Stella

This book felt entirely like fan service to me. Occasionally Bardugo's writing genius shone through, which I think peaked with the SoC duology, but more often than not the plot felt too convoluted and predictable.
Including the Crows with a thrown-together heist subplot felt completely unnecessary, out of place and added little to the book overall, other than appeasing the part of fanbase who are mainly into their books. Kaz was portrayed largely OOC, relying on information he could have no way of knowing, which was conveniently explained away by “he's Kaz he knows everything”. If we really had to have this needless side trip to Ketterdam, I'm glad at least we got a glimpse into Jesper and Wylan's domestic life.
My other problem is the absolute zero palpable chemistry between Nikolai and Zoya. They were just two characters at hand, shoved together for the sake of romance.
I liked Nina's quest in Fjerda the most, but even that gave me regurgitated SoC Ice Court heist vibes at times.