The first thing I want to say is that I very rarely give out a full 5-star rating to a book, unless is belongs to the Harry Potter series. 
 The second thing I want to say is that I feel my heart wrenching every time I remember the last chapters of this book. 
 This book was FANTASTIC! The first book was honestly too bleurgh for me; Alina was a horrible whiny character who only wondered why the Darkling wouldn't kiss her. 
 However, 
 The second book IS STUPENDOUS! 
 The actual plot! The new characters! The storyline! The language! The elements! All of them flowed so beautifully together to achieve a most perfect story! 
 Alina was so much better in this book than in the first book! She was strong, a warrior, and she was naturally fierce! I honestly loved her, despite her flaws! Her way of thinking and the suspense she would put the reader through was amazing. Kudos to you Alina! 
 Nikolai! OMG I love love love him! This character's disposition is so perfect and so sweet that you couldn't help but fall in love with him! As soon as he popped into a chapter I would immediately smile. His wit and his daring personality really attracted me. 
 The darkling did not have a very vibrant role in this book, so no notes on him except that I have such a schoolgirl crush on him *squee* 
 The pace of the story was fantastic. I loved the suspension in the chapters and the sudden realization that the characters experienced. I loved the elements of the story and the natural flow. I never felt lost or confused like the first book. This story was honestly one of the best written stories ever!!! 
 My heart breaks over Genya *silent tears of blood*