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anastasiahuffman's review
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Adult/minor relationship, and Gaslighting
Minor: Bullying, Sexual assault, and Animal death
snowwhitehatesapples's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
Review can also be found at Snow White Hates Apples.
It’s been 10 years since Shadow and Bone was first published, and well, the content certainly speaks of its age. Littered with generic themes and tropes, two-dimensional characters and a drama-filled love triangle, Shadow and Bone is your typical YA book circa 2010. Seriously, if you needed a book that embodies practically all mainstream YA books of that era, this is the one. I flashbacked to practically every book within the same genre I had read around that period.
Let’s start with the themes and tropes: your bland Good VS Evil with no greyness, your rigid Light VS Dark (looks like you’ve been forgotten again, Dawn and Twilight), your cookie-cutter “Chosen One” trying to find their own identity while struggling as the Special Snowflake who’s been cleansed from supposed muddy, humble roots. I know it’s difficult to write something new and I don’t expect that at all, but what makes a book different despite the similar themes, is the execution. It’s the emotions, the way the characters are alive and how, despite reading this story so many times already, this version still has an impact because these characters are the ones who leave that impact. Sadly, this isn’t the case here.
Alina is your not-conventionally-pretty-but-actually-is “Chosen One” who’s also the owner of one single brain cell that doesn’t even multiply. Mal is the childhood friend and first crush who’s also a possessive, toxic bundle of insecurities. Darkling acts as your typical manipulative, power-grabbing villain whose main flavours are abusive and sexually aggressive (and, he’s also toxic!!). These are the stars of Shadow and Bone 's complete mess of a love triangle. I’m never convinced by Alina’s “love” for Mal because of how she’s made breathless by Darkling at the next moment, but I’m definitely convinced by Alina’s lust for Darkling because she goes back to moping over Mal’s lack of attention for her right after.
Outside of the love triangle, the characters don’t stand well on their own. They don’t really change or contradict themselves, their complexities are practically zero which makes them flat. They’re simply there as devices to move the story forward to the next plot point, and that’s it! Though, I do like Alina’s moment at the end of the book. She was so ornamental for the majority of Shadow and Bone that that scene was her only flash of three-dimensional character potential for me.
While the author’s writing makes Shadow and Bone an easy read, I couldn’t appreciate the very apparent lack of care for the culture that heavily inspired the book. I’m not an expert in cultures, but I think it is only polite to treat every culture with respect and if you’re going to use a lot of elements from it instead of properly making up most of it, then it should be done with care and respect. It’s fine if some words are wrong (it’d be unrealistic to be an expert in the language when you’ve not learnt it or spoken it), but the most basic thing like names should never be mistaken.
Honestly, had I read Shadow and Bone earlier, back when it was first published, maybe I would’ve liked it more. But, right now, as my present self who has grown and read amazing YA fantasies where they dive deeper into themes, respect the culture they’ve been inspired from and have incredibly human-like characters, reading Shadow and Bone has shown me that I shouldn’t wait for time to ungracefully age hyped books. Nevertheless, I know that Bardugo has grown as a writer with her newer books and I’m excited to dive into those.
It’s been 10 years since Shadow and Bone was first published, and well, the content certainly speaks of its age. Littered with generic themes and tropes, two-dimensional characters and a drama-filled love triangle, Shadow and Bone is your typical YA book circa 2010. Seriously, if you needed a book that embodies practically all mainstream YA books of that era, this is the one. I flashbacked to practically every book within the same genre I had read around that period.
Let’s start with the themes and tropes: your bland Good VS Evil with no greyness, your rigid Light VS Dark (looks like you’ve been forgotten again, Dawn and Twilight), your cookie-cutter “Chosen One” trying to find their own identity while struggling as the Special Snowflake who’s been cleansed from supposed muddy, humble roots. I know it’s difficult to write something new and I don’t expect that at all, but what makes a book different despite the similar themes, is the execution. It’s the emotions, the way the characters are alive and how, despite reading this story so many times already, this version still has an impact because these characters are the ones who leave that impact. Sadly, this isn’t the case here.
Alina is your not-conventionally-pretty-but-actually-is “Chosen One” who’s also the owner of one single brain cell that doesn’t even multiply. Mal is the childhood friend and first crush who’s also a possessive, toxic bundle of insecurities. Darkling acts as your typical manipulative, power-grabbing villain whose main flavours are abusive and sexually aggressive (and, he’s also toxic!!). These are the stars of Shadow and Bone 's complete mess of a love triangle. I’m never convinced by Alina’s “love” for Mal because of how she’s made breathless by Darkling at the next moment, but I’m definitely convinced by Alina’s lust for Darkling because she goes back to moping over Mal’s lack of attention for her right after.
Outside of the love triangle, the characters don’t stand well on their own. They don’t really change or contradict themselves, their complexities are practically zero which makes them flat. They’re simply there as devices to move the story forward to the next plot point, and that’s it! Though, I do like Alina’s moment at the end of the book. She was so ornamental for the majority of Shadow and Bone that that scene was her only flash of three-dimensional character potential for me.
While the author’s writing makes Shadow and Bone an easy read, I couldn’t appreciate the very apparent lack of care for the culture that heavily inspired the book. I’m not an expert in cultures, but I think it is only polite to treat every culture with respect and if you’re going to use a lot of elements from it instead of properly making up most of it, then it should be done with care and respect. It’s fine if some words are wrong (it’d be unrealistic to be an expert in the language when you’ve not learnt it or spoken it), but the most basic thing like names should never be mistaken.
