The ending brought the book back for me, it was not exactly what I was expecting.

I got really lost somewhere in the middle with the pacing and the monotonous tone of the novel. It felt really repetitive, and I was really annoyed with the whole Alina and Mal relationship. There was a distinct lack of fantasy for me in this novel, it felt like Bardugo was just trying to throw random ideas into play and not really blend them together.

The first book I loved, and this one was definitely a second book syndrome, a huge let down for me. I'll probably pick up the last one because I'm curious to see how the trilogy ends, and the first one impressed me enough for me to want to keep reading. However, I will not be picking it up for a while, I need to read something different.