My first impression was: "This book is much to young for me." Yes, I understand that Young Adult novels are marketed towards teenagers. Still, I find it hard to believe that a 16 year old could be a seasoned assassin or that a 17 year old could be the leader of a neighborhood gang and, in his free time, plan a near-impossible heist. Within a few chapters my complaints were completely forgotten and I was totally engaged in this fun & heart felt story. let me tell you more!!
It all starts out with a map, as most of my favorite books too. Fantasy is my favorite genre and always has been. I want to escape from this mundane world of bills & worries and head to another land altogether. So, I traveled to the GrishaVerse every night for a few weeks and loved every minute of it.
I said this is a spoiler free review so, I won't explain much about this second map. All I will say is that the geography of this world and the Ice Court in particular are really important to understanding the realm where our six main characters live. The author did a great job of describing Ketterdam (where the novel starts out) and the Ice Court (where the story ends).
This novel is broken into three parts which I would describe as follows:
Part one = getting the know the six main characters and the task they must complete.
Part two = getting to know the backstory of the characters and thus falling in love with each of them in their unique way.
Part three= the heist!
As you can see there is a lot going on in this book. The story is super dynamic as each chapter is from the point of view of five of the six main characters who are so flaw and endearing. Despite the fac that the characters are all about half of my age, I could relate to each of them and was rooting for their success all along. Through the twists and turns, through the betrayal, and seemingly insurmountable odds ... this story had me staying up late reading by the light of my salt lamp and eager for moments to read the next chapter.
My review :: five stars!