“I’ve been waiting for you a long time, Alina,” he said. “You and I are going to change the world.”

i finally read the one book i have not stopped hearing about everywhere - and to be honest, it was a little disappointing.

don’t get me wrong, the plot was definitely captivating; i practically zoomed through the book, after all. the worldbuilding was pretty well built up, and there were definitely likeable side characters (i simply <3 genya).

but i thought it was going to be an amazing fantasy book like no other, and it didn’t really live up to that. i’m pretty sure i had to restart the book 5 times for it to stick, i kept giving up at 10% and forgetting about it.

for me, the main character, alina, was not hard to sympathize with or like; if i have to be completely honest, though, she was very whiny at times. which isn’t great, considering the book is from her point of view. a lot of the time - besides the occasional epiphany she gets right before a big moment (what’s that about, anyway?) - she’s kinda… weak. she doesn’t really make much of an effort until the end.

much of the book was also focused on looks, which really annoyed me. alina really thought there was absolutely no way there was even a slight possibility she was grisha because she wasn’t some gorgeous girl with a perfect figure. in fact, too much of her self-worth is based on that.

some parts of the book felt a little silly - the petty conflict, the sometimes useless romance, and the amount of just… blankness?? not sure what to call it, but a lot of the parts felt like they needed more.

i feel like this book is aiming at a love triangle, but honestly i don’t really see alina with either the darkling or mal. i also don’t know how i feel about the last 50 pages or so… definitely enjoyed it less than the rest of the book.

besides all that, the writing was mediocre at best. (at this point, i’ve read, “i rubbed my thumb over the scar on my palm,” so many times that it’s etched into my brain.)

although i feel like this book was overhyped, i’m hoping most of this stuff will get sorted out in the sequels; i definitely want to see where this is going.