I still haven't recovered.  Maybe I never will.  I simply can't put into words how many, how many new things I learned, felt and experienced thanks to this series of books, it opened a whole new door, into a world where the gods took human form and created nightmares that should not have existed.  To be honest, I'm not quite ready to say goodbye and I'm definitely not ready to release myself from grief now, because I'm going to do it now, the gods are witnesses to how grieving I am now. A part of me died with this book, even if they say that sooner or later our lost soul will find its way back to us, I will never get it back. And I don't regret it, I don't regret it because it died for something beautiful, something that is worth a thousand times more than anything else.  It wasn't just a journey, it was the journey.  For me, this was the big book series that pulled me out of the dream world, only to throw me into the icy water and chase the wind through the angry waves until I reached the shore.  And now I have reached the shore, as has Rin's story.

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Rin, my wonderful Rin, had always had a rage that could tear worlds apart, but like everyone else, she was tired from fighting so much.  She was so damn tired that it's a wonder she didn't crumble under all the pressure.  And that's exactly why no one can blame her for what she did.  For her, this was no longer about survival, not even about revenge (not after Vaisra's death), but about avoiding madness.  Honestly, not only her, but I am also very angry, so much and so deeply that I think I will burn like a phoenix because of the end she got.  My wonderful Rin deserves better than this, much, much better.  She had to fight wars, battles, fights and nightmares, the minimum she could have had would have been peace, the kind of peace that would have been sung about centuries later. I want her to know that I never gave up on her, that I was with her all the way, and that she lasted so long (so damn long), longer than anyone else could, and I'm proud of her for that. So damn proud. 

I know I shouldn't continue with them, but I can't bear to leave them behind, so the trifecta; within that, first (because ladies first) should be everyone's favorite empress, the only female member of the trifecta and the goddess of goddesses, the vipress, Daji.  My heart bleeds for her and because of her, to such an extent that I fear it will cause my downfall.  We can say out loud that everyone played well, but she was the real player and the master of the cards, even when everything was at stake.  You can say what you want, but she was the real winner, because despite what happened, the lost heroine, the fallen empress became a legend, maybe even a goddess.  In short, she won.  For me, she was the most interesting (and favorite) character, not because she was so important and not because I admired her actions so much, but because in the end she did everything to fix what went wrong with one last push, even if for this she had to overcome her greatest fear and wake up her lover (because I'm sure they once were) the dragon emperor, whom she had been afraid of for so long.  Daji was so strong, for so long, even with the shadows of the past, even those who hinted at it I'm sure had some kind of respect for her.  I may or may not be alone, but I could literally beg for her full backstory, sell my soul to the devil (can you hear that Rebecca?), jump off a mountain if I had to, race the wild wind, literally do anything for it.
Riga was interesting to say at least.  I didn't faint from him and I didn't expect him to help, but I didn't expect him to attack the others.  I didn't really realize how powerful he was until I realized how much Daji and Jiang feared him.  Honestly, all we knew about him all along was that he was incredibly scary, strong, and brutal, but never his strength.  To be honest, it was very logical, after all, he had once been a ruler, and he could have put this ability to good use back then.
The gatekeeper remained hidden for a very long time and we only found out who he was at the end of the first book.  I didn't really suspect it, but when it was revealed, everything fell into place like a perfect puzzle.  Jiang deserves better.  Better than everyone else.  He lost his lovers (two of them), his children, his mind and his whole life, just because of Riga.  It wasn't painful, it wasn't sad, it was cruel, so cruel that I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.  Jiang deserves the whole damn world.  And my goodness, how something in me cried when it turned out that he was Rin's father, I literally stared at the wall like a madman for hours, so that I wouldn't cry.  How can you do that?  How can you even write this?  How can someone write such characters and not give them a whole series of books?  I would really sacrifice my firstborn if I could get book of them.

