Reviews with content warning for Medical content - Shadow and Bone

Reviews tagging 'Medical content'

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

5 reviews

katievallin's review against another edition

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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

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marissasa's review against another edition

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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.

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readwithde's review

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adventurous emotional inspiring 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? No

4.0

Ravka. A country torn in half by darkness, the Fold -- a thick wall of night full of death and monsters -- with most of its people cut off from the sea, from imports and goods needed to survive, and from weapons to defend from their enemies. To the north, Fjerda, which views the Grishas as witches to be burned; to the south, Shu Han, where Grisha are experiments to study. Across the Fold, west Ravka has become New Ravka, and has begun to pull away from the "old country" in order to fend for themselves.

In the midst of war, politics, and chaos, Alina rises to power as the first known Sun Summoner, a bringer of light that can allow many to be able to cross the Fold, or perhaps destroy it all-together.

While the book reminded me of many YA series (Hunger Games particularly), it felt fresh and distinct in telling this similar story. The war and politics reminded me of Firefly and Serenity, especially the volcra as surrogate reavers. Despite the fact that the story seemed familiar, I was hooked and delighted all the way through, and genuinely surprised by some of the events that happened.

My one biggest complaint is the lack of chemistry and romantic tension between Alina and most other characters.

It is easier to understand her love for Mal given their strong bond and history, but the story between Alina and The Darkling came out of nowhere and ended just as abruptly; it is never fully explained or addressed, and while it could have been his attempt to manipulate her, we're given very little knowledge as to why it may work. They don't flirt, they barely talk, and no reason is developed for her to like him at all or even see him as a possible relationship. It just came across as very odd to me.

Despite that blip, the worldbuilding is spectacular, the characters seem very grounded in the world, and I'm excited to jump into Siege and Storm soon.

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diem's review against another edition

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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

3.75

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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rayne_1906's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

3 hours 15 minutes - I was very much on the fence about whether to rate this 4.25 or 4.5, but I eventually elected to go with the higher of the two. This came as a surprise to myself, as I really struggled through the first 25 pages of this book, after which point I put it down for the night. I came back to it the next day, a little apprehensive and demotivated, as it hadn't really made me want to carry on reading at that point, but I am glad that I did. From that point onwards, there was rarely a dull moment. The writing was clever, in making you feel and believe exactly what the main character did, which led to some really good plot twists. Speaking of which, there were multiple times in this book where I thought, ahh yes I know where this is going, and then the story changed in front of my eyes, but in a way that made sense, no plot twists for the sake of plot twists. One downside to this book is that there is a lot of terminology, in another language, that often isn't immediately described, or wasn't at all to my recollection, and sometimes it all became a little hard to keep track of. I think this is what put me off initially, right at the beginning. However, this quickly became an amazing read, and left me many times thinking how much I loved the book while reading it.

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