This is a book a few of my friends have raved to me about for, oh, probably at year. At least. And I can totally see why.

It started ordinarily at first, a fantasy villain reluctantly gains a sidekick who has awesome shapeshifting powers. A sidekick who has a stronger taste for blood than her boss.

And then from there, things start to shift away from a cute little fantasy superhero/villain story to about the nuances of betrayals of morals, friendships, and family for numerous reasons. Nimona went from cutesy to angsty and I'm allll abbboooout that. But it did it so well, not overdrawn melodrama, nothing that hadn't been hinted at. It was perfect.