Author- Leigh Bardugo
Series- The Grisha Trilogy
Published- June 2012
Page Count- 308
Publishing House- Indigo
Rating- 4.5/5
About the Author
Leigh Bardugo is a #1 New York Times bestselling author of fantasy novels and the creator of the Grishaverse. With over one million copies sold, her Grishaverse spans the Shadow and Bone Trilogy, the Six of Crows Duology, and The Language of Thorns— with more to come. Her short stories can be found in multiple anthologies, including The Best of Tor.com and the Best American Science Fiction & Fantasy. Her other works include Wonder Woman: Warbringer, and the forthcoming Ninth House. Leigh was born in Jerusalem, grew up in Southern California, graduated from Yale University, and has worked in advertising, journalism, and even makeup and special effects. These days, she lives and writes in Los Angeles, where she can occasionally be heard singing with her band.
(Taken from Leigh's website)
Plot
The Shadow Fold, a swathe of impenetrable darkness, crawling with monsters that feast on human flesh is slowly destroying the once-great nation of Ravka.Alina, a pale, lonely orphan, discovers a unique power that thrusts her into the lavish world of the kingdom's magical elite - the Grisha. Could she be the key to unravelling the dark fabric of the Shadow Fold and setting Ravka free?
The Darkling, a creature of seductive charm and terrifying power, leader of the Grisha. If Alina is to fulfil her destiny, she must discover how to unlock her gift and face up to her dangerous attraction to him.
But what of Mal, Alina's childhood best friend? As Alina contemplates her dazzling new future, why can't she ever quite forget him?
Glorious. Epic. Irresistible. Romance. Perfect for fans of Kristin Cashore and Laini Taylor.
(Taken from Goodreads)
Opinions
Having tried to read Shadow and Bone earlier in the year, I decided to pick it up on a spontaneous whim. I flew through it in three days and fell in love with the world Leigh had created. I'm currently studying Russian History as a part of one of my A-Levels, so reading a fantasy novel based on Russian History was really helpful.
I really liked the characters as they felt very realistic. Even though they are from a fantasy universe, they felt as though they were people you could meet on the street. They had very realistic qualities and weren't the cliche YA typical characters.
As someone who is a complete Urban Fantasy lover, I find High Fantasy hard to follow at times because the rules can become very complex. However, in this series, the rules are very simple and easy to follow. Even better, the key information can be found at the front of the book. I felt that I completely understood what was happening and didn't need to reread anything to understand what was happening.
I am not a fan of the love triangle that appears to be forming. I really hope that it isn't a feature of the series. At the moment, I want Alina to end up with Mal as I hate the Darkling. However, I have seen people comparing Mal to Tamlin from ACOTAR, which is making me doubt whether that is going to happen.
I managed to read this book in three days, which considering I'm snowed under with college work, is an impressive foot. I'm about a quarter of the way through the second book and once I've finished that, I'll definitely be posting a review for it.
Overall, I really loved Shadow and Bone and am so happy I've finally read a Leigh Bardugo book. The Grisha world may become one of my staple fandoms, but who knows. At the moment, I'm limiting myself to Harry Potter and The Shadowhunter Chronicles.
Just letting you know that there will be NO posts next week as the week after, I am doing Spooky Week and there will be 7 or 8 posts that week. I am planning on reviewing all the Harry Potter books and redoing the Harry Potter tags which I did nearly 2 years ago.
Carenza x
