Brandon Sanderson does it again! I really enjoyed this book, although at times it felt like it was dragging on which is why I didn't give it a full 5 stars.

But, I really enjoyed the character development in all of the characters, especially Dalinar, Shallan, Szeth, and Kaladin. I think my favorite parts were seeing these characters come to terms with their past, or who they were, or who they are and trying to make something or become someone better. It was very well done and had me tearing up at times!

The world building was phenomenal as always. It was nice to return to this world and these characters and to see if they could defeat Odium and how. The book takes place over the course of 10 days and SO much happens. All of these events change the world and what we understand about it so drastically, so I'm really curious to see what happens in book 6 and how those of Roshar adapt to these changes. I also, of course, can't wait to Kaladin again.

That was so damn good!

This was a great conclusion to The First Law trilogy, although I feel like I've been left on a little bit of a cliffhanger and now I want to continue to the next book in this world. I really enjoyed seeing the characters attempt to change in book 2 but go back to their old ways in book 3 and I think that's such a realistic aspect of this story. Changing who you are, trying to be a better, and so on can be such a difficult thing, especially when your circumstances don't really give you the opportunities to change and Abercombie did a great job at showcasing that in this series.

Seeing Glokta from the very first book know something wrong is going on and it all coming to light at the end of the story was so satisfying. There's already a lot of payoff from reading these books - realistic characters, clear and brutal fight scenes, political schemes - but everything coming together and giving explanations to unexplained things was the cherry on top.

This book seems to have somewhat (?) of a happy ending, but not for everyone. The fighting is over, but it still feels like not a single person is happy 😭 I'm hoping to see more of these characters in the next few books, especially Logen, Glokta, and Ferro. Overall, I really recommend this trilogy!

Joe Abercombie gives you a smidgen of hope and happiness, then just takes it away from you every single time!!

I really enjoyed this one. There was a lot more action, character development, and relationship development between characters, which makes sense as it's the second book in the trilogy. The character development was so great to see, especially in characters that didn't seem like they would ever change for anyone in the first book. But seeing their hearts soften, their morals change; it was beautiful, but it meant jackshit in the end LOL.

As I've said, Abercombie does a great job have giving hope to characters and the readers, but then just completely snatches it away! The different plots in this book don't help it out either because everyone seems to be having a horrid time, but they manage to find a little bit of goodness in even the worst situations. I think that's what I really like about this trilogy so far - the realism of it all. Choosing to find the light in the darkest of situations is a difficult thing that people seem to do without even thinking and they hold onto that light even when they know they'll smother it. I saw that very clearly with the relationship that develops between two characters in this story.

Anyway, highly recommend !! 😃