Scan barcode
A review by literallyilliterate
Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
3.0
*sigh*
where do i even begin?
i was SO FREAKING EXCITED to read this book. i had heard so many good things about the grishaverse, particularly the six of crows series, plus the shadow and bone tv show came out recently, so i had incredibly high expectations. unfortunately, this did not live up to the hype whatsoever.
this book was honestly just MEH. the writing was meh, the characters were meh, the world was meh, etc. this lead me into a bit of a reading slump and caused me to take nearly 20 DAYS to read this book.
i found the worldbuilding to be sort of vague. i still don't really understand how the grisha works and the different types of them and whatnot.
also the characters weren't very good. you have alina, who was incredibly frustrating at times, and who made some decisions that just made me go, "are you kidding me?" out loud at multiple points in the story. you also have mal, alina's main love interest, who was super douchey in the beginning, and then he just suddenly was in love with alina. their romance wasn't the best, and the chemistry often felt forced at times.
alina's second love interest, the darkling, wasn't any better. although he was a fascinating character, he was a horrible person. you could tell he only wanted alina for her power, and that he was just seducing her to make her become attached and loyal to him, which is awful.
the darkling also confused me SO MUCH. i could never tell if he was supposed to be a good character or a villain, until the point in the story where baghra (his mother) told alina about his true motivations.
the only character i liked in the story was genya. all the others were just meh.
anyway, the plot. there were only really three interesting parts in the story, in my opinion.
1. when alina nearly got run over by the darkling's carriage in the beginning.
2. alina getting acquainted with the grisha lifestyle and training at the palace.
3. just anything the darkling did in general. although he's a terrible person, he still intrigued me a lot.
i honestly just wanted more of the fold. you only got to see it at the beginning and end of the book, nothing more.
there were also many things that frustrated me or just didn't make sense in general. for one thing, i didn't understand how after the darkling obviously had complete control over alina using the stag, she just SUDDENLY happens to realize she can control her own actions? but then she bases her actions on what the darkling taught her??? man that was so weird.
also the ENDING. WHEN SHE LEFT EVERYONE ON THE SKIFF TO DIE JUST SO SHE COULD SAVE MAL. DAMN ALINA THAT WAS SO ANNOYING.
anyway, i have a lot of opinions on this book most of which are bad. it honestly doesn't deserve 3 stars, but i'm feeling generous today, so...
i am going to continue reading the trilogy bc i would like to read six of crows as well. and i also have an interest in watching the show since that may give me a little more respect for the book. all in all however, this does NOT deserve the hype. at all.
where do i even begin?
i was SO FREAKING EXCITED to read this book. i had heard so many good things about the grishaverse, particularly the six of crows series, plus the shadow and bone tv show came out recently, so i had incredibly high expectations. unfortunately, this did not live up to the hype whatsoever.
this book was honestly just MEH. the writing was meh, the characters were meh, the world was meh, etc. this lead me into a bit of a reading slump and caused me to take nearly 20 DAYS to read this book.
i found the worldbuilding to be sort of vague. i still don't really understand how the grisha works and the different types of them and whatnot.
also the characters weren't very good. you have alina, who was incredibly frustrating at times, and who made some decisions that just made me go, "are you kidding me?" out loud at multiple points in the story. you also have mal, alina's main love interest, who was super douchey in the beginning, and then he just suddenly was in love with alina. their romance wasn't the best, and the chemistry often felt forced at times.
alina's second love interest, the darkling, wasn't any better. although he was a fascinating character, he was a horrible person. you could tell he only wanted alina for her power, and that he was just seducing her to make her become attached and loyal to him, which is awful.
the darkling also confused me SO MUCH. i could never tell if he was supposed to be a good character or a villain, until the point in the story where baghra (his mother) told alina about his true motivations.
the only character i liked in the story was genya. all the others were just meh.
anyway, the plot. there were only really three interesting parts in the story, in my opinion.
1. when alina nearly got run over by the darkling's carriage in the beginning.
2. alina getting acquainted with the grisha lifestyle and training at the palace.
3. just anything the darkling did in general. although he's a terrible person, he still intrigued me a lot.
i honestly just wanted more of the fold. you only got to see it at the beginning and end of the book, nothing more.
there were also many things that frustrated me or just didn't make sense in general. for one thing, i didn't understand how after the darkling obviously had complete control over alina using the stag, she just SUDDENLY happens to realize she can control her own actions? but then she bases her actions on what the darkling taught her??? man that was so weird.
also the ENDING. WHEN SHE LEFT EVERYONE ON THE SKIFF TO DIE JUST SO SHE COULD SAVE MAL. DAMN ALINA THAT WAS SO ANNOYING.
anyway, i have a lot of opinions on this book most of which are bad. it honestly doesn't deserve 3 stars, but i'm feeling generous today, so...
i am going to continue reading the trilogy bc i would like to read six of crows as well. and i also have an interest in watching the show since that may give me a little more respect for the book. all in all however, this does NOT deserve the hype. at all.