This review originally appeared on the book review blog: justonemorepaige.wordpress.com.

I mean with a rating as high as this on Goodreads and the most pervasive bookstagram presence of almost any YA other than Sarah J. Maas' books, I guess I shouldn't be surprised, but still. Wow. The hype for this is real and it holds up. I mean, I loved the original Grisha trilogy a lot. The world-building and characters were great and they were just so well written and super fun to read. If anything, this was even better. I'm sure you could read this on it's own and it would have been fine, but having already spent wonderful hours in the Grishaverse, the extension to the world that we get here...moving out of Ravka (though I loved all the hints and references to the civil war there and some of the "famous" characters from The Grisha) and into Kerch and Fjerda we get to see this world in a much broader sense. The way the countries feel about each other, interact, etc. that we get to see more of here is truly impressive in scale. The alliances, stereotypes, and power plays Bardugo writes and creates are perfectly rendered and feel so real.

The characters, our group of thieves and misfits and lost souls, play perfectly for and against one another. Kaz, Inej, Nina, Matthias, Jesper and Wylan are one of the best crews I've ever adventured with. Their relationships with each other, and the growth and changes that happen over time on this journey (both for us as readers, as we learn about their pasts and how they all came to be where they are now, and for them), are developed at a reasonable, believable pace. I really enjoyed the experience getting to know them all as they get to know themselves. I saw it written somewhere that this crew really is #friendshipgoals, and honestly, even though I'm only halfway through the duology, I really agree. I cannot wait to see where their relationships go next.

While their story does end up having some far reaching implications, I enjoyed that that's not how it started. It's not a group of people setting out on a hopeless quest to save their world, etc. It's a group that, each for their own personal reasons, really need/could use the promised rewards. They aren't setting out thinking about anything other than their payday at the end. Watching their development to see it in a bigger way (for some it happens sooner, for others, they still are looking at it as revenge/a payday at the end) is fun. But overall it's refreshing to see a tale told of a group that's just really good at what they do and they are in it for that alone. And if there are wider reaching implications of their actions, so be it, but that's not their issue. Super refreshing. And definitely part of what makes this story so special and gives it such charm.

This is a book you just cannot put down. The overall writing in on point, with new and exciting plan reveals and unexpected twists (in equal measure) with almost every chapter. And it's all done with a wonderful mix of traditional ambiances, the fun caper and the serious "job," to create a mood all it's own. The cover advertises "Six dangerous outcasts. One impossible heist." ...for all that that premise sounds incredibly overdone, it's a promise that is absolutely fulfilled.