Review of Shadow and Bone

I gave this book 4/5 stars!

This book is original, action-packed, and unpredictable at times. I couldn't be more happy to have finally read this book. I don't see what the hype is all about yet, but I hope that I will soon. Just because I am not head over heels in love with this book doesn't mean that I didn't like this book. I actually enjoyed it and sped through this book faster than I anticipated. One moment I was on page one and the next I was already half way through the book. Each chapter brought something different to the story, and that made me want to continue to read without putting the book down. I wanted to see what will happen next, knowing that the next chapter won't feel like a filler.

I love the magic system, and I think it is one of my top favorites by far. There is so much to it that I feel like we don't know yet, especially since the magic is different for everyone. The fact that they each individual Grisha (people with magic) have different limits. I don't recall ever reading a book where the people with magic have limits like in this book. I think it adds a special aspect to the book that the others don't have. Also, the fact that amplifiers have to be earned and that one person can only have one is something I found to like. There is something about it that makes Grisha appear more human to me and less special. 

Now, let's talk romance. I love every single moment Mal and Alina shared. They are just too darn cute and I cannot wait to see where their relationship takes them. I like that Bardugo ventured into the "you don't know what you had until you think you've lost it" part of love. While that may be the case, I also did like Alina and the Darkling just as much. (YES there is a love triangle in the book.)

There were so many details that brought the story to life. My favorites where about the Little Palace. I felt like the descriptions added a special type of magic to the book. I would have probably imagined it less grand that the way Bardugo intended. With these descriptions, I was able to tell the difference between Grisha life and peasant/serf life. You could see the border line between the two easily.

The character development with Alina was spectacular. I love her personality, especially when it comes down to her magic. She doesn't let herself be contained and it shows that she knows her self worth. It was crazy to see her go from one side of herself to another, and it drove the story forward. She is a strong female character, pushing the story forward. 


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Synopsis:

The Grishaverse will be coming to Netflix soon with Shadow and Bone, an original series!

Enter the Grishaverse with Book One of the Shadow and Bone Trilogy by the #1 New York Times–bestselling author of Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom.

Soldier. Summoner. Saint. Orphaned and expendable, Alina Starkov is a soldier who knows she may not survive her first trek across the Shadow Fold―a swath of unnatural darkness crawling with monsters. But when her regiment is attacked, Alina unleashes dormant magic not even she knew she possessed.

Now Alina will enter a lavish world of royalty and intrigue as she trains with the Grisha, her country’s magical military elite―and falls under the spell of their notorious leader, the Darkling. He believes Alina can summon a force capable of destroying the Shadow Fold and reuniting their war-ravaged country, but only if she can master her untamed gift.

As the threat to the kingdom mounts and Alina unlocks the secrets of her past, she will make a dangerous discovery that could threaten all she loves and the very future of a nation.

Welcome to Ravka . . . a world of science and superstition where nothing is what it seems.

A New York Times Bestseller
A Los Angeles Times Bestseller
An Indie Next List Book
This title has Common Core connections.

Reading log: July 2, 2019 - July 3, 2019