Nikoli has been my favorite character from the very beginning. His wit, charm and sarcasm has always stolen the show and I am so happy that he finally has his own series. The story takes place a few years after the Grisha trilogy and not long after Crooked Kingdom. Nikoli is battling his own personal demon while Nina is still dealing with the pain of her loss. I was happy to see characters from both of the series that I enjoyed so much return in this Duology.

As much as I love all of the characters and the story, I had to give this one 4 stars. I soon began noticing that Nikoli did not take center stage in this book. The chapters kept jumping around from Nikoli and Zoya to Nina and her objectives to Isaak taking Nikoli's place while he's away and I felt like there just wasn't enough of Nikoli (and Zoya) in this book. After all, it is his book isn't it?

Nina is a fantastic character and I really felt for her during the first half of the story, but I wasn't entirely invested in her quest, and more than anything, just wanted to get back to Nikoli and Zoya. It was the same for me with Isaak's chapters. They were interesting, but at times, I felt like they were taking too much time away from Nikoli. That being said, I thoroughly enjoyed learning more about Zoya's past and discovering why she did the things she did.

I had a theory, before I even began reading this book, and I was so thrilled with the ending because Bardugo took it there! Obviously I will keep this review spoiler free and not so much as hint at what I was hoping would transpire, but I most definitely got my wish, and can I just give book number two 10 stars right now, because I already know it is going to be incredible! 

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