A review by dariasunread
Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This book was a roller coaster of emotions, and I really liked it. I didn't expect that this book would be as good as it is. I absolutely love that wounded girl Genya and completely her struggle being a pawn to both the royal court as the Darkling. As far as Alina herself, I thought she was a fine main character, she wasn't my favorite, but she was one that made sense for the story. The one thing that I didn't really get was the romance that tried to pose as a love triangle when it was pretty clear she wanted to be with her best friend only. It clearly showed the relationship between Alina and the darling as a sign of manipulation from him, especially when Genya and his mother had told her to be careful around him. The relationship between Mal and Alina seems bland, mainly because there isn't really a lot of information of why they would be friends besides childhood; it made sense that they would be together. I loved the world-building within the story it was pretty compelling and easy to understand. The one thing that I didn't really get the mention of Zoya. It just looked like Leigh Bardugo just used her as a plot device for both Mal and Alina to forward the plot. Overall, this was a pretty good start to the series.
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