Time to be controversial yay

The one good thing about this book is that the writing didn't annoy me like it did in The Star-Touched Queen. I'm not a fan of overly flowery and poetic prose, and this book didn't do that and made it a lot more readable. I do have a bone to pick with the dialogue and banter. It felt stilted and awkward, as if the author was trying too hard. I remember feeling this way too when I read Aru Shah and the End of Time. The aim is to make the readers laugh and fall in love with the characters and the group dynamic but it just doesn't work. We're sort of thrown into this world and there isn't much lead up to how Severin and his friends became a thing. Then Hypnos is thrown in and he goes back and forth between acting like a child to being super flirty and it's a bit jarring? I mean he stomps his foot and pouts a lot and I can't believe he's actually a patriarch of a whole house. I do see some moments that were kind of nice between the characters. Especially how observant Laila is and how she tries to make everyone comfortable, especially Zophia. Also little things with Enrique and Tristan. I preferred them plotting to bantering though.

The entire plot and so many moments were way too similar to Six of Crows. To the point where I was rolling my eyes. Heist books are great. We all love Six of Crows. But what's the point of copying key parts of another series and just changing a few things. Severin and Laila's relationship mirrored Kaz and Inej's too much. I also didn't get Severin and Laila's thing?? It just didn't make me feel anything at all, which is probably mostly me, but maybe because a lot of stuff happened before the book started, we're sort of just told they have a past, and a bunch of angst and chemistry is written in. Laila mirrored Inej in her abilities to dance and be super graceful and quiet. Severin even has a walking stick at one point and I'm pretty sure it's to emulate the whole Kaz Brekker aesthetic. I saw similarities between Wylan and Tristan, and also Wylan and Zophia. Enrique and Jesper too. And while I understand that Leigh Bardugo hasn't patented certain characteristics and behaviours, it was just too similar for me to ignore.

I do appreciate the diversity and the look into how difficult it is being of mixed race, or having a different skin tone, or religion. The setting was also interesting and not one I usually read. The magic system was unique and the history surrounding the Order was really fascinating to read and I loved how it connected so much to history.

But the ending annoyed me. The whole scene with Severin and Laila and the classic "Because I saved you, someone else got hurt, so now I will push you away with horrible words and insults rather than come to terms with how I feel" moment. And then the second to last scene where Laila felt really out of character...

Just not a huge fan overall. Don't think I will be reading the second book.