NEZHA JIN

 Nezha. My broken Nezha. My darling, my life, my love. If I had to introduce him with one song, it would definitely be Love and War by Fleurie. He has been a lover, a hunter, a friend and an enemy. He was everything. And it was still not enough. I don't know how I should feel about him (especially not after Drowning Faith).  I just hate him so much and at the same time I love him so much that I can't say it.  I feel deeply sorry for him, so deeply that I will be sick. He deserves much better than this. He also fought, he suffered and he also lost, too much, too much and no one will ever be able to pay him back.

Kitay was so brave. He suffered so long and too much because of Rin, I don't blame him at all for betraying her, because I would have done it too.  My sweet boy didn't deserve this. He was a good man with a good heart and soul

Venka was not a traitor. This is what I know for sure, if nothing else. My soul died because of her and I fear I will never recover from her death. I loved the fact that she fought so hard, that no one and nothing could stop her, that she remained so true to herself. Venka was not actually a princess, but a hero and a great warrior.

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The plot was a lot faster and more determined than the others, but I still enjoyed it a lot.  This book (series) was amazing and cruel, it ripped my heart and soul out, but it was still amazing.

Just amazing. 

My poor Nezha. 
My poor little Nezha. 

This book was so fucked up, but in the best sense of the word. I wouldn't really say it won me over, but by the end when everything became clear to me, I enjoyed it a lot more, especially after I found out why this book was given that title (imaginary what can I say). This book was very dark and scary, basically it was a bit similar to The Poison Diaries in terms of atmosphere, but not quite. 

The characters were relatively okay, but I especially liked Evelyn (the main character) because she was closer to a

villain

than a hero and I could identify with her surprisingly easily, because it is very rare to read from this point of view. Perhaps I simply understood her suffering, I understood the reason for her actions, and looking back, I would do the same now. Unfortunately, the others didn't really get a role, so I can't write about them. The love story was a bit forced for me (there wasn't really a love story), but it was cute.

It was a good book, but the content was equal to zero, we stumbled through all 135 pages, which is exactly why it took me longer than usual to read it. As I said, the plot was boring, but at least it was interesting and most of the chapters ended with cliffhangers, which kept my spirits up. 

This wasn't the story of a grieving widow or a witch, it was a woman's story who did bad things in a bad world but did everything she could to keep her soul.

I'm really not lying when I say I SUFFERED. This book was much worse than the previous one, no character development or personality, the plot was flat and boring. To be honest, this was not my book (though I thought it would be). 

By the way, Bridget was a lovable main character (despite the fact that she was very much like Ava), she was really able to act like a queen at the end. But my good Lord there was Rhys. It seems like I'll never be friends with the Rhysands, but there it is. I literally can't love anything about him, he was just so annoying that I've already sobbed to the wall. 

The love story was *drum roll* secret dating, which was horribly executed, I don't like this trope in general, but I especially didn't like it here. I'm not a big fan of erotica and there was a disproportionate amount of it in this book. The mysteries (if you can call them that) and Rhys' origins were very obvious to me. I know you don't have to expect much in a book like this, but I would have been happy if there weren't so few suspects to choose from.

Like the previous book, this one was full of clichés and commonly used elements. But pins points for the fact that the others also appeared on occasion and for the few jokes.

This book series means so much to me. The story of Cleo and Magnus (because I loved them only, I hated Lucia outright - and I still do, maybe Amara gets some credit, because she wasn't bad either) is the sun in my universe. The plot was interesting and fun, the lore was well developed, in a word, I recommend it to those who are younger and want something magical. 

I felt a slight decline since the first book, which maybe was due to me, maybe not, in any case it didn't grab me like the pervious one. I feel that this book has come full circle in terms of the plot. In essence we have turned back to the beginning in a somewhat bizarre way. This book was full of hidden hints that only made sense later (so if you're reading, don't stop because you don't understand something, by the end almost everything will become clear).

We got to know a lot of new characters, which I was very happy about, since we didn't know about many of them until now. Our main characters remained the same, but I no longer felt the chemistry between them that I had in the previous book, I was terribly disturbed by this neither with you nor without you relationship, but then finally, with the help of the gods, they found their way back to each other again.

