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A review by isabelthearcher
Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
4.0
*4.5 stars
I really enjoyed this book, the characters are all well developed as well as an interesting plot. It had the perfect balance which made it a breeze to get through. I found that I liked the Darkling much less than in the show. Ben Barnes did an excellent job of humanising the character for the TV series. However, in the books this furthers the theme of loneliness around the Darkling. I am a Malina shipper, the only reason Mal seemed to be a jerk was because he cares so much about Alina and doesn’t want to see her get hurt. Another strong point of the book was that even side characters were interesting and important to the story. I am especially seeing that after having read the second book where characters such as Zoya, Ruby, David and Fedynor are becoming more prominent. Leigh Bardugo is an incredible world builder, Ravka, Fjerda and Shu Han feel like real places. This is helped by the first person perspective but also how vibrant these places are on the page. I’m really excited to read the whole of the Grishaverse now!
I really enjoyed this book, the characters are all well developed as well as an interesting plot. It had the perfect balance which made it a breeze to get through. I found that I liked the Darkling much less than in the show. Ben Barnes did an excellent job of humanising the character for the TV series. However, in the books this furthers the theme of loneliness around the Darkling. I am a Malina shipper, the only reason Mal seemed to be a jerk was because he cares so much about Alina and doesn’t want to see her get hurt. Another strong point of the book was that even side characters were interesting and important to the story. I am especially seeing that after having read the second book where characters such as Zoya, Ruby, David and Fedynor are becoming more prominent. Leigh Bardugo is an incredible world builder, Ravka, Fjerda and Shu Han feel like real places. This is helped by the first person perspective but also how vibrant these places are on the page. I’m really excited to read the whole of the Grishaverse now!