Absolutely loved this book! 
 First off - such gorgeous world building. Snow covered and dangerous - it hinted at Imperial Russia without simply resorting to being Imperial Russia. This was clearly a distinct and imaginative world. Leigh Bardugo gets all the points. 
 And the characters - I loved them all. Even the Darkling who is so dark and mysterious and I just have all the questions about him. But my favourite, by far, is Alina. I like how she grows throughout the novel and went from being someone I kind of like to someone I want to be friends with. 
 I wish there had been a little more explanation about how the Grisha's magic works and the testing to determine if a child is Grisha - but this is a small complaint at best. And definitely something that could be expanded upon in further books. 
 Can't believe I waited so long to read this book. Everyone told me I would love it and they were right.