3.5 Stars

This book was a lot but also nothing at all.

The Pros: I loved the fact that Alina was working on trying to get all of the Grisha +Mal to work together as equal to form a team to defeat the Darkling. And Nikolei. I am absolutely in love with Nikolei. He's the one in this book who has the most sense. He and the Darkling are the only ones in this book who seem to use their brain. I also (surprisingly) love the idiocy of Vasily. Even though I absolutely hate him, Bardugo did a good job of using him to move into the next phase of this story after spending 80% of this book doing who knows what. I also really enjoy David. I don't know why. I just do. Tamar and Tolya... LOVE them.
The Cons: Oh boy. Alina and Mal are becoming insufferable. I absolutely hate when couples in books don't know how to communicate. Why be in a relationship if you guys can't tell each other anything? Alina should have told Mal from the beginning that she was seeing the Darkling and maybe all the drama that followed after would've been non existent. Also, Mal needs to understand that Alina is not just a normal summoner. There is no going back to normal life with her. He's just going to be unhappy for the rest of his life if he tries. All he needs to do is just accept her or leave. They both complain entirely too much. 80% of this book was just them arguing and seemed like filler. There was barely any action besides the beginning of the book and the end. Alina is whiney.
The other things: What exactly is Zoya's purpose? Why is she there? This could have been the same exact book without Zoya. I still have mixed feelings about the Apparat. I still cant tell if he's sketchy or actually trying to help. Does the Darkling truly believe he will help Ravka by extending the Fold? And if he does, how?