Honestly, had I read Shadow and Bone earlier, back when it was first published, maybe I would’ve liked it more. But, right now, as my present self who has grown and read amazing YA fantasies where they dive deeper into themes, respect the culture they’ve been inspired from and have incredibly human-like characters, reading Shadow and Bone has shown me that I shouldn’t wait for time to ungracefully age hyped books. Nevertheless, I know that Bardugo has grown as a writer with her newer books and I’m excited to dive into those.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death
Moderate: Gaslighting, Classism, Toxic friendship, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Body shaming, Kidnapping, Death, Murder, and Bullying
katievallin's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Medical content, Racism, Animal death, Blood, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Torture, Alcohol, Body shaming, Gun violence, Slavery, War, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Child death and Death of parent
vixenreader's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
There are a lot of familiar troupes, but there are also a lot of good subversions in the plot as well.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Death, Slavery, Child abuse, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Classism and Bullying
Minor: Torture, War, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Cursing, and Death of parent
Although the main characters are orphans, there is barely any mention of their parents, or how they died.notyourhana's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Toxic relationship, Violence, and War
Moderate: Bullying and Sexual content
lindasoderlundd's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death
Minor: Sexual content and Bullying
baileyk113's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
1.) It felt like I was speed running the entire book. Every change of scenery and situations felt very abrupt and not fully explored. For example, I was so confused when Baghra told Alina to run. Perhaps this is a reflection of Alina’s life: never constant and always changing. I can get that, but this just felt too abrupt.
2.) Like some plot points, I thought some characters were underdeveloped. I wish we got more insight to Genya’s life, maybe a dramatic betrayal of trust/allegiance. Her losing her servant status just felt half-assed. I also think, if there were a betrayal, it would further Alina’s complexity as a character. Anyway, I also felt Mal was so underdeveloped. Like one minute he’s a playboy and the next he’s described as brooding. He gives the reader a tiny glimpse of what happened but I was just waiting for more. Also wish there was more indication that the Darkling was going to be evil—I wanted to guess and not just read dialogue from Baghra that he was evil. I guess I did connect Baghra to be his mother, but I could foresee him being evil from that.
3.) Alina’s powers are cool but I wanted them to be more badass. I was very happy when she managed to do The Cut at the end.
4.) I was expecting Alina to be more important in the last scene of the fold??? Like, she was used to create a path and then the Darkling just manipulated The Fold on his own???
5.) also, I didn’t like how long it took for the world building to happen, specifically around the explanation of the magic. Maybe I was missing it or forgetting details between my sporadic reading, but I felt like it took forever to understand all the different types of Grisha. I had to look up an article to fully understand who was in what group of Grisha and why.
Interesting story, not the best executed. Hoping the next books are a bit better.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder and Violence
Minor: Emotional abuse, Bullying, and Toxic relationship
marissasa's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
I actually enjoyed this read a lot more than I thought I would, just from my limited knowledge of what this book and series is as a YA fantasy from the early 2010s. Although I didn't get attached to any of the characters, I was still interested in Alina's storyline and felt like I could continue reading quickly and easily as the plot progressed. Maybe I'm just not into villains, but I wasn't surprised by the Darkling's actions at all and I didn't like his moments with Alina from the start just because I felt like they had no reason or buildup to liking each other. Some of the training chapters felt longer than they had to be, and it felt very YA trope-y when Alina had the vision of the stag in the last act and was able to summon her power over the Darkling's hold in the exact moment she needed it. Despite these things I still decently enjoyed the book and like it enough to continue reading the rest of the trilogy before I jump on the Six of Crows train.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Bullying, Violence, Medical content, Animal death, Body horror, Classism, Death, Genocide, War, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
wickedgrumpy's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Decidedly on the okay to meh spectrum..
The world building and magic system is interesting (if not semi-lazy with the quasi-Russian culture) but the characters are flat and one dimensional. I was waffling on whether or not to continue the series but the idea of what comes next from the main character's POV doesn't thrill me so I'll probably look up what happens instead.
It's bizarre that the main character starts out as an orphan from war (roughly 8 years old), and seems mature beyond her 17 years by the time the main story arc starts (she is an apprentice cartographer in the army), and then regresses into angsty teenager drama full of petty, juvenile, and shallow plot points because of a chosen one trope?
Lastly, the romance was bad. Both dudes are controlling and manipulative, want to possess her, don't actually care what she wants. Think of any high school romance drama and you will understand the tropes thrown in this book. There's literally a glow up/makeover scene (multiple times actually because they want to emphasize how much she's changed from the 'skinny-but-not-in-a-hot-way' person she was before).
The world building and magic system is interesting (if not semi-lazy with the quasi-Russian culture) but the characters are flat and one dimensional. I was waffling on whether or not to continue the series but the idea of what comes next from the main character's POV doesn't thrill me so I'll probably look up what happens instead.
It's bizarre that the main character starts out as an orphan from war (roughly 8 years old), and seems mature beyond her 17 years by the time the main story arc starts (she is an apprentice cartographer in the army), and then regresses into angsty teenager drama full of petty, juvenile, and shallow plot points because of a chosen one trope?
Lastly, the romance was bad. Both dudes are controlling and manipulative, want to possess her, don't actually care what she wants. Think of any high school romance drama and you will understand the tropes thrown in this book. There's literally a glow up/makeover scene (multiple times actually because they want to emphasize how much she's changed from the 'skinny-but-not-in-a-hot-way' person she was before).
Content Warnings
Minor: Body shaming, Classism, Dysphoria, Blood, Bullying, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Sexual harassment, Gaslighting, Murder, Stalking, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, War, Alcohol, Eating disorder, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Slavery, and Violence
thesecretsapphic's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Classism, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, War, Blood, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Forced institutionalization, Sexual assault, and Rape