Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one lonely refugee.
Alina Starkov has never been good at anything. But when her regiment is attacked on the Fold and her best friend is brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power that saves his life—a power that could be the key to setting her war-ravaged country free. Wrenched from everything she knows, Alina is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling.
Yet nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. With darkness looming and an entire kingdom depending on her untamed power, Alina will have to confront the secrets of the Grisha . . . and the secrets of her heart.
I read and loved the Six od Crows Duology a couple years back and I knew I would have to read these books. I just loved the world and the characters she created. That was no different with this book. Of course we get more of the world building and the magic system in this book since it was before Six of Crows and the start. I really enjoyed the flow of this book it was a fast but fun and entertaining read and super easy to follow. The pacing was just right and not too fast or too slow. Though, of course there is always something we want more of, and there were a few situations I would have loved a bit more. There were a few surprising twist and turns but nothing too shocking and nothing I didn’t really see coming, but even so I enjoyed it very much. Alina, I enjoyed for the most part a lot, she had snark and humor but also serious moment as well as self-pity. There were a few eye rolls on my part but overall I really enjoyed her. Mal, hmmmm I’m a bit indifferent towards him and not sure yet how I really feel about how it all went down. Most I liked but other things, like I said I wasn’t sure and it almost felt a bit forced. But I will see how it goes on and develops. The Darkling, I’m super conflicted when it comes to him, he is the bad boy and I think is the villain, but to be honest I’m not sure. I like him and I don’t like him…..or more how is going about… maybe …. I don’t know…. I need to read more to fully judge the whole situation with all of them lol. One of my favorite was Genya though, I wish we had more of her and I hope we get more of her in the future books. Overall, I really enjoyed and of course I loved the world of the Grisha, I loved learning more about it.
I am a bit nervous about the next book, of course we know that not all is good and well and that s&it will hit the fan once more but I’m also excited to see what will happen next. I rate this book 4★, just because some things were way too predictable.
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