The plot was much more lively and much faster than the previous one, it was even easy to follow. Unfortunately, the ending didn't really impress me, the two-year gap was a bit pointless, but at least I didn't have many questions afterwards. All in all, we got a very eventful. funny, logical and wonderful story sprinkled with a little romance. In the future,

I definitely want to return to this world and experience Agatha's story again. I plan to read the third book sometime next month, since it takes place in a completely different era, with different characters, and in order to read it, I will have to forget this. Or at least to try to let them go. because for now it seems so ungodly impossible to let them go.

Holy moly this book was amazing! In the strictest sense of the word. Wonderful world building, characters, love story and plot. I don't know what kind of angel moved into me, but this was another 5 star (now 4.75) book and this one is definitely going to be one of my favorites! I'm seriously going to tell my grandchildren about this too, if they put their minds to reading.

Agatha is a very lovable and strong heroine who is not afraid to take certain steps, a real raging fire, the wrath and revenge of the goddess herself. Daniel, I knew it, I knew it was going to happen, but I tried to love him (the emphasis is on tried) but he was simply repulsive to me from the very beginning, especially after he was involved in the death of their father and brother, i will never forgive him again. I'm in a lot of trouble with Morok

(or Alexander)

and not because I don't like him (because I fell in love with him), but because he withheld so much important information from Agatha, but I understand why he did it, I really do, but now the wound he left with his dagger is too deep.

The plot was fine, albeit a bit long and difficult to digest if you're not in the right mood. The pace was maybe faster than it should have been, but I'm not complaining. The wording didn't really take me off my feet, but there were some nice things to say.

I recommend it to those who love Russian culture and mythology and want to read something that challenges their imagination, then you should definitely read this.

It's unbelievable that just a few days have passed since the New Year, and with two sufferings and three books later, I had my first 5-star (now 4.75) read of the year. Maybe it's just because I didn't like the previous two or because yesterday I was nicer than usual, but this book earned the perfect word from me now.

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Ana was a very lovable Morally grey protagonist (she reminded me a bit of Adelina Amouteru from The Young Elites). Maybe I'm the only one and the first one who deeply sympathizes with her (because monsters are just wounded gods and they need love too) and I don't blame her at all for her actions. She was so young, so damn young to handle her power and no one helped her when she silently begged for it, she was simply left in the dark. She lost everything and everyone she loved, so it's no wonder that the only thing she knew for a long time was fear. In fact, there is nothing good or bad about her, she is more complex than that, because she jumps between the two sides and stands where she needs to depending on the moment.  Of course she had mistakes (for example, too naive and impulsive) and of course she made bad decisions, but that's exactly what makes her character so real!

Ramson didn't impress me that much at first, but I loved him in the end. Basically, he left me in doubt more than the other characters, because I never really knew when he was being serious and when he wasn't, regardless, I loved his jokes, he made me laugh even when everything seemed so dark. His past is so tragic just like Ana's, he never deserved what happened to him. I loved that he was so mysterious and that he gradually questioned his belief in goodness as we got further into the story. He was so diverse that he simply could not be classified anywhere. And he named his snowhawk after Fisher and this was the moment when I fell in love with him, when I gave him my soul (and this was also the moment when I started to cry, but that's just icing on the cake).

The other characters: 

I wouldn't really say it was love story, but there was very few of it.  Ana and Ramson's relationship is mostly exhausted by teasing, tender moments and mistrust, but they have potential and I'm sure that in the next books they will understand each other and accept each other as they are. They really tried and are trying to care for each other.

I really liked the place itself; a snowy kingdom full of magic and magical creatures based on Russia? I'm here for it! This book was characterized by a superbly constructed magic system and politics, everything was in the right amount. I would very much like to get to know the remote areas as well, because they can certainly be very interesting.

This book was full of twists and hidden messages for the next books. I just loved it, nobody and nothing was what it seemed.

The plot was easy to follow (although there was a bit of flashbacks) and the writing was wonderful.  I liked that each character is different and driven by different goals, that they have flaws and that they are so lifelike.

If you want a dark, exciting, magical story with a touch of romance, I recommend you to visit this world!