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naz1112's review against another edition
2.0
Some of the words of the Ravakan language are hard to interpret. Early on thry say something about not catching “tsiki” I didn’t understand that at all...
larism27's review against another edition
4.0
Edit: This is still my least favorite book in the GrishaVerse, but I'm upgrading from 3 stars to 4 because I did eventually fall in love with Alina and the rest of this series.
I wasn't a fan of the main character for much of the book. She complained more than necessary I think to get the readers to believe she was a teen. The plot wasn't straight forward which is usually a good thing, but i think tied with the slow character ties it was hard to fall in love with. Still curious enough to read the sequel and other books by this author. Just not a home run.
I wasn't a fan of the main character for much of the book. She complained more than necessary I think to get the readers to believe she was a teen. The plot wasn't straight forward which is usually a good thing, but i think tied with the slow character ties it was hard to fall in love with. Still curious enough to read the sequel and other books by this author. Just not a home run.
galaxytesh's review against another edition
4.0
i am so sure my opinion on characters would be so different if i read this when it initially came out. i can’t wait to read the rest of the series. low-key, i like mal. please don’t disappoint me.
yashviiii's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
5.0
abooknook's review against another edition
3.0
Please bear with me as this is my first actual book review.
There are three major things that go into a good book for me (there are a few more, but a bit more minor)
These are not in order:
1. A good plot
2. Good characters
3. Good writing
First off, I found the plot of Shadow and Bone interesting and I found it well-developed. It was slow at the beginning, but it slowly progressed to be fast paced. I enjoyed this because often, especially in YA, a book will start slow, but then we are hit with how quickly it turns around. One thing that probably affected this was I was spoiled before I read the book that. That entire scene reminds me of (ironically) Prince Caspian, mainly because I liked the idea and can't wait to see what lies ahead.
Now for the characters. I liked some of the characters, but I found most of them unlikeable or annoying. My least favorite character is probably Ivan, but my favorite character so far is Genya. I found Alina equally annoying and relatable, so I am hoping for some growth later on. Mal is an interesting character, and though he is slightly aggravating, he is better for Alina in the love triangle, though I still don't know if I ship them.
Now for the writing, I did touch on it a bit above, though I found nothing special about it.
Content:
1 B word
Several slightly detailed kissing, one very detailed kiss, mentioning of doing "it".
Mentions of drinking/getting drunk
Use of magic, though it is not entirely considered magic in this world, I find their system similar to Red Queen
Otherwise, it was good and I plan to finish the Grishaverse.
There are three major things that go into a good book for me (there are a few more, but a bit more minor)
These are not in order:
1. A good plot
2. Good characters
3. Good writing
First off, I found the plot of Shadow and Bone interesting and I found it well-developed. It was slow at the beginning, but it slowly progressed to be fast paced. I enjoyed this because often, especially in YA, a book will start slow, but then we are hit with how quickly it turns around. One thing that probably affected this was I was spoiled before I read the book that
Spoiler
The Darkling is badSpoiler
There is a tutor warning the MC about the danger, and Ben Barnes (who plays both Caspian and The Darkling, so the roles were switched up a bit.Now for the characters. I liked some of the characters, but I found most of them unlikeable or annoying. My least favorite character is probably Ivan, but my favorite character so far is Genya. I found Alina equally annoying and relatable, so I am hoping for some growth later on. Mal is an interesting character, and though he is slightly aggravating, he is better for Alina in the love triangle, though I still don't know if I ship them.
Now for the writing, I did touch on it a bit above, though I found nothing special about it.
Content:
1 B word
Several slightly detailed kissing, one very detailed kiss, mentioning of doing "it".
Mentions of drinking/getting drunk
Use of magic, though it is not entirely considered magic in this world, I find their system similar to Red Queen
Otherwise, it was good and I plan to finish the Grishaverse.
natibns's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 ⭐️
I have the same feelings as many other people have: a lot of potential, but not so well done; many cliches; interesting world, but not enough developed...
But I know that it gets better and I will continue this trilogy and then I can finally pick up six of crows, which everybody seems to love and recommend it all the time.
