The Darkling rules Ravka from his shadow throne.
Now the nation's fate rests with a broken Sun Summoner, a disgraced tracker, and the shattered remnants of a once-great magical army.
Deep in an ancient network of tunnels and caverns, a weakened Alina must submit to the dubious protection of the Apparat and the zealots who worship her as a Saint. Yet her plans lie elsewhere, with the hunt for the elusive firebird and the hope that an outlaw prince still survives.
Alina will have to forge new alliances and put aside old rivalries as she and Mal race to find the last of Morozova's amplifiers. But as she begins to unravel the Darkling's secrets, she reveals a past that will forever alter her understanding of the bond they share and the power she wields. The firebird is the one thing that stands between Ravka and destruction—and claiming it could cost Alina the very future she’s fighting for
I think what really grounds this series is Alina. The 1st person perspective is so perfect because she really leads the way. Its her journey, her emotions and relationships that we care about. It's her emotional struggle that drives the narrative and what really gives this series a really well round, touching but fun feel.
Another really strong force behind these books is the character development. Mal changes dramatically throughout the series, he starts incredibly self-involved. He let Alina take punishments for him and never even bothered to notice her until she was gone and then finally we get to this point where he is willing to make the ultimate sacrifice. He gives up anything he can and that is a really tremendous journey to be a part of. Then we have the Darkling, we learn about his and Baghra's past. To say it added new layers to the character is an understatement. It completely changed the way I saw him. I had a lot more empathy and understanding for everything he did and even got his thought processes. Genya and David and Zoya all have these wonderfl B-story transformations. But then we get to Nikolai.
In the second book Nikolai enters and he doesn't change much in terms of character development until the latter part of this final book. After being transformed into one of the Darkling's creature. He finally becomes a king. It was accepted that he would not be able to properly rule without Alina, he never understood torture or sadness or feeling completely hopeless, although he sympathised, he never understood. Then when he is cured and returns, he has this level of understanding and you can finally see him become a king. Not the happy go-lucky, it will work out in the end king. But someone respected, feared and someone who understands his people. I thought this was a beautiful narrative, I mean, its really horrible to read terrible things happening to characters you like, but there's nothing more reassuring than seeing trials and tribulations and seeing them become exactly who they need to be. That really stuck out for me.
I wasn't too keen on the Morozova storyline. I understood the ties and thought it was a great twist that Mal turned out to be the firebird. But I also just didn't care. I was assured enough that Mal would survive and they would be together blah, blah, blah. But I really loved the epilogue. Bardugo has these Before and After chapters that are written in third person. And the ending was just beautiful. It made me feel the way Mockingjay made me feel . Everything wasn't okay, people had died and they had both lost things but life still had the capability for beauty. It was a simple and elegant ending but just the way it was written was so endearing and charming, like finally the world was at peace and you could feel it. Not because she said so but just because the writing was so poetic and calming.
I adored this book and this series and I cannot recommend it enough. I demand you give it a read and join The Grisha!
Happy Reading.
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