Shadow & Bone by Leigh Bardugo
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Published: June 5th 2012
Publisher: Square Fish
Format: Paperback
Pg count: 358 pages
Series: The Shadow and Bone Trilogy #1
Genre: Paranormal, YA, Fantasy
Synopsis
Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one lonely refugee.
Alina Starkov has never been good at anything. But when her regiment is attacked on the Fold and her best friend is brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power that saves his life—a power that could be the key to setting her war-ravaged country free. Wrenched from everything she knows, Alina is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling.
Yet nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. With darkness looming and an entire kingdom depending on her untamed power, Alina will have to confront the secrets of the Grisha . . . and the secrets of her heart.
[Synopsis from Goodreads]
Review
If I had to pick one word to sum up this book I’d have to pick eh. I mean, it’s not a bad book. Can I see why people like it? Yes. Can I see why it’s sooooo popular and hyped? No.
The story was slow for me. After the inciting incident and Alina makes it to the castle, I felt the story fall flat and lose the tension. I get why. It’s hard to keep the story going while also having the main character getting used to a new normal. But I also didn’t connect to any of the characters, which is important for a story that slows down in the middle. You have to be interested in the characters to keep reading. I didn’t start to really get into it until three quarters of the way through. Honestly, if I was busy and didn’t binge this in a weekend then I probably would have DNF’ed it just because nothing really made me want to keep reading.
Alina was an okay character, but I didn’t connect with her. Mal pissed me off until the very end of the book. I actually didn’t mind the Darkling, but he still felt bland. I honestly thought it would have been poetic if the Darkling and Alina got together because he’s darkness and she’s light, but that’s the only draw they have for me.
I’m not going to continue reading the series, but I will try Six of Crows because people say it’s so much better 🤞🏻. I’m also going to try the tv show and see how that goes.
Links
All my reviews // Leigh Bardugo
Much love & reading,
S❤︎
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