I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Schwab's prose is lovely without being distracting from the narrative, and with deeply three-dimensional characters and a fascinating setting.

In particular, I was (as usual) particularly taken with her world-building. V-City is a complex, fully-developed setting and feels like a character on its own, with a fascinating set of "magic rules" that unfolds as the story goes along. Schwab has a particular gift for letting the world's mysteries unravel as you read, and this is no exception.

The characters are beautifully flawed, and their interactions, desires, and choices drive a fast-paced plot with intriguing twists and turns. The monsters are beautifully violent and fascinating, and the dark, sometimes mournful tone was right up my alley.

Of Schwab's works, this one ranks slightly below "Vicious" but a little bit above "A Darker Shade of Magic" for me.