A urban fantasy set in a world based on/inspired by the Russian Empire? Sign me up. 
 Amazing, amazing world-building but I felt it wasn't used to its full potential. What I mean by this is that I wish the book had focussed at lot more on warfare and the politics of the realm rather than romance. Also, I know this is YA but there were some really overused tropes of the genre, I could have done without more instances of (view spoiler)[the protagonist is an ugly duckling turning into a beautiful swan, the dreaded love triangle (though it was somewhat subverted in this novel, to be fair), the obligatory stereotypical mean girl, etc (hide spoiler)]. 
 All that being said, the world-building really was awesome, I can't say enough about it. And it's so well-written, I was totally engrossed in the novel's universe. Plus there were many compelling characters and a particularly game-changing, head-spinning plot twist, so overall it was a great read. Really liked it!