okay, but Zoya Nazyalensky as a character is just … magnificent.
this is a female character with sharp edges and a sharper tongue, who is completely aware of how hot she is, who can be cold and pragmatic and harsh and is utterly unapologetic about any of those things -
and she’s still a fundamentally good person. and not just because of the high-stake things - not just because she fought in the civil war, saved Ravka, and wants to make the world a better place for Grisha everywhere. it’s in the smaller things, too. like how she tried to protect those tiger cubs from being eaten. how she tossed Dima a coin to pay for the damages done to his farm. how she gave Alina romantic advice, and then gave her a kefta to remind her that she would always belong.. how she spoke up for all the women who had been preyed upon by the Darkling, because she doesn’t know who else will stand for them if she doesn’t. she has an absolutely wonderful heart.
Zoya Nazyalensky might have been petty and stereotypical in the first book she appeared in, but she has done nothing but prove how exceptional she is in every installment after that. every other installment, in every series. I just don’t understand how anyone can hate her.
