Seriously can she write something I don't like? I was a bit worried I wouldn't like it as much because this was her debut novel and I've only read books that came out after this series and she had time to grow as an author. I never expected her to have such a strong novel out of the gate. This is one of the best debuts I've ever read, up the with Graceling by Kristin Cashore.

Everything was so solid in this novel. The world building, the characters. Everything. I was a bit shocked at first that was told in the first person as her other books are in third, but this was a great choice at it only has one perspective and I really felt like I was rooting for the same things Alina was. When she liked the Darkling, I like the Darkling, when she hated him, I hated him. I've never felt so connected to a character before. The author has this amazing ability to write characters that I actually care about and can connect and relate to, even though they live supernatural lives and I do not. Because, at the end of the day, their root problems can be similar to mine, or produce the same emotion and I can catch onto it easily and see myself reflected back at me.

I could clearly picture what Ravka and the Unsea looked like. Honestly, reading this book was like watching a movie. The characters were talking and they moved vividly in vivid places. I could picture the stag and the collar and the dresses the characters were wearing. My images of the characters did not change throughout the whole novel, except for when Genya used her talents on Alina. I honestly lost track of time while reading this book because of it. It was nearly midnight when I forced myself to put it down because I have to work this morning. This experience rarely happens to me in books, but when it does, I know it's because I'm enjoying the novel. It happens to me with all my favourite books, The Lord of the Rings, though the picture is somewhat warped to the films after I watched it, Graceling and the Obernewtyn Chronicles.

After reading this, I have a new respect for the author. I also think that this book was much better than Six of Crows, which I really didn't think would be possible, this being her debut and all. This book brought me to Ravka, the place I was wondering about the whole time and answered all my questions. I'm so enchanted with Ravka, a lot more than Ketterdam. I only now wish to see it after the war. Hopefully, I'll get that by the end of the series, or at least an idea what it will look like.

Oh, and did I mention how awesome the extra content is in the new paperback? Well, it's awesome. I loved the interview with the author and the letter from Mal. It was all awesome.