Book Title: Shadow and Bone
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Date Published: June 5th 2012 by Henry Holt and Company
Number of Pages: 358 (Paperback)
Date I Read: May 7-8, 2020
Synopsis
(From Goodreads) 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.
Book Review
I first read Leigh Bardugo’s Six of Crows duology and I’m so pumped to finally read this trilogy!
“What is infinite? The universe and the greed of men.”
Shadow and Bone is actually the first book of the Grishaverse book series. So, having read the SoC duology (#4 and #5 respectively on the Grishaverse novels) first, I’m already aware of some spoilers. However, I didn’t mind it that much as I was actually intrigued by how the story unfolds on this series so here I am.
First things first, my friend actually warned me that the Shadow and Bone trilogy is not as good as the Six of Crows duology. So, I trusted her own personal views and I kept my expectations low on this first installment. And I’m glad I did because I would have rated this so much lower…
The first half of this book was such a drag. We are introduced to Alina Starkov and Malyen Oretsev, both orphans of the ongoing war across Ravka, who grew up together under the care of a wealthy Duke. Now that they’re teenagers, they have enlisted in the army with Alina working as an assistant to a junior cartographer and Mal as an expert-tracker. Their ordinary lives changed when their regiment is attacked on the Shadow Fold (a swath of near impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters) and Alina reveals her dormant power that saves her own and Mal’s life. She was then whisked away to train as a member of the Grisha (individuals with special powers) at the royal court.
Basically, this blurb (which was handed to us on a silver platter) comprises the first 150 or so pages of this book. Which means this book was so repetitive and bad. No offense, I love Leigh Bardugo’s compelling storytelling on the SoC duology but this…it’s like I’m reading something that I already know from the back of the cover!!! I was looking forward to a change of pace, a change of events but all I got is an extended version of the blurb. I guess this is the only way Bardugo can build the Grisha world. (More on the world-building later on.)
Fortunately, the second half redeemed it! I finally got what I wanted: exhilarating, fast-paced, and action-packed plot!
Unfortunately, aside from the slow and unforgettable first half of this book, I also didn’t like the way Bardugo handled a few other things. Let’s talk about the things I hate first before we get to the things I actually liked about this book.
Things I Disliked About Shadow and Bone
1. The World-Building
I feel like Bardugo’s ability to introduce the (amazing and well-thought-out) fantasy world she built is lacking. And since this was the first book of the Grishaverse series, the world-building was the only thing I looked forward to but I was disappointed yet again.
Like I mentioned in my book review of Six of Crows, I feel like Bardugo just thrown out random words in this book without any explanation up until 50 or 60 pages in. I already know what Grisha, Squaller, Shu, Fjerda means BUT I feel like I would be so confused by these terms if I have read it as an absolute beginner. The only thing that redeemed it for me is the fact it covered most of Ravka’s cities and towns pretty well.
2. The Cliché Tropes
The characters (and plot) of this book are based on very cliché tropes and I loathe it.
Alina is your typical main character who is insecure (a.k.a. annoying) about herself that she thinks she’s so ugly. But if she’s so ugly, why are two handsome guys are pining for her?! She also feels like she doesn’t “belong” anywhere so she wants to belong to a character named The Darkling (don’t get me started with this dude, just wait, I’ll get there). And the worst part? She’s the CHOSEN ONE.
The Darkling is, well, dark and brooding and apparently still handsome (despite being 150 years old?!) guy who is Alina’s love interest-slash-antagonist. If that’s not realistic enough, he also happened to be sexually aggressive, abusive, and murderous in a hot way that Alina couldn’t resist.
And, of course, we gotta love a good old best friend trope to make up the LOVE TRIANGLE. Mal is your typical good-natured, sweet best friend but thankfully, the love was kinda different, with Alina liking him instead of the other way around.
But apparently, Leigh Bardugo is a witch and she made these tropes work so well?!
Things I Liked About Shadow and Bone
1. The Characters
While I don’t get the hype for The Darkling (and I lowkey hated him), I enjoyed getting to know the other characters!
For the first half of this book, I got bored reading Alina’s insecure thoughts about herself. But Bardugo pulled a magic trick by the end and I ended up liking her character. Hopefully, I get to like her even more on the next books!
Mal was kinda meh at first (especially with the girls as gorgeous as Zoya pining for him) but I kinda missed his presence in the middle of the book. And like Alina, his character grew on me. I SHIP MAL AND ALINA, ALRIGHT?! I’m part of the 0.01% that do!
Genya reminds me of Nina Zenik from SoC. And as expected, I love her! I hope to see more sassiness from her in the 2nd book!
Baghra took me by surprise! At first, I thought she’s gonna be that annoying teacher who just likes to torture her students. Turns out she’s harboring a dark secret that I did not expect at all.
Zoya was kind of an annoying side character here in this book and I wish the sequels will do her justice!
2. The Plot Twists
I won’t say much about the plot twists Bardugo has come up with in this book—they are are simply brilliant and unexpected. And because of such dark twists and turns to an otherwise typical YA Fantasy plot, I really enjoyed reading the second half of this book!
Overall Thoughts
Overall, this book is a promising start to the Shadow and Bone trilogy but rather a weak one for the amazingness of the whole Grishaverse. Pick it up if you’re willing to read a bland first half of the book in order to get that twisted ending! Trust me, it’s worth it!
Check out my book review on Goodreads for my initial thoughts about Shadow and Bone!
Book Reviews of the Shadow and Bone Trilogy
Let’s Talk!
What are your thoughts on Shadow and Bone? Who’s your favorite character from the OG Grisha trilogy?
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