thrown in the middle of a sentence. 
Overall, this was a fantastic series and I look forward to delving into the rest of the Grishaverse. It'll take me some time to recover from the end of this book, but ignoring the pain it was highly enjoyable!

This was a great continuation of the story that the first book set up, however I didn't connect with it the same way I did with the first one. It would be hard to follow up the first one, so I don't really see that as a fault of this book. Not to mention the first book gave me major trust issues. I think what made this one less captivating was the characters. I wanted to like Mal but this book didn't help with that. I grew increasingly annoyed with him as the book went on and I can't really connect with his character. All the new characters were cool and had unique and interesting personalities, but I didn't feel like I could trust any of them. I still really like Alina though. It was hard watching her go through so much pain and struggle, I just want her to be happy. This book was much more somber than the first, which was fitting for the story but made it harder to read. The last two chapters really hit me. My heart hurt reading those chapters and the after chapter didn't help much. I can tell the conclusion is going to really hit me hard. 
Overall I really enjoyed what Leigh Bardugo did with the story and I can't wait to dive into more of her writing. 

This book took me by surprise. It was so much better than I anticipated and I'm so sad I didn't read it sooner. I love Leigh Bardugo's writing style, and the way she crafted the characters and plot of this book is so good. 
(warning: major spoilers ahead)
To start with the characters, one of the coolest parts of the book, in my opinion, is that each character is more than they seem. The most obvious is the darkling. He seems to fall into the "bad boy with a heart of gold" trope, so we expect him to be gloomy but a good guy below that. I think that's why his character reveal as the big villain was so shocking. Usually, I can see those things coming, but this one took me totally by surprise. Looking back, it makes total sense and Leigh did a great job setting it up while still keeping the twist impactful. This applies to Genya too, seeing as she appeared to be an ally of Alina, but was just following the Darklings orders. One character that I didn't really like was Mal. I'm not usually a fan of best friends to lovers, so Mal didn't really stand much of a chance, to begin with. Then they did the "only love you when I lose you" trope, which I hate. I blame part of my dislike of Mal on the fact that Alina was manipulated into hating him, so from the reader's perspective, for a lot of the book, Mal isn't a great guy. When he comes back it's a little better, we can actually see that he's not that bad. I do think it's annoying that he only realized he liked Alina once he lost her. Overall I think that trope is dumb and sets a bad president, how much can you really love someone if you have to lose them for you to realize it. If you really love someone you should know when you have them in your life. I think I might grow to like Mal more, but it depends on how his characterization goes from here. Finally, I really liked Alina as the main character. I liked seeing her grow from the beginning to the end. I wish she was a little more confident in who she is and self-sufficient. It's kind of frustrating knowing what she's been through and then seeing her be so downtrodden with a little bit of struggle. I understand she is in a totally new setting, with a completely new identity thrown on her, and I think that definitely warrants struggle and doubt, but I would've at least wanted to see her be a little more set to figure out her powers. Especially given she was so determined to help all the people by getting rid of the fold. Once she did get a hold of her powers, she was really awesome, but I wish she could've been powerful as just Alina not only when she became Alina the sun summoner. 
I was really taken with the plot of this book. I could not put the book down. I think Leigh did a great job moving the story along without it dragging while still having an in-depth world. Overall the plot moved at a great pace and everything made sense. I think Leigh also did a surprisingly good job incorporating the Russian-inspired elements. As an Eastern European, it can be hard to read stories written by non-Slavs that try to incorporate those elements. What Leigh did well was taking the inspiration of the culture but creating her own world and story. I never felt like the cultural elements were misplaced or misunderstood, and it didn't drag the story down, but rather added an interesting element to the world of the story. I cannot wait to get to the rest of the series to see how Leigh builds on this world and the plot. Overall, I would recommend this book over and over, such a good read! 

This book was so engaging, the storytelling is phenomenal. The characters all felt so real. They were all well thought out and had detailed histories, personalities, motivations. The two main characters, Tavia and Effie, both felt like unique characters who had complex personal stories. Even though it was told from two points of view, neither felt like it was better or worse and they didn't overshadow each other. Each of the main characters had a story that was interesting to learn about in different ways. 
Tavia is going through life with a dangerous secret, she's a siren. She has to see her people be discriminated against and oppressed because of the power that they hold. The connection between the sirens struggle and the real-life struggle of poc, especially black women, adds so much to the story. Not to mention the implications that only black women can be sirens. The way she is treated by those who know who she is is difficult to read but really draws that comparison. Her parents try to stifle her because they are afraid that she could get hurt, others paint her as dangerous, or they try to out her to prove they are better than her. Tavia's journey from wanting to get rid of her power to

taking control of it and using it to save people, meanwhile giving sirens a good name, possibly turning things around for the better overall.

