Pages: 422
Publication Date: June 17th, 2014
Genre: Ya Fantasy
This is the conclusion to the Shadow and Bone trilogy. The capital has fallen and the Darkling rules Ravka from his shadow throne. There is the grand climax to the series. Everything felt expected.
I really, really like the Six of Crows series, but this whole trilogy felt very tropy. I think the writing and the world is really cool. I wish we could've got more explanation into how things work, but alas here we are. The story doesn't feel consistent and the characters don't seem to have a ton of development. The Darkling is for sure the best character, but Alina and Mal were just so bland. I feel like Alina only gets characterization when convenient. I felt like the book could've been so much darker. Its a book about war, and yes it's YA but I've read YA books that got darker. Marie Lu's books, The Hunger Games, etc. They all got dark.
I felt like Bardugo wanted Alina to be an antihero, but it didn't happen. This book trilogy had a lot of potential and it didn't live up to.
2/5. For the Darkling.
I don't really recommend this trilogy unless you want to read it before the TV show. Just read Six of Crows and it's sequel. Much better and you don't miss anything for the world.
Sidenote: How are they going to combine these 2 series together? They are in the same world, but the characters don't interact and it's a war story and a heist novel... I"m intrigued though.
Cheers,
Jen