acozyreaderlife's Reviews (408)

This was such a fun book to reread! I just love the grishaverse, I’m slightly biased because I loved these books when they came out and the nostalgia of reading them again just sucked me right back into this world. Nikolai and the Darkling were my favorite characters! I loved how manipulative and evil the Darkling was. He really was the true character of a villian. Alina did annoy me as a narrator though, which is why I took away one star. I felt like she had weird things to say in life threatening situations and it was annoying that she would mess with Mal’s emotions then be shocked that he was pissed? I felt like Nikolai had some of the most character development in this book. The Darkling turned him into a bird and during most of the intense battles of the book he couldn’t be his true self and defend his people. I’m really excited to read King of Scars and see how Nikolai develops as a character.

This is the second time I've read this play. (I also saw it years ago and they were all pirates which were pretty cool.) But upon reading this again for a college course I found it very irritating. The point of the play is for Katherine to be married off so that her sister 'the fair and beautiful Bianca' can be wed to one of her many suitors. But no man wants to marry Kate because she's 'cursed' and has a temper. This really irritated me because this whole play is centered around the objectification of women! Even her father Baptista treats Kate like an object! No wonder she is always in a bad mood, her father constantly overlooks her and only wants to marry her off to be done with her. Then there is the whole other story of all the suitors are acting like Bianca is a prize to be won, which is why they get Petruchio to marry Katherine so they can have a shot at Bianca. There is a line in the play that compares Kate to trading goods. Petruchio is so evil. He was trying to 'tame' Katherine, so he starved her and physically and mentally abused her. Which is disgusting! I understand that this play is a comedy, but reading this in 2019 from a feminist perspective I found this book to be infuriating. I get that back when this was written women were property to their husbands but making a woman who speaks her mind and won't bow down to these jerks deems her a shrew? And she's evil? Wow.

Lada and her brother Radu are abandoned by their father and are raised in the Ottoman courts. Forever to never see their homeland in Wallachia again, their father didn’t like his children and wanted to replace them with a new heir. Lada is a character that you don’t typically see in YA novels. She is fierce, independent and brilliant. Lada can kick butt and manipulate people in a second. Almost to the point where she can’t relate to the others around her unless she is teaching them combat or strategy. Radu, her younger brother, grew up being teased or tormented and Lada was always there to protect him. The relationship between Radu and Lada was so nice to read about. They had such a strong bond that you knew that Lada would give her life to protect her brother. Lada could be the fiercest warrior on the battlefield but for her to ‘act’ and behave like a proper lady is nearly impossible for her. She can’t relate to any of the women around her. What I liked most about this story is that it’s a story about carving a space for yourself in the world. Whether you have no family or you’re looking for a family, you can find a way to be yourself and accept yourself. I liked the representation of LGBTQ+ in this novel. In most YA books at least that I have read, they don’t feel like real love, it’s almost an afterthought. But Radu’s love for Mehmed (the Prince) is so pure. He loves his Prince, and Radu becomes an important man in his court. The decision that he has to make for himself is one I think a lot of people can relate to, having to choose friendship over love. The individual stakes for each character were really high, if a character messed up or made the wrong move, they would lose everything. The only ‘negative’ thing I can say about this book is that I wish the writing had been tighter. I have to say though, the ending of the book was the best part of the novel. The writing was on point, and it was a page-turner. Another good thing about this book was that I never was able to guess what would happen next, and it was never cliche. I really enjoyed this read!

Omg that ending!! I am so shook right now! I loved having a whole book about Nikolai. I liked that his guard was made up of badass powerful women!! I can’t get over that ending. I can’t wait for the next book! Everyone read this! Bardugo’s writing was on point. I couldn’t put this down.