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theravenkingx 's review for:
Shadow and Bone
by Leigh Bardugo
3.5 stars
Shadow and bone is one of those book that you can read when you are in mood for some light and entertaining read. It easy to get into as it's a blend of all popular YA troupes and doesn't require an active brain to understand what's going on in the book.
This book reveals the journey of Leigh Bardugo and how much braver she has become over the years in her storytelling and character development. She has went from writing a typical formulaic book to writing an outstanding and unique book - six of crows. Shadow and bone series and six of crows duology, in my opnion, aren't the two sides of the same coin, but they are two completely different coins. The Grisha world is great and Leigh has beautifully expanded it in six of crows.
Synopsis
shadow and bone is set in a medieval Russia inspired world called Ravka. West and East Side of Ravka is divided by a shadow fold - a mysterious impenetrable darkness containing dangerous beasts called Volcra. it is said that the Shadow Fold was created by a power hungry black heretic hundreds of years ago. Nobody knows his identity or how to destroy the shadow fold.
The story begins with Alina Starkov journeying with his childhood friend and potential love interest through the fold to reach west of Ravka. Alina is cartographer and she is being sent to west Ravka on a cartography business. However, things go sideways inside the fold, and she ends up discovering that she is a Grisha, more specifically a sun summoner.
She is then taken up by The Darkling who tells her about the fold and how her rare ability that can be used to destroy the fold and save millions of lives. But can she really trust this mysterious guy?
Characters
☀ ALINA ☀ She is the most annoying character in the book and makes tons of mistakes over the course of this book. She is a damsel in distress who can't make any decision on her own, and her only motivation to do literally anything is her love interest - Mal. She can't even digest her food without thinking about him.
âš« DARKLING âš« I have yet to form an opnion about him. One thing is for sure that I don't understand why people love him so much and compares him to Kaz Brekker. He is nothing like him. I am not gonna lie tho Darkling definitely has an intriguing personality, and I am really looking forward to see more of him.
👣 MAL 👣 He is not a Grisha but he has a talent of his own. He is a human dog who can track almost anything, however, his specialty is tracking Alina from miles away. He is insecure and often treats Alina like she is some piece of trash. If I had to choose between him and darkling, I would choose darkling without any doubt. Mal is stupidly handsome, like most potential love interests are in YA books, and every girl in Ravka has had wet dreams about him. We talk about how writer promote certain beauty standard for women in books, but we hardly ever talk about the unrealistic portrayal of men in books, which is equally bizzare.
💄 GENYA 💄 She's a comic relief in the book and probably the best character. I really enjoyed her and want to see more of her. She is complicated, fun and a great ally to Alina. If it weren't for her, Alina would have thrown herself in the ditch cos she has peanut for a brain.
💃 Zoya💃 No educational institute is complete without some mean girls. Zoya does nothing other than to bully Alina and remind her of her insecurities.
Plot
Plot was easy to follow. There was nothing great or unique about it, but it was enjoyable. First 40% of the book is slow and is mainly used for info dumping and World building. However, I am still not sure how the magic system works and what powers three orders of Grisha - Materialki, Corporalki, Etherealki - actually possess, but i really like the idea that it's not completely magic. There is a scientific explanation to Grisha powers. Ending was pretty anti-climactic where characters used there emotions instead of their brains.
Anyway, it's not terrible. It just don't have anything new to offer.
I still want to read rest of the series mainly for the new duology that is coming out.
The problem with wanting is that it makes us weak.
Shadow and bone is one of those book that you can read when you are in mood for some light and entertaining read. It easy to get into as it's a blend of all popular YA troupes and doesn't require an active brain to understand what's going on in the book.
This book reveals the journey of Leigh Bardugo and how much braver she has become over the years in her storytelling and character development. She has went from writing a typical formulaic book to writing an outstanding and unique book - six of crows. Shadow and bone series and six of crows duology, in my opnion, aren't the two sides of the same coin, but they are two completely different coins. The Grisha world is great and Leigh has beautifully expanded it in six of crows.
Synopsis
shadow and bone is set in a medieval Russia inspired world called Ravka. West and East Side of Ravka is divided by a shadow fold - a mysterious impenetrable darkness containing dangerous beasts called Volcra. it is said that the Shadow Fold was created by a power hungry black heretic hundreds of years ago. Nobody knows his identity or how to destroy the shadow fold.
The story begins with Alina Starkov journeying with his childhood friend and potential love interest through the fold to reach west of Ravka. Alina is cartographer and she is being sent to west Ravka on a cartography business. However, things go sideways inside the fold, and she ends up discovering that she is a Grisha, more specifically a sun summoner.
She is then taken up by The Darkling who tells her about the fold and how her rare ability that can be used to destroy the fold and save millions of lives. But can she really trust this mysterious guy?
Characters
☀ ALINA ☀ She is the most annoying character in the book and makes tons of mistakes over the course of this book. She is a damsel in distress who can't make any decision on her own, and her only motivation to do literally anything is her love interest - Mal. She can't even digest her food without thinking about him.
âš« DARKLING âš« I have yet to form an opnion about him. One thing is for sure that I don't understand why people love him so much and compares him to Kaz Brekker. He is nothing like him. I am not gonna lie tho Darkling definitely has an intriguing personality, and I am really looking forward to see more of him.
👣 MAL 👣 He is not a Grisha but he has a talent of his own. He is a human dog who can track almost anything, however, his specialty is tracking Alina from miles away. He is insecure and often treats Alina like she is some piece of trash. If I had to choose between him and darkling, I would choose darkling without any doubt. Mal is stupidly handsome, like most potential love interests are in YA books, and every girl in Ravka has had wet dreams about him. We talk about how writer promote certain beauty standard for women in books, but we hardly ever talk about the unrealistic portrayal of men in books, which is equally bizzare.
💄 GENYA 💄 She's a comic relief in the book and probably the best character. I really enjoyed her and want to see more of her. She is complicated, fun and a great ally to Alina. If it weren't for her, Alina would have thrown herself in the ditch cos she has peanut for a brain.
💃 Zoya💃 No educational institute is complete without some mean girls. Zoya does nothing other than to bully Alina and remind her of her insecurities.
Plot
Plot was easy to follow. There was nothing great or unique about it, but it was enjoyable. First 40% of the book is slow and is mainly used for info dumping and World building. However, I am still not sure how the magic system works and what powers three orders of Grisha - Materialki, Corporalki, Etherealki - actually possess, but i really like the idea that it's not completely magic. There is a scientific explanation to Grisha powers. Ending was pretty anti-climactic where characters used there emotions instead of their brains.
Anyway, it's not terrible. It just don't have anything new to offer.
I still want to read rest of the series mainly for the new duology that is coming out.