Series: The Grisha (#2)
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Rating: ★★★★★
Genre: fantasy
*frantically hyperventilates* That was flipping awesome. A slow build up to one of the most chaotic, deadly climaxes I've ever read. Tension, romance and most of all power. I love the darkness in these books. The desperation and madness written in these books is disturbing and unbelievable.
This book was sexy. Honestly, I was falling very deeply in love with it as I read. The YA genre is packed with sweet girls who find out they're magical, resist it, do random stuff and end up saving the world. Yay. Big whoop. No, no, NO. The Grisha is brilliantly different. Alina finds out she has immense power, and she takes it. No hesitation, or silliness in this - she grabs the power and begins to use it. Of course there are consequences, and she is beginning to change, but it's freaking awesome. The madness and spiraling descent into moral ambiguity is breathtaking. I feel like it's a roller coaster ride.
The characters are all immensely flawed, and impossible not to love. The Darkling, who captured every heart and ripped it to shreds; Mal, who bored me at first but is now becoming interesting with his intensity and need for freedom; and the newest person, Nikolai, who I am madly in love with as well. He's hilarious, and arrogant, and really cute. Actually, all the boys are total heartbreakers. But the real star of the show is still Alina, who is slowly going power-mad. She is commanding, arresting, powerful, passionate, afraid, dramatic, and has darkness filling her.
The plot structure is also burning and intense. There's the preparation for the Darkling, the slow gain of power, the hallucinations, the politics in the castle, etc. They all start to build the story up, and form this crescendo which suddenly explodes in a flurry of violence and destruction. The sacrifice, the evil, and oh my god, the end. The last line gave me shivers. It's was one of the best books I've read since Crown of Midnight; the fantasy is fast, furious, and original. The characters have depth and the villain is horrifyingly attractive and evil. It was impossible to put down, and I want to read it all over again.
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