A review by brooketreads
Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

adventurous challenging medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I was interested in watching the show, but wanted to read the books first. I have now checked out Shadow and Bone five times from my library and have finally read it! Lol anyway onto the review.

I wanted to love Shadow and Bone. I think I hyped it up so much with the constant checking it out and never actually getting to it. It just ended up feeling OK. It was kind of slow in the beginning. Then, it picked up when Alina went to the Little Palace. I loved the time at the Little Palace and I wish we would have gotten more of getting to know the different magic groups first hand. I felt we only got told or saw very little of the other groups. I felt there were some moments of immaturity that broke Alina’s character, like trying on the queen’s dress and when Alina “practically squealed” when Genya was going to do her makeup. It just didn’t fit for me. There were a couple other things that made me irritated. The start of the fete when people were riding zebras… and then the “After” when Bardugo decided to say the girl and the boy… like why are you trying to be illusive in the last small chapter of the book? We know who they are. My biggest issue was the fact that I liked The Darkling. So the whole last - I don’t know - 60 pages or so after Baghra came to Alina, I just didn’t like. I found her and Mal walking to the north entirely boring. Going to Butter week made me so annoyed, because apparently she learned nothing from just two days prior. All this being said, I’m not quite sure if I will read the rest of the Shadow and Bone trilogy. I may just skip to Six of Crows.
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