#0.1 The Demon in the Wood ★★★★★
#1 Shadow and Bone ★★★☆☆
#1.5 The Tailor ★★★★★
#2 Siege and Storm ★★★☆☆
#3 Ruin and Rising ★★★★☆

reread update: December 2017
This book was so much better the first time I read it. No, scratch that - I think my standards were so much lower the first time. It's not a bad book, but you can definitely tell it's from before Leigh found her groove, and the characters are mostly not enjoyable at all (aside from the Darkling, Genya, and Botkin). The "twist" still feels bad, and it's mostly incredibly boring.

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Let me start off by saying that I enjoyed this book and am really excited to start the next title, especially because many people have told me that Bardugo's books get even better as you get further in. That said, here's why I didn't give it a 5 stars like I initially thought I would: I wasn't crazy about the big "twist" regarding a few characters towards the end of the book, and I will admit that it took a couple of chapters for me to get attached to it, just because there are so many non-English terms that felt a little similar to one another and I had a hard time keeping them straightened out at first. I also struggled to connect emotionally with any of the characters aside from Genya, so I couldn't bring myself to feel much emotion while reading this one.

That said, I did like the idea of the story and had a hard time putting it down. I felt like it was a really fast read, so I would definitely recommend it to anyone who's hesitant to commit to a fantasy YA series. Truthfully, I think I would've given this 5 stars if I hadn't read so many books that I was absolutely euphoric over lately (book hangover, anyone?). If the series gets better like I'm told, I've no doubt that Book #2 in the Grisha trilogy will get a 5-star review from me.