This was a book of two halves for me really. After reading the Shadow and Bone trilogy, I found the start of this book really slow to get going. I started reading it in June and got about 100 pages in before I just wasn’t feeling it and I put it down in favour of other books.

But then when I picked it back up last week, either the book just picked up or my brain was more in the mood for it but I was suddenly gripped and couldn’t stop reading – it was the kind of book I carried around in my handbag with me just in case I had a spare 5 minutes to read.

We’re in the same world as Shadow and Bone – the Grishaverse, but we’re not in the same timeline so things are familiar but very different.

We’re introduced to Kaz Brekker, the leader of a small gang in Ketterdam, the best gang in Ketterdam. He’s given the chance to pull off what might be the biggest heist in history, and it would make him more rich than he could ever dream.

But of course, it won’t be an easy mission, far from it. And Kaz can’t do it alone. He’ll need his gang with him, and a couple of others too – they’re what you could call a rag-tag bunch but if anyone can do it, they can.

Once I was gripped, I thought the book was amazing, so fast paced and I loved seeing the relationships build between the members of Kaz’s gang.

What I do have to say though is that although I couldn’t have predicted what would happen at the end, I was so mad when I turned the last page. I had taken this book on holiday with me and not the sequel, and let’s just say that if you’re planning on reading this book, you should buy the sequel in advance because you’re going to want to carry straight on.