That was a fitting ending, I have to say. I'm going to be honest, my favorite couple in this series were always Genya and David. I really liked the contrast between their characters. It's rare to see a girl that is considered beautiful be interested to someone that is considered so average, odd, and socially awkward by most people. It was a nice contrast and the fact that it took them so long to get together helped give us as readers time to crave for the build up to that relationship finally coming to fruition. I also just really like David as a character because he's weird, but super intelligent, caring, and sweet. He represents the support and friendship that Genya needed after being tortured by the Darkling. He's not the most expressive character, but he is there as Genya's support when she needs it most and loves her for her and not for her outer beauty. They make a lovely couple and them getting together was incredibly satisfying, especially because it happened after Genya confronted her former abuser. 

Speaking of which, that's my other favorite part of this installment in the series. The former King of Ravka got what was coming to him. It was astonishing to see a man who spent years abusing his power over Genya to get sexual favors try to excuse his actions and also have his wife try to do the same. I was so happy that it happened in front of Nikolai and the other Grisha too because he got to see his parents for the monsters they are and recognize that they weren't fit to rule Ravka. His dad is going to end up dying early anyway and I was so impressed at how Genya planned to poison the king every time he slept with her. That is some meticulously planned out payback, but I can't say he wasn't asking for it. It was great to finally see Genya be able to openly confront her abuser and publicly shame him and his wife for their actions. In my eyes, the queen is just as guilty for trying to dehumanize Genya and excuse the sexual abuse her husband inflicted. Genya's story is so dark but I'm sure it's something that hits home with a lot of victims of abuse that read this book and I'm happy for it because we need more of that representation in literature.


I also should note that I appreciated the comparisons between the Darkling's hunger for power and Alina's. They are both really similar and at the same time so different and this book further brought that out. Both seek power at almost any cost, but for very different reasons and neither of them have really belonged anywhere so they both crave acceptance in some way. In the end, Alina's differences are what makes her end up in a different place than the Darkling. The Darkling embraces his selfishness and loneliness to the point that he isolates himself even from those who love him, like his mother Baghra. In contrast, Alina finds a place where she belongs by building relationships with her fellow Grisha and allowing them to help her in the fight against the Darkling. By the end of the book, despite choosing to fake her death and abandon the Grisha to go on to marry Mal, it is implied that she will always have friends in the ranks of the Grisha and with Nikolai. I never really ended up shipping Mal and her too much, but I think that they both got what they wanted in the end. I love that they started an orphanage to help children that come from a background similar to their own. Neither Mal nor Alina ever wanted to be important or part of this huge war that would decide the fates of thousands of people in Ravka. In the end, they are able to help create a path for Ravka to have a hopeful future and then leave everything they didn't want behind for a peaceful and isolated life away from war and politics. I'm happy that their story concluded peacefully and I'm looking forward to reading the Six of Crows Duology as well as King of Scars to see how the rest of the characters in the series fared. Overall, this was a very good series and I enjoyed reading it. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the books set in this world. Highly recommend for anyone that wants a story set in a unique setting with interesting characters and themes.