Review: Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

“the problem with wanting,” he whispered, his mouth trailing along my jaw until it hovered over my lips, “is that it makes us weak.”

leigh bardugo

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Goodreads Summary: Alina Starkov doesn’t expect much from life. Orphaned by the Border Wars, she is sure of only one thing: her best friend, Mal–and her inconvenient crush on him. Until the day their army regiment enters the Fold, a swath of unnatural darkness crawling with monsters. When their convoy is attacked and Mal is brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power not even she knew existed. Ripped from everything she knows, Alina is taken to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling. With Alina’s extraordinary power in his arsenal, he believes they can finally destroy the Fold. Now Alina must find a way to master her untamed gift and somehow fit into her new life without Mal by her side. But nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. As the threat to the kingdom mounts and her dangerous attraction to the Darkling grows, Alina will uncover a secret that could tear her heart–and her country–in two.

Rating:

Thoughts:

My very first dip into the Grishaverse (and Bardugo’s books in general) and I really enjoyed it! Although the book is a bit of a slow burn, the writing style and the characters kept me so invested that I read this book in a day. The world building is done so well with just enough information to set up the universe without bogging down the reader with too much at once. And the world is so unique compared to other series in its genre. It was like a breath of fresh air to be able to read a YA fantasy novel without faeries in it (although I LOVE faeries!). The Russian influences that are prevalent throughout the book brought such a unique touch as well. It’s just not something you see in the Young Adult genre in general, let alone in a fantasy novel. Although this made some of the terms a bit difficult to understand as a native English speaker, the context of the sentence in general lent enough meaning to the foreign words that I was able to work out what was being said.

Alina is such an enjoyable main character. Although she’s a once-in-a-lifetime type, she somehow manages to avoid the special-snowflake trope pretty well. She’s serious and relatable and exactly the type of character you’d want to be friends with. The hardships she’s faced in life really made me feel for her and I loved seeing how she developed both in character and in skill as the book went on. The Darkling of course is one of the most intriguing characters I’ve encountered in YA fantasy. I’m usually so untrusting of any major characters that aren’t our protagonist and yet he slipped entirely under my radar. He’s written so genuine that I took him completely at face value. It’s easy to see that there is still so much more to his character and I’m eager to see what develops from him in the rest of the series.

I’m endeavoring to read this series and the Six of Crows duology before the Netflix show drops at the end of April. Now that I’ve actually read this book, I can see the parallels in the trailer and am really excited for it! Onto the next book!

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