I LOVE THIS BOOK SO MUCH WOW. this is the first fantasy book i've read in a very long time because it's usually not my favourite genre, but i want to start experimenting with it, and holy crap was this a good start. this book is fabulous and i genuinely would like to thank leigh bardugo for creating this masterpiece. the plot of this book is so interesting, it's a team of outcasts who have to complete this heist for money in this magical realm called the grishaverse. speaking of the grishaverse, my god the worldbuilding is fantastic. the fantasy world leigh bardugo created felt so real and it was so detailed in the way she described it, and it genuinely made sense too, no plot holes. the writing and the plot is top notch, but the best thing about this book is the characters. it's written in all of their perspectives which i loved (my personal favourites to read were matthias, kaz, jesper, and wylan povs). the characters all have such gripping backstories that you get really invested in them and can't wait to see how they develop in the duology (the second book is crooked kingdom). i love kaz so much, hottest villain ever. i found his character development so endearing, because i love how inej's attitude wasn't "i can fix him". it was "we are both broken and we need to fix ourselves before we can be together." specifically this quote:

"i will have you without armor, kaz brekker, or i will not have you at all."

matthias is just so cute.

I WAS SO SAD WHEN HE DIED HE AND NINA DID NOT DESERVE THAT. 😭 also we love a good forbidden love trope!

wylan is basically a ball of sunshine, and jesper is an absolute comedian. i could go on about how great these characters are. they're also a diverse group of people--POCs, queer rep, etc. anyway this book is amazing, go read it right now