Well, that was awesome. I am not sure I've ever read a final book I enjoyed so much and was so happy with. I was nervous when the second book wasn't as good as the first, but this one blew them both away. So much happened here and it was so real. Plans went awry, people died, others overcame, and through it all, the writing was so solid. I loved how things wrapped up for everyone, for the Darkling, for Baghra, for Nikolai and, especially, for Mal and Alina. This may one of the only young adult wrap ups where the love stories weren't explained or fabricated too easily, where tough choices had to be made (and were), and still the reader could be happy that with all the interweaving relationships, nothing felt fake. I enjoyed that even with the DArkling as a "bad guy," the themes from the beginning and his ultimate downfall of going the wrong way to achieve a right end were not lost. He was more realistic, in his sorrow over Baghra and his yearning for an inclusive world - harder to hate and a better character to read. Nikolai (and his trauma, the changes the experience had on him), David and Genya and Zoya's new roles, the beginnings of a new country - it all happened in a way that seemed right and real and did not stretch the imagination too far. And Mal's sacrifice, the explanation for his recovery, the loss of power for both him and Alina, and the creativity that allowed for her "martyrdom" and their ending...I won't lie, I cried. It was beautiful - perfect in it's simplicity and it's full circle (both as a plot line and with the language about "a boy and a girl"). For anyone wishing she ended up with the Darkling or that they didn't lose their powers, well, that's not real. Their simple joy and happiness to just be with each other, that's real. "They had an ordinary life, full of ordinary things - if love can ever be called that."