A review by magicshop
Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

adventurous fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

 “Why can a Grisha possess but one amplifier? I will answer this question instead: What is infinite? The universe and the greed of men.” 

half a star for effort and
paralleling the main character's moral path with the bad guy's. that's the shit i do like
. let's do this.

you should read this series if...
  • you're looking for some easily digestible YA with equally standard fare characters
  • you're planning on watching the upcoming tv series and want more context
  • and, of course, you're simply interested in the grishaverse after reading bardugo's later work

the good:
  • genya
  • every genya/alina moment
  • baghra
  • the writing style is simple, easy and flows off the page naturally — bardugo clearly knows how to take the reader for a ride and i read this in 2 goddamned days........ i didn't even like it that much???? 
  • i don't know whether to put the darkling in this section or not. i need a "it's complicated" section like i do for my game reviews lol
  • basically this book's greatest quality is its lack of glaring flaws. it's a YA fantasy story. it's the quintessential YA fantasy story... and that's about it
  • genya!!
  • baghra!!!!!!!!!

the bad: 
  • see above
  • but also extremely tropey shit everywhere. you will laugh, and you will cry (laughing). i haven't read any other bardugo yet, but my god this woman must have undergone a godlike transformation to be as lauded as she is or i'm about to be very disappointed
  • i heard the russian references aren't very good but i would personally know absolutely zero about that unfortunately
 
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