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A review by finding_novel_land
Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
4.0
Currently rereading this series after 5 years to prepare for the Netflix show!!
When I first read this book I immediately drew comparisons between it and Trudi Canavan's Black Magician series. Both start with an orphan who discovers she has secret magical powers, then goes to a school to learn about them, and ends up becoming embroiled in a war and is the only one who can save the world (oh wait this is Harry Potter!). The main character alsoends up getting involved with the leader in some way (less Harry Potter, depending on the fan fiction you read).
On a second reading, a lot of this still stands. It is, to an extent, a simplified version of the Black Magician Trilogy (which is, btw my favourite fantasy book of all time despite it's slow beginning, this is hardly a criticism of Bardugo, more a critique of my unimaginative book picking skills), although of course the plot does diverge into it's own and I am in no way suggesting plagiarism.
One of the reviews of the book states that it is 'magical fantasy for grownups'. I don't think the reviewer has read many fantasy novels if they think this is an adult fantasy book. It is most definitely YA.
I still devoured this book on a second reading and easily got sucked into the plot and world. The writing has a nice pace to it, although as some others have said, the world building isn't the most complex and I did get slightly annoyed at the Russian cliché terminology. Why do all the Grisha factions have to end -i? Idk, I don't know Russian.
Alina is a pretty good main character and did love Mal's love declaration. Someone fetch this lady a chaise so she can swoon . It was also really nice to remeber bits and bobs as I went along - good ol' reading nostalgia - and reflect on how I react differently to plot points now I'm 22 and not 17.
Don't think you can really class this as a review, more a mind dump of my feelings and reflections that came to me as I read it. As a reread it is quite hard to give a rating to as it will never be as fantastical as the original read when you truly knew nothing about what the pages held within.
But if you a) found this review and b) are still here, here are some similar series I would recommend for those who like this one:
- The Black Magician trilogy by Trudi Canavan (what a surprise (!))
- The Folk of the Air trilogy by Holly Black
When I first read this book I immediately drew comparisons between it and Trudi Canavan's Black Magician series. Both start with an orphan who discovers she has secret magical powers, then goes to a school to learn about them, and ends up becoming embroiled in a war and is the only one who can save the world (oh wait this is Harry Potter!). The main character also
On a second reading, a lot of this still stands. It is, to an extent, a simplified version of the Black Magician Trilogy (which is, btw my favourite fantasy book of all time despite it's slow beginning, this is hardly a criticism of Bardugo, more a critique of my unimaginative book picking skills), although of course the plot does diverge into it's own and I am in no way suggesting plagiarism.
One of the reviews of the book states that it is 'magical fantasy for grownups'. I don't think the reviewer has read many fantasy novels if they think this is an adult fantasy book. It is most definitely YA.
I still devoured this book on a second reading and easily got sucked into the plot and world. The writing has a nice pace to it, although as some others have said, the world building isn't the most complex and I did get slightly annoyed at the Russian cliché terminology. Why do all the Grisha factions have to end -i? Idk, I don't know Russian.
Alina is a pretty good main character and did love
Don't think you can really class this as a review, more a mind dump of my feelings and reflections that came to me as I read it. As a reread it is quite hard to give a rating to as it will never be as fantastical as the original read when you truly knew nothing about what the pages held within.
But if you a) found this review and b) are still here, here are some similar series I would recommend for those who like this one:
- The Black Magician trilogy by Trudi Canavan (what a surprise (!))
- The Folk of the Air trilogy by Holly Black