Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

17 reviews

adventurous lighthearted relaxing fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: N/A

fast&fun
could be more in depth with the interpersonal relationships
Should have read it before I watched the show though

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I have very mixed feelings about this series. I love the world it's set in and most of the plot (specifically the first book), but the characters just fall short. They are all very one-sided and are difficult to connect to... except for Nikolai. I absolutely adore Nikolai. He was such a necessary part of the second book because parts of it were so painfully slow and he was the only reason I was interested in reading it. The third book was very good plot-wise as well. And there was a lot more going on than there was in the second book. But (spoiler) I really didn't like the way it ended.

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adventurous tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous dark medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

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adventurous mysterious fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

hmmmm....okay. I’ve had time to gather my thoughts since yesterday so here goes.

overall, I liked the book. it was definitely enjoyable to read and the plot, characters, and world were engaging and intriguing enough to keep me invested. I think the strongest and most enjoyable aspects of this book were the world it’s set in and the relationships between a lot of the characters. I haven’t read more in the series yet and I’m hoping they’ll explore this more but what I wished we had more of was a more in depth look at the world itself and how it came to be the way it is. the special powers, the class dynamics, etc. it all felt very surface level. I think on the whole this book kind of falls into the trap that a lot of fantasy (esp YA) fantasy does where it all just feels familiar. A love triangle with a “good guy” childhood friend and a “bad boy” with a ton of power who is “misunderstood” and sad, an ugly duckling main character who is SURPRISE!....not really ugly she just has brown hair and pale skin, a vague feeling of “I’m not like other girls” throughout the entire book, mentions of class issues without ever fully going in depth, the typical chosen one narrative, etc...it’s all there. 

This book has moments that are truly good. The scene with the stag in particular has stuck with me. That being said, I feel like if you read a lot of fantasy this will just feel like a retelling of a lot of other stories with not a ton to distinguish it. I would recommend giving it a shot and I’m hoping the other books will make it more distinctive, but on the whole I think it’s missing some fleshing out. On to the next books!

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Expand filter menu Content Warnings