This book completely shat on it's predecessor. I loved And I Darken but wholly shit, this book was everything I could've wanted and more. 
 Lada gets dark, really dark. The ending to this book rivals the ending to Crooked Kingdom for me, and not a lot comes close to that series imo. Lada is so unapologetically ruthless and I love her so much for it, but she also has her humanity. She's complex AND I AM HERE FOR IT. 
 Radu, sweet sweet Radu. He's put in a position where he needs to make some tough decisions, and then towards the end of the book has to deal with the consequences of those decisions. He finds this form of misery in dealing with what has happened and I'm intrigued to see how this influences his thoughts and actions throughout the upcoming books (I hope it's books, I'll die if there's only one left. I also don't want to check because my heart has been broken enough today). 
 The pace was a lot faster, the politics and warfare were 10/10, the writing style was just as beautiful, the banter and Lada's snark was gorgeous, and I'm eagerly anticipating the next instalment. (What's up 2% battery and my need to type as fast as possible. HA, SUCK IT)