woolgathering_jane's reviews
167 reviews

This was a classical 20-year old high fantasy. I don't even know why exactly I needed to read one of these so badly months ago, but I'm sure my need is now fulfilled for many months haha. But I have to say, I got exactly what I expected - barely any romance, fairly predictable plot, no representation whatsoever, and well-thought-out battles. The battles with all of the tactics and manoeuvres were definitely the best thing about this story, such a shame they didn't happen until the last 100 pages. Maybe I'm judging this book too harshly because it was such a slow read, but the characters all felt like they each had exactly one character trait and I honestly, I probably won't remember most of them by the end of the year. And the worldbuilding was a little disappointing, but that was because of the expectations I had. I expected a world that would be so complicated and hard to understand, and I was looking forward to it, and I got a world that I could understand after the first chapter and one short info-dump :/
This probably doesn't sound like it deserves the 2.5-star rating, but the overall feeling wasn't so bad. Just wait till you really want to read this type of fantasy, then you'll enjoy it just as much as I did for the first 200 pages before I got fed up haha

Kde zní zpěv krkavců jsem si kupovala s tím, že to bude knížka ideální na podzim - trochu magie, tajemství, celkově taková temná atmosféra...
No, ta temná atmosféra teda rozhodně nezklamala, polovinu knížky jsem si říkala, jak chce autorka na tak málo stranách dosáhnout nějakého uspokojivého konce, vždyť to pro hlavní hrdinky teď vypadá naprosto beznadějně... Naštěstí ale autorka nezklamala, druhou polovinu jsem prolétla jedním dechem a s koncem jsem spokojená. I když jsem čekala, kdo bude hlavní padouch, rozhodně jsem byla u spousty věcí překvapená. Taky mě moc bavil ten humor hlavních hrdinek, kterého je tam sice málo, ale když už, tak jsem se nad jejich komentáři smála nahlas. A nakonec nemůžu opomenout ani citáty, které byly do děje roztroušené jakoby mimochodem,ale označila jsem si jich spoustu. A nakonec musím zmínit, že věnování a poděkování mě málem rozplakalo 🥲

Celkově si myslím že je tohle ideální knížka na volný víkend, když už je tma v šest a za oknem prší. 

When I first saw the cover of The Lives of Saints back in October 2020, I already knew I'll love this book. Just look at it! It's so beautiful I almost didn't want to read it, so I would ruin the cover somehow.
Well, I got over my fear and very slowly got through those few pages, mainly because it didn't feel right to read more than one short story at a time.
And I have to admit, without the cover and the stunning illustrations inside, this book surely wouldn't get 4 stars. I'm not even kidding when I say that I spent more time looking at the art inside than I did reading the actual stories.
The stories themselves weren't bad, they mostly weren't that good, although there are a few that stood out and that I still randomly think about. Saint of the book stood out the most and I've reread that one page many times.

But I have to say, I'm a little disappointed because the stories about Darkling and Alina weren't what I expected. I wanted to read their story in a way the "people" in Ravka would know it. About the tragic death of Alina, and perhaps the story about Darkling that his followers would tell me. This way, their stories were less interesting than the other stories, when I hoped for the opposite.

Overall, I definitely wouldn't call this the best Bardugo's work, but it's also not the worst. It just adds another beautiful layer to the world she created, but a layer that's not really needed. If you're a big fan of the GrishaVerse, It's worth it. Even if it was just for the cover. 

I don't think this story has aged well. The most fun I had was a smile and I honestly wouldn't even bother finishing it if it was any longer. The premise or a brief explanation of the story sounds fun, but that's about it, I'm a bit disappointed, to be honest.