About the Book
Book Title: Shadow and Bone
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Series: Shadow and Bone Trilogy
Genre: Fantasy
Published: June 5th, 2012 by Macmillan Publishers
Pages: 358
Format: Physical Book
Source: My local used bookstore
My Rating: ★★★★☆
Disclaimer: This is an unsponsored review. I purchased my copy of this book from a local used bookstore with my own money. All opinions expressed are my own. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Summary
Set in Leigh Bardugo’s Grishaverse, the country of Ravka is split in half by the nearly impenetrable Shadow Fold, a vast space full of darkness and man-eating monsters. Alina Starkov is an orphan drafted into the country’s military as a cartographer. One fateful day she accidentally unleashes a rare power not even she knew she had. Upon discovering this, Alina is whisked away to the country’s capital to train her newfound Grisha abilities. While there, she ends up learning secrets that might put all of Ravka in grave danger.
My Review
I read this book already having read Bardugo’s Six of Crows duology, which I loved. I think after I finish this series, I can officially call myself a fan of Leigh Bardugo and her Grishaverse.
As expected since I liked it so much in Six of Crows, I loved the world building in this book. There’s something about the Grisha magic system that is so appealing to me. Plus, there’s the fictional countries! All of the countries in the Grishaverse are based on a real world region or country, and I thoroughly enjoyed seeing more of Ravka and her Eastern European inspirations in this book.
I liked the characters in this book, though some of the less important characters seemed a little too one note for my taste. Perhaps they’ll get developed more in the next book. The main cast were great though. I can’t wait to see what they do next.
I don’t want to spoil anything, but there is a twist villain in this book. The reveal was enjoyable enough, but it seemed a little clumsy in execution. Honestly, this is the main reason I rated the book how I did.
The romance was fun too. Again, not to spoil too much, but there’s a slight love triangle in this one. As many of us know, love triangles are hit or miss, but this one hits pretty close to perfect.
Overall, I love this series so far, and I can’t wait to pick up the next book in the series. 4/5 stars.
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