Finally a character I love! I am so thankful for the introduction of Nikolai in this book in the series. He's for sure my favorite. Overall, I am enjoying this book in the series the most when it comes to plot. It's moving along fast which is nice. My only complaint for the entire Shadow and Bone series is how quickly the plot points jump around. One moment the characters are in one place and a sentence later they've traveled long distances to somewhere else. I'd rather have a slightly longer book where Leigh can describe their journey and experiences. I also enjoyed this book more because of the political intrigue portions of the text. That's my favorite part of these types of books!