A satisfactory end to the Shadow and Bone Trilogy. While I found the first two books in the series to be readable, they felt a bit surface level (and I'm definitely not going to go on a tangent about how it's because they are YA--which can be very complex, if it's done right). Ruin and Rising starts to come into it's own more. The stakes are higher, the twists less predictable, and the decisions morally ambiguous. While I can tell I'll probably enjoy the Six of Crows duo more, this is a step in the right direction, especially in comparison to the first two books.

My biggest disappointment aside from the surface-level writing was Mal. Although far from the most detestable love interest I've read, he's about as exciting as a rock, and has about as much personality. This might just be me but the women were so much more compelling, and it's hard to find Mal exciting When Zoya, Genya, or Tamar exist.

Despite having middle-book syndrome, Siege and Storm was still an easy, reasonably enjoyable read. The new side characters carried Siege and Storm, and I'd happily read an entire book about Nikolai, Tolya, and Tamar (and found them to be a lot more engaging than Alina and Mal.) I enjoyed seeing the characters engage with each other, and the last 20% of the book, but a lot of it felt like filler, and a device to get the characters together. I probably would've enjoyed this more had I read it as a teen, but I think my patience for younger main characters is waning a bit. Just figure your shit out, make up and MOVE ON.