A review by lokasreads
Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

adventurous emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.75

 From the beginning, the setting Bardugo crafts is intricate and engaging. The country of Ravka is split in two by an otherworldly break in the earth known as the Shadow Fold, a huge swath of land covered in complete darkness and seething with eerie creatures called volcra who viciously hunt any human within its boundaries. Ravkans can only trade with the rest of the world by crossing the Shadow Fold; the implications of this alone are fascinating, and the political and social climate of the country are built logically around this fact, among others. 

When Alina and her regiment enter the Shadow Fold, the scene is described terrifyingly well. I’m rarely scared by a book, but this one does it, multiple times. Even beyond the Shadow Fold, Bardugo craftily takes the reader along the highs and lows of the story, whether or not you enjoy the ride. 

Coming to this story in the reverse order - by reading the newer Six of Crows duology beforehand - was really interesting. I imagine those who read Shadow and Bone first feel similarly about reading Six of Crows after. Between the books, between the series, there are so many little details that carry over and spark interest and questions in the reader, as further testament to Bardugo’s worldbuilding. 

The huge plot twist in the middle of the book (

the Darkling actually being a villain and not just painted as one

) truly surprised me. Not in a way that feels like it came out of left field and doesn’t make any sense, but in the way that Bardugo knew the expectations the reader would have, played into them, then twisted everything the other direction. It even took a few more chapters for me to truly believe the betrayal I was reading. In hindsight, there were so many signs and bits of extremely subtle foreshadowing, which is how such a shocking twist didn’t feel as subconsciously wrong as it could have. Reading back through my annotations to write this review, seeing my ignorance, was truly painful. This book is a masterclass in knowing your audience, and using that knowledge to wound them deeply. 

As always, Bardugo’s characterization is top-notch, and the book is full of witty banter and realistic relationships between the characters. It’s hard not to love or appreciate every semi-major character based solely on how real they fell, how textured they are. That being said, I found the characterization of the main character, Alina, disappointingly flat. In my opinion, it can be very difficult to develop characters from a first-person perspective; especially coming to this story from Six of Crows, I think Bardugo may have struggled with this as well, though not nearly as much as other authors/books with similar issues.