This is the second book in the Grisha series and, in my opinion, a vast improvement on the first instalment. 
 When orphan, Alina Starkov, discovered her dormant Grisha powers, she knew the course of her life would be forever altered. What she did not foresee, however, was how the arrival of her powers heralded the dawn of a new age in her world, and meant life as everyone knew it would now be irrevocably changed. 
 I enjoyed the development of the world and seeing the characters chartering unknown quarters also pushed the boundaries of their own evolution. The additional steampunk elements of the first section added an extra element of fun and I adored the new characters this provided. 
 In fact, Prince Nikolai became my favourite character of the whole trilogy. His hilarious wit and cutting tongue hid the sensitive and tortured underbelly of his emotions. Seeing the two sides battle against each other made for an interesting and well-rounded character to emerge. One I felt I could root for and understand, whereas some of the previous characters continued to feel a little two-dimensional. 
 One such character was Mal. I found Alina's childhood best friend an unlikable character and I did not enjoy the romantic elements he added to the plot. I never wished him and Alina to bond and it bothered me how he only made his intentions known after she received her notoriety. With the introduction of the Prince of Ravka as well as the return of the Darkling, their relationship became even more muddied and the developing love square was actually more interesting than their initial relationship, despite this being a pet hate of mine. 
 The pacing of this was a little slow and I did find myself waiting for the momentum to improve but, for the most part, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this.