I have the same feelings as many other people have: a lot of potential, but not so well done; many cliches; interesting world, but not enough developed...
But I know that it gets better and I will continue this trilogy and then I can finally pick up six of crows, which everybody seems to love and recommend it all the time.
emmaub's review against another edition
4.0
4/5
EN UN MUNDO SUMIDO EN LA OSCURIDAD SOLO PUEDE VENCER LA LUZ.
El primer libro de esta trilogía me ha gustado mucho. La autora ha hecho un muy buen trabajo con el worldbuilding, desde decripciones de lugares hasta clasificaciones de magia, etc.
Algo a destacar desde mi punto de vista es el hecho que Alina es una protagonista con una personalidad muy bien definida, desde el primer momento se entiende perfectamente cómo es, es casi como si la conociera. Y qué decir de los chicos, adoro tanto a Mal como al Oscuro, independientemente de sus respectivos comportamientos son muy buenos personajes, al igual que la mayoría de personajes secundarios. Todos tienen una historia que contar y eso me pareció increíble.
Dicho esto, ¡lo recomiendo!
EN UN MUNDO SUMIDO EN LA OSCURIDAD SOLO PUEDE VENCER LA LUZ.
El primer libro de esta trilogía me ha gustado mucho. La autora ha hecho un muy buen trabajo con el worldbuilding, desde decripciones de lugares hasta clasificaciones de magia, etc.
Algo a destacar desde mi punto de vista es el hecho que Alina es una protagonista con una personalidad muy bien definida, desde el primer momento se entiende perfectamente cómo es, es casi como si la conociera. Y qué decir de los chicos, adoro tanto a Mal como al Oscuro, independientemente de sus respectivos comportamientos son muy buenos personajes, al igual que la mayoría de personajes secundarios. Todos tienen una historia que contar y eso me pareció increíble.
Dicho esto, ¡lo recomiendo!
jandaharper's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.25
anna_marija_v's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars?! I enjoyed that everything was pretty fast paced, but it still was boring. It doesn't make sense. But i hope I'll like 2nd and 3rd book in this trilogy better.
jayarna's review against another edition
4.0
This is a really hard one for me to rate. I came in with low expectations, knowing that everyone and their mother was shouting that this wasn't as good as Six of Crows. For some reason, I assumed that meant the story itself wasn't great, and that the writing would be similar.
If you handed me this book unmarked and told me this was Leigh Bardugo, I wouldn't believe you. I personally see barely a trace of her style from Six of Crows. The amount of growth she has done just on prose alone is commendable.
This story is good. It's very typical YA but it's good typical YA. I enjoyed this story, although at parts it's slow, and the lack of originality or feeling that I'm reading something special means it's extremely forgettable. If I was looking for a good fantasy YA with all the tropes I know and love, I'd pick a book like this. And while it's nothing to write home about, I have to commend her for that. I read this in two days, which is pretty big for me, considering how long it usually takes me to get through a fantasy.
I also didn't get Mal. Like, why do we like him? Why do we care? Give me some intrigue, some excitement. He's like a soggy tissue. Absolutely no sex appeal. Makes it hard to read a "love triangle" when I only like one of the participants.
Funny, because while I powered through this, the end was weak, and I'm not particularly inspired to pick up the next one.
If you handed me this book unmarked and told me this was Leigh Bardugo, I wouldn't believe you. I personally see barely a trace of her style from Six of Crows. The amount of growth she has done just on prose alone is commendable.
This story is good. It's very typical YA but it's good typical YA. I enjoyed this story, although at parts it's slow, and the lack of originality or feeling that I'm reading something special means it's extremely forgettable. If I was looking for a good fantasy YA with all the tropes I know and love, I'd pick a book like this. And while it's nothing to write home about, I have to commend her for that. I read this in two days, which is pretty big for me, considering how long it usually takes me to get through a fantasy.
I also didn't get Mal. Like, why do we like him? Why do we care? Give me some intrigue, some excitement. He's like a soggy tissue. Absolutely no sex appeal. Makes it hard to read a "love triangle" when I only like one of the participants.
Funny, because while I powered through this, the end was weak, and I'm not particularly inspired to pick up the next one.