Reviews tagging 'Murder'

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

135 reviews

filipacmiranda's review

3.5

Shadow and Bone dumps the reader into Alina Starkov's journey as a cartographer turned Grisha. As a main character, Alina is somewhat relatable. She kept trying to find her place and belong - something everyone experiences at some point. And, even though she spent half the book sulking, I can give her a pass because she was emotionally deregulated and lost after being torn from the only person who reminded her of home. 

The reader learns things at Alina's pace and gets familiarised with Grisha orders as the story progresses. The lack of an explanation for how Ravka and the Grand/Little Palace worked made the story seem more natural and aligned with her discovery of a new reality. The fact that there's no magic system in this book (with the Small Science being the manipulation of the elements) also made the world it displays seem closer to reality. 

This was a pleasurable read with intriguing characters. After seeing how the Netflix show expanded on the original content and considering all the underlying storylines, I believe it could have benefited from other points of view. 

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1st Read (2020): 4.00 stars 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Animal death, and Violence

Moderate: Murder and Toxic relationship

Minor: Sexual assault

madalina0_0's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, War, Animal cruelty, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Violence

booklandvibes's review

adventurous mysterious fast-paced

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

4.0

The plot twist caught me off guard and I'm so mad cuz it was kinda obvious. Some parts felt rushed, like the author would throw some scenes without any background and then magically explain why they happened. All in all, it was a great way to start the year and I want to continue reading the trilogy.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Emotional abuse, Murder, Death, Blood, War, and Genocide

rdmoreland0801's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

There was a lot of things to learn about this world and magic system.  While we got some of that, I still felt like it was lacking.

So far, I like Alina and her personality.  She still has a long way to go in mastering her power.

I’m not sure how I feel about other characters yet.  I was hoping the Darkling would prove me wrong, but…

I will continue with the series, especially because I’ve heard so many things about Six of Crows.  I just hope we learn and understand more along the way.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: War and Murder

sginnaw's review

adventurous challenging 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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Violence, Genocide, Gun violence, Animal death, Classism, Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Gore, Toxic relationship, Torture, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, War, and Emotional abuse

mythicsage's review against another edition

adventurous emotional fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Sexual harassment, Violence, and Animal death

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Child death, Classism, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Gun violence, Alcohol, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Genocide, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, and Slavery

Minor: Abandonment, Cursing, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, Rape, Eating disorder, Alcoholism, Bullying, Confinement, Animal cruelty, Death of parent, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, War, and Xenophobia

eveeneman's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Animal death, and Violence

Moderate: Murder, Toxic relationship, and Gaslighting

readerorwateva's review against another edition

adventurous emotional tense 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder, Violence, and Blood

Moderate: Death of parent, War, Animal death, and Animal cruelty

Minor: Rape, Suicide, Body shaming, Sexual assault, Slavery, Child abuse, and Torture

noras_library's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad tense medium-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? It's complicated

4.5

This book made me feel more than any book has made me feel in a long time. The idea of the book is amazing and the execution is perfect. I loved the writing style.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Violence, Death, Gore, Slavery, Murder, Blood, and Animal death

Moderate: Child abuse, Sexual violence, Death of parent, Child death, and War

Minor: Sexual content

lovejasmine's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Grief, Blood, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Emotional abuse, Death, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Gore, Gun violence, Murder, and Physical abuse