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As good, if not better than the first. Bardugo weaves so many interesting mythologies, magic, and 'real life' stories together for a rich mystical adventure story. I would definitely class this as an adventure story, with a fast pace and a constantly forward moving plot. I prefer a plot-driven fantasy but it's definitely a matter of taste. This also added more magic than the previous books and I really like the direction.

The gang is all together and I hope to be reading their next adventures soon.

This book is full of facts and dates which make it a little dense and hard to read, but it's worth it. I learned a lot about history and Eastern Europe - somewhere I am ethnically from but do not have a cultural connection to due to a lack of living family members. This helped me connect a bit in a way that perhaps I would have if they were still alive.

The author has clearly done so much research and it shows, this book is busting with information.

I like the way the book goes through time, but skipping forward and back to make connections to other events where necessary to bring it together. Its a history of a huge region but also has stories of individuals, some little known, and where they fit into the broad story.

Highly recommend, I'm sharing this with my family!

I found this book very interesting, and easy to follow - well written for someone new to the area of study which is a big plus for me when reading books such as these - no prior knowledge assumed. It had a good overview of the existing material and then some interesting critique and work from the author. I felt a bit unsatisfied by the conclusion but in general, enjoyed.

I liked the idea of story and some of the specific parts but I feel like most of the writing is very much of its time, especially in its physical descriptions and motivations of women.

Disappointed from the description and some of the other reviews.

Also as a warning this book is filled with almost constant sexual assault and rape which mostly is treated with indifference, and in some cases titillation. Almost all of it is irrelevant to the story, and where it's not it's used as a lazy device to move the plot on. Also some weird pointed comments about lesbians that were clearly from the author, not the characters.

Julia

This book was like chatting to a mate that always has sad stories but tells them with such humour and charm that you can't help but laugh.

Recommend listening to the audio book, he reads it himself and it really leans into the feeling of hanging out with a friend.