HOLY MOLY THIS BOOK!!!! Perfect, loved it, can't really think how it could have been better, totally worth dragging myself through the first and partly through the second ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Bardugo is a magician

Pros:
- the plot whips along, even when they're travelling or plotting, it keeps moving with emotional movement, even if not with physical/plot movement. very excellent writing
- the setting is brilliantly described - the cathedrals and the tunnels, Nikolai's mountain castle, the fold, when they're hunting the firebird ALL OF THE BEAUTIFUL DESCRIPTION
- the apparat is creepy af and I love the complexity of him
- Mal actually supports Alina!!!! (YAY) and realising his past mistakes ahh (p.140) (FINALLY). He says the right things when she needs to hear it, he and Nikolai work together without Mal combusting with jealousy, ITS SO GOOD
- AND Alina stopped being irritating and passive and was totally badass and relatable. she's still struggling with being idk greedy and murderous, but its written better somehow - i loved her haunting the Darkling - like yesss turn his manipulations back on him biatch. I can't say I loved her arc across the books, exactly, because I really disliked her in the first book and mostly in the 2nd, but I do feel like Bardugo took what she had already built of Alina and absolutely turned it all around to create a brilliant character I could really feel for
- there was also 2 points of self-awareness I really liked - one where she feels Mal turned his back on her (like YESS) and when she recognised what an easy target she'd been for the Darkling at the start (also YES). She's just grown a lot and really recognises her own feelings and has really come into her own
- also alina actually thanking Zoya for saving her in the tunnels instead of being jealous and sulky, like yes (tho she is jealous and sulky about ruby earlier eh)
- Alina being lovely to Misha as well like yesss
- THE PLOT - just how well everything came together was super impressive, like Bardugo must have been plotting the reveal of Mal as the 3rd amplifier since when she first said he was a brilliant tracker and like WOW, much respect.
- I feel we get a better picture of the Darkling as well, as this guy who doesn't want to be alone, which was more insight than we'd had previously
- oh and also the humour! I always forgot to add that, but I love the sass
- and Nikolai is just epic, love him
- and I liked the end?? it was sweet af but I felt we deserved it so like yass

smol cons:
- not sure if David is supposed to be coded as autistic but it seems a very simplistic representation if he is
- a couple of things (Nikolai's mountain retreat place for one) seemed a little convenient for the moment, but that was ok
- oh and Alina masters certain powers very fast (the invisibility), but that's YA for you I think
- still don't really get what the Darkling really *wanted*
(- I was really sad Harshaw died. I really liked the weird, fiery guy :/)

amazing stuff, writing seems so much better, can't wait to read 6 of crows and the other books ahhhh :D