Here’s the thing, I really liked how the first book ended. It surprised me and ended the opposite of what you’d typically see in a book like this. I loved it so much.
I hated that the loophole I was waiting for happened in this book and literally was the whole book. Don’t get me wrong, I gave it 4 stars so obviously I still liked it but that was after I got over the initial eye roll at the start. That’s why it only gets 4 stars. Had I not been hung up over the way it started it might have gotten 5 stars.
I still enjoyed the magic and the fact that it was set in imperial Russia. The characters are very well written and the story itself is very well written and everything seems to come together in a very satisfying way.
Sometimes I just wish authors would realize you don’t need a happy ending all the time to write good literature. Sometimes, having something tragic happen and having your character learn and grow from it makes for a better story. I don’t think Vika grew as much as she could have in this book.