This may be one of my new favorite books.
There are so many things to love about it, I don't even know where to start. Except that it's beautifully written. Not overtly lyrical but very nice descriptions and very effective and poignant language. Also, it totally has a Russian flavor to the language and I love Russian. But it's also succinct. Leigh Bardugois able to give these characters such life and depth, this world so much veracity without giving off the sense that she's trying too hard with too many words.
There's a lapse in the second act where it's the sort of typical, idyllic training sequence. But eventually Leigh brings the pain back and it's a beautiful sort of pain. The whole book is full of that crushing sort of alluring pain that's real in that life is complicated and messy but fantastic because it's eloquent and has meaning so it's a sort of pain the characters can survive and the reader doesn't have to endure.
The characters are so fantastic. I love them all (except maybe Zoya). They're flawed and conniving and unexpected and so precisely developed that they anchor you in the story without letting go. Alina almost veered too much into her inadequacies, but then they were given substance and meaning. And I love Mal's evolution. I feel like nothing in this book was wasted, no flaw or fear, there isn't a stray word or an unexplained element. It all goes to serve the characters in one place or another.
Plus, I love that it isn't a cliffhanger even though it's part of a trilogy. It's so refreshing to read a self-contained book. I mean I'm dying for the next one but only because I enjoyed this one so much and because I need more of these characters, but not because she dropped me off a precipice at the end.
And the magic, the culture of this world, is clear without suffering under a lot of exposition. It's unique and incredibly engaging.
This definitely has the potential to be a five star book on second reading and will absolutely be reread.
REREAD: Having read the full trilogy I can see better both the strengths and weaknesses of this book. There’s lines here and there that already hint at the ending. Some so subtle I didn't catch them until my third time through. But there’s little interaction between the characters (partly because it’s a small cast) and a lot of general description of her thoughts and her training. I get that part of that comes from Alina feeling alone but the book really comes to life when she’s interacting with Mal, Baghra or the Darkling. I would have liked more of that.