This book is a dazzling wrap-up of the ‘six of crows’ duology. The indomitable team is back, and they are cooler than ever.

The flashes of past revealed of every character gave all our favorite characters equal space to evolve. No character felt like they were out of some fairytale. They felt as real as you or me.

The display of variety in characters was refreshing. Inej was Someone who believed in her gods, Kaz believed in diligence, Jesper believed in his talent, Wylan believed in the goodness of the world, Matthias believed in righteousness, and Nina believed in love. ‘Someone’s beliefs and faith don’t make anyone superior or inferior. You are just another unique, amazing denizen of this world’, was the inspiring message.

The most impressive fact was that Bardugo never portrayed any of them as perfect or tried to justify their deeds by pleading on their behalf. She just let the characters tell their stories and allowed the readers to identify themselves with one or more of them.

Bardugo lets the audience despair for their favorite characters in an impossibly tight spot before conjuring one of her tricks that enables the characters to escape miraculously. And it never ceases to amaze the readers in its pragmatism. “Who would have thought such a rational, possible and practical solution existed?!!” would be every fan’s cheer after such scenes. One ought to wonder whether Bardugo cooks up the puzzles or the solutions first. The twists and turns never fail to bewitch.

The slogans were all so cool. For instance, there couldn’t have been a more fitting catchphrase than ‘No mourners, no funerals’ for the gang.

The very subtitle of the book- ‘When you can’t beat the odds, change the game’ speaks to Bardugo’s writing prowess.

The subtle humor that gurgles throughout the narrative never fails to tickle. It’s a relief that Bardugo doesn’t resort to swearing or name-calling to be funny.

One example was when Zoya tells Kaz, “Show your face in Ravka, Brekker. We’ll teach you some manners.” And Kaz replies, “I’ll keep that in mind. When they burn me on the Reaper’s Barge, I definitely want to be remembered as polite.”

Another illustration was when Jesper said, “Has anyone noticed this whole city is looking for us, mad at us, or wants to kill us?”

“So?” said Kaz.

“Well, usually it’s just half the city.”

The death of a team member felt awful. But the book was too realistic to have a perfect ending gift-wrapped and tied with a rosy bow. It ended up adding to the credibility of the story. The storyline and the characters were consistent throughout, and the adventures and action scenes were pretty adornments to the story. But what affects the reader the most is the soul of the book, and the way it romances the reader’s heart into believing anything is possible.