A review by yoursbia
Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

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

5.0

I don't usually rate books 5 stars. I'm not an extreme person, usually keeping myself in the middle