shows just how powerful a black girl can be. Tavia not only fits to stay safe every day, but she also protects her sister.
Effie doesn't know who she is. Her mother died when she was young and she never knew her father. She has lived with Tavia's family for a few years and they are like sisters. Effie is a self-conscious, shy, anxious girl who is only comfortable when she is a mermaid in the Ren fair. She is particularly embarrassed by her unexplainable skin condition that causes her to itch at her dry skin, especially when she is nervous or upset. Effie is Tavia's everything, and Tavia is hers. Effie starts to have issues when she begins to have regular blackouts and strange visions and hearing. She begins to think there may be things her grandmother isn't telling her. Effie goes through a lot of character development in this book. She starts off as a shy girl who doesn't know who she is,

and becomes a powerful gorgon living with her father and her boyfriend.

It was so great to see these girls stand up to those who have put them down.
My one issue with this book was the pacing. There is a mystery element to this book, so obviously most of the climactic events happened right at the end, but I think that they could've come just a little earlier and still had the same impact. The end felt rushed and lacked the detail that the rest of the book had. Especially the last chapter, which basically just wrapped everything up. That part just felt like the end of a movie when there is a voice-over and a random montage of moments that happened after the main events of the film. I wish we would have been given just a little more. I think even just having a chapter from both perspectives instead of just one would've improved it overall. 
Overall, a highly enjoyable book that had powerful messaging and great characterization. 

This book left me completely shaken when I finished it. It took a while to get into. It wasn't until I was close to halfway done with the book that it started flowing for me. It wasn't that the writing was bad, the book is just very heady and you have to pay a lot of attention to everything you read, which is hard for me. The plot of the book is also pretty heavy, so it isn't easy to just fly through it. When I did get past the halfway point, the book really did pick up for me. The plot at that point shifts as well, and I found the storyline a lot more engaging. The end of the book hit me like a brick. The book starts off with a hint as to how it ends, but I didn't expect to be affected so much by it.

Obviously, from the beginning of the book we know something happens to Miranda. I think I knew that in the back of my mind, but the way it happened hurt so much. The way she left, or whatever, and the impact it must have had on the people around her, it just hurt. We spent the entire book seeing how much these people cared about her and how she clearly wanted to be the kind of person that they should care about, but she couldn't be well. It makes me so sad that she was never even given a chance, her story was written from the beginning and she couldn't stop her fate.

 
I thought the way the book was written was fascinating. The use of unusual formatting and varying POVs made the book interesting to read. I did have trouble with the way the POV shifts were written at first since there isn't any indication as to whose point of view we were reading. As I went along, it became easier to tell, especially considering the author used both first-person and third-person points of view for different people. I also thought it was super unique and interesting to have the house have a narration as well. You don't see many books where the buildings tell the story, and for this one, it definitely added an interesting view of the events.
Overall, I think my rating would be higher for a reread of this book. It's the type of book that you need to reread a few times to really pick up on all the themes and intricacies of the plot. It was very well written, and I would recommend it for fans of thrillers. 

This book stressed me out immensely, both in good and bad ways. For me, the pacing was off. It was either that the big events of the book happened too late in the book or that there wasn't an adequate buildup of these events but I was halfway through the book and still waiting for things to happen. I also had such an icky feeling about most of the characters. Any time Virgil was mentioned or did anything I was super uncomfortable. Also, Howard was just all-around bad vibes. I really liked  Noemí, her character was realistic and the way she stuck around to protect her cousin, even when crazy stuff was happening, is so cool to see.  Noemí was a complex character and I loved seeing her develop throughout the book.  Noemí's relationship with Frances gave me icky vibes as well. He seemed like a decent enough guy and made up for the weirdness at the end, but I cannot get behind

someone who comes from an incest family. Not to mention, he basically let his family take someone hostage without even warning her. Like I understand it's not that easy but like if you know what your family is capable of you can warn someone before they get trapped. And I know he dropped subtle hints, but with this kind of thing, you have to be explicit. What did he think was going to happen if he told her straight up, at least the believable parts. Like, hey my fam is going to try to kidnap you and they've been drugging you with hallucinogenics the whole time, you need to get out and get help for your cousin.

I think Frances and Noemí were a good match, character-wise, but the extenuating circumstances prevented me from fully rooting for them. I really liked the story though, it did a great job freaking me out. When things picked up in the end, I was super enthralled. I loved the story-telling and the setting and descriptions were well done, they aided a lot in creating the spooky feeling.