Book Review :: Shadow and Bone, by Leigh Bardugo

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
Series: Shadow and Bone #1, Grishaverse #1
Also in this series: Siege and Storm, Six of Crows, King of Scars, Rule of Wolves, Demon in the Wood
Published by Henry Holt and Company
on June 5th 2012
Genres: Fantasy
Pages: 358
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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.

Last updated on 7 June 2022

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What is Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo about?

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo is the story of the Shadow Fold: a dark place full of even darker creatures who feed on human flesh.  Fellow orphans and best friends Alina and Mal are headed into the Shadow Fold with a group of people. But when things don’t go as planned, Alina is ripped from Mal and taken to the Darkling. He is the most powerful Grisha in the land, and he claims that she is the long-awaited Sun Summoner – the one who will help rid the world of the Shadow Fold once and for all.

Alina didn’t even know that she was Grisha, let alone have any confidence that she could do what she was asked. But as she starts her Grisha lessons, she learns more and more not only about the history of the land she lives in and the Grisha but about herself. When things take a turn for the worst, Alina has to decide who to trust, who to run from, and how to save her world.

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My Thoughts: Shadow and Bone

“I’ve been waiting for you a long time, Alina” He said. “You and I are going to change the world.”

Man. What aren’t my thoughts? I.Loved.This.Book. In fact, I’ve had a run of amazing books that I’ve been reading and once again I have to come to the realisation that while I should have read these books long ago, it’s still the most wonderful journey picking them up now.

There wasn’t much I didn’t like about Shadow and Bone. The world that Bardugo has created is insane, a word which here means freaken awesome. I love the idea of the Shadow Fold and the dangers that lurk within, I love the idea of the Grisha, with their powers and their magical elements, I love the map at the front of the book. Yes, dear friends, it has a map. 10 points to Gryffindor Bardugo! Everything from the names of the cities and towns to the little worldly elements was amazing and I definitely got sucked in.

“I missed you every hour. And you know what the worst part was? It caught me completely by surprise. I’d catch myself just walking around to find you, not for any reason, just out of habit, because I’d seen something that I wanted to tell you about or because I wanted to hear your voice. And then I’d realize that you weren’t there anymore, and every time, every single time, it was like having the wind knocked out of me. I’ve risked my life for you. I’ve walked half the length of Ravka for you, and I’d do it again and again and again just to be with you, just to starve with you and freeze with you and hear you complain about hard cheese every day. So don’t tell me why we don’t belong together,”

Plot

The plot is one we’ve seen before – the character doesn’t realise they have power, they discover, they don’t believe, they are actually the answer to saving the world, things go wrong, things go right, there’s love, there’s a friend, there’s a traitor, and sometimes there’s a twist – but Bardugo has written it in such a way that the entire thing felt incredibly new.

Not only her storyline and the things that happened to Alina along the way but the way she’s written it is stunning. I loved reading every single word of it.

Characters

Alina was an enjoyable main character, and while there were moments of ‘what are you doing, woman?! Don’t do that!’ I think it was partly that that made me like her.

Mal was your typical best friend – the funny guy, the flirt-with-everyone-else-but-your-best-friend-who-actually-loves-you guy – and even when the Darkling showed up all sexy-like and dark and mysterious, there was always a part of me rooting for Mal. Other minor characters were wonderful too and completely added to the story.

Summary

I am so so so looking forward to reading the next in this series, Siege and Storm, and the third, Ruin and Rising. The main reason I actually got Shadow and Bone from the library was that I bought Six of Crows a little while back and then realised that while it was a different trilogy and I could probably just start it, it was a Grisha novel, and I wanted to read the first trilogy first. So glad I did, and if you’re one for YA fantasy, then you must give this a read. You must. Go and do it now.

Have you read Shadow and Bone?