Ladies, gents and others, I LOVE NIKOLAI LANTSOV. God, I love that man.

I absolutely loved this book.

I have been interested and invested in Nikolai's character since [b:Siege and Storm|14061955|Siege and Storm (The Shadow and Bone Trilogy, #2)|Leigh Bardugo|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1362166252l/14061955._SX50_.jpg|19699752], and I'm glad that we finally got a glimpse into his mind, under all that lovable flirtation and arrogance. In this book, we finally get to see a truer, darker version of Nikolai, not just the version of himself he presents to others, like we saw from Alina's perspective in the original Grisha trilogy.

I also thoroughly enjoyed the chapters from Zoya's perspective. I love that [a:Leigh Bardugo|4575289|Leigh Bardugo|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1534446099p2/4575289.jpg] finally gave us the perspectives of characters we have previously only seen from Alina's (and Nina's to an extent) perspective. It made both Nikolai and Zoya into more well-rounded characters. And I loved seeing their pasts and how their minds work and a few reasonings for some of their actions in the Grisha trilogy.

I like that Leigh has been able to tie in references to the other Grishaverse books throughout this one. Both Nikolai and Zoya mention Alina and the events of the Grisha trilogy, and Leigh sprinkles in little mentions of the other crows and the events of [b:Six of Crows|23437156|Six of Crows (Six of Crows, #1)|Leigh Bardugo|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1459349344l/23437156._SY75_.jpg|42077459] and [b:Crooked Kingdom|22299763|Crooked Kingdom (Six of Crows, #2)|Leigh Bardugo|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1456172607l/22299763._SY75_.jpg|42090179] into Nina's narrative.

Now, I did enjoy this book a lot. But one thing I'm unsure about is the ending.

I am still not sure how I feel about that ending. As much as I love the Darkling, I was happy with how his character arc ended in [b:Ruin and Rising|14061957|Ruin and Rising (The Shadow and Bone Trilogy, #3)|Leigh Bardugo|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1392398530l/14061957._SX50_.jpg|19699754]. And I'm not quite sure how I feel about him being back. I think his death in [b:Ruin and Rising|14061957|Ruin and Rising (The Shadow and Bone Trilogy, #3)|Leigh Bardugo|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1392398530l/14061957._SX50_.jpg|19699754] was incredibly well written and emotional and a good way to end his character. I think Leigh might have thrown away what was a really good end to a really good character for the sake of bringing him back. It takes some of the effectiveness away from his death.
I think Elizaveta would have been a very refreshing new villain for the rest of the duology of Leigh had decided to stick with her instead of bringing Aleksander back.
Reusing villains who have clearly reached the end of their story seems a bit cheap and disappointing.
I really liked the Darkling in the original trilogy, but that was because of his dynamic with Alina. And it was because it was the original trilogy, not two whole duologies later. I think it would have been more refreshing to keep Elizaveta on as the new villain.
All that aside, I'm interested to see what Leigh is going to do with the Darkling's character in the next book, and whether we'll get his point of view as well.