Reviews

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

Only show reviews with written explanations

attemting_reader's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous slow-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

2.75

c_ab_bage's review against another edition

Go to review page

5.0

(4.75⭐️ rounded up)

WAHHHHH

still holds up upon a reread, goddamn. it’s only 4.75 bc ruin & rising is a 5 star and clearly the best in the series, so!!

but seriously, i forget just how compelling the darkling is as both a character and a villain. every time he’s on the page i’m pulled into the scene— i’m attempting to explode him with my mind— but i’m enthralled nonetheless.

and alina. my god, alina. HOW DO PEOPLE NOT LIKE HER??? i remember one of the biggest complaints about this book, especially in comparison to SOC, was how boring and/or unlikeable alina is. which… what??? did we read the same book?? i’m not the biggest fan of first person fantasy, and i may prefer the crows as a whole to the s&b cast, but alina is one of my favorite protagonists ever! i was annotating and literally had a tab dedicated to moments where i couldn’t help but think about how much i love alina. she is perfect to me, okay?

and malina. i have to say i’ve come around to it. i’m still very strongly team sapphic alina, but since she’s been put in her little love polygons with a bunch of men, mal is by far the best outcome. i’m actually quite fond of them the more i think about it. doesn’t mean i won’t be giggling at nikolai for the rest of the series, but that’s for me, not alina.

anyways, TOLYA, TAMAR, AND NIKOLAI, HERE I COME!!!

jenhurst's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

I had actually forgotten most of this book since the first time I read it. I actually found the book itself pretty forgettable. On reread, I hate Mal even more upon a reread. It’s literally in his name, which in French means bad, wrong, evil, sad. It’s basically impossible not to root for Alina and the Darkling. I know he’s evil, but at least he’s got some characterization and personality. The writing reads a little bit like a debut novel and a story fragment. It felt like plot points needed to be hit, and that’s what happened. It has some of the (2009-2014) tropes that I personally hate. Girl on girl hate. Alina is the plain, girl and all the pretty girls are evil. Some random beautification scene. Alina being “not like other girls”. But overall, still an enjoyable story and an enjoyable world. The grisha magic is interesting and I like how it is Russian inspired. It was better than I remember and I understand the hype.