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A review by rlisaacs
Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
4.0
This was a great first book to a series. I love the world building, the concept of Grisha, and I do love Alina, even if there were times when I wanted to give her a little smack upside the head and be like, "You idiot, get your crap together and think about this."
I also really liked Mal, though we honestly saw little of him in this book in my opinion. What I saw I liked, but I've also read reviews talking about the other two books and I'm nervous of my opinion changing. But right now, as of the end of Book 1, I do like him. (I don't really understand how you could not like him in this book. I mean) He has one particular word he says while they're alone together in the mountains, just after he's first found her and led her to some relative safety. Alina's thanking him, and he just says in response, "Always". And if at least that remains true for the next two books, then I'll still love Mal.
The Darkling... not gonna lie, aside from him being handsome and mysterious... I didn't really see the appeal to him that I'm assuming all the other Grisha and even Alina see in this book. (Well, prior to him... you know.) He just didn't actually express enough of himself for me to feel like forming a solid opinion. Again, just for myself. I think I understand that his being an amplifier, being the Darkling, and having his power and position like all somehow make him magically appealing to the others. Anyway, soon as his other side was shown, I found him easy to hate.
And I did like Alina. I really did. But she is definitely your typical female heroine in a YA book. She's different from everyone else (though let's face it, to be the main character in a fantasy book, there typically has to be something about you that's different from everyone else). She's not very pretty in her own opinion, but fix her up a little and she's stunning. (Granted, we learn the cause of the circles under her eyes a little ways in and I liked that this was the cause of that being why she was always tired, not hungry, etc. But still.) She's practically the only one who doesn't talk behind people's backs. She struggles for a bit with what she is, but then suddenly figures some things out and her powers kind of fall into place and become easier to learn about.
I still love her, even in the moments where I disagreed with something she did. (For example, I loved how she remembered why it was that no one realized she was Grisha prior to the incident on the skiff. I love where her heart was at, even as a child, when she managed to do that.) So I do love her character... but yeah, the base elements that typically make up your YA heroine are definitely still there and evident. (Nothing particularly wrong with that, just something I felt should be pointed out.)
I loved this book though. I didn't want to put it down, because I kept wanting to know what was going to happen next. Even when she was just in the Little Palace and everything seemed fine, I wanted to keep reading to see where Alina would go next, what new thing would she learn, or when was the Darkling going to come back and throw us another little curve.
Four solid stars. Can't wait to start the next one.
I also really liked Mal, though we honestly saw little of him in this book in my opinion. What I saw I liked, but I've also read reviews talking about the other two books and I'm nervous of my opinion changing. But right now, as of the end of Book 1, I do like him. (I don't really understand how you could not like him in this book. I mean
Spoiler
as soon as he figures out Alina ditched the Darkling, he deserts the army and his regiment to take off into the freezing mountains to go and find her. And his intention was always to help her with whatever she was trying to do by leaving, regardless of what that might've been. Well, he might've been pissed if she'd actually just been leaving the Darkling because of some lover's quarrel, but I think he still would've helped her anyway.The Darkling... not gonna lie, aside from him being handsome and mysterious... I didn't really see the appeal to him that I'm assuming all the other Grisha and even Alina see in this book. (Well, prior to him... you know.) He just didn't actually express enough of himself for me to feel like forming a solid opinion. Again, just for myself. I think I understand that his being an amplifier, being the Darkling, and having his power and position like all somehow make him magically appealing to the others.
Spoiler
Every time he touches Alina, she talks about feeling a call or a surety or something, and I'm certain this is referring to his power or his ability as an amplifier. And I'm sure that likely has some bearing on why she and everyone else finds him so appealing at first. Didn't work for me... but I'm not Grisha! LOLAnd I did like Alina. I really did. But she is definitely your typical female heroine in a YA book. She's different from everyone else (though let's face it, to be the main character in a fantasy book, there typically has to be something about you that's different from everyone else). She's not very pretty in her own opinion, but fix her up a little and she's stunning. (Granted, we learn the cause of the circles under her eyes a little ways in and I liked that this was the cause of that being why she was always tired, not hungry, etc. But still.) She's practically the only one who doesn't talk behind people's backs. She struggles for a bit with what she is, but then suddenly figures some things out and her powers kind of fall into place and become easier to learn about.
I still love her, even in the moments where I disagreed with something she did. (For example, I loved how she remembered why it was that no one realized she was Grisha prior to the incident on the skiff. I love where her heart was at, even as a child, when she managed to do that.) So I do love her character... but yeah, the base elements that typically make up your YA heroine are definitely still there and evident. (Nothing particularly wrong with that, just something I felt should be pointed out.)
I loved this book though. I didn't want to put it down, because I kept wanting to know what was going to happen next. Even when she was just in the Little Palace and everything seemed fine, I wanted to keep reading to see where Alina would go next, what new thing would she learn, or when was the Darkling going to come back and throw us another little curve.
Four solid stars. Can't wait to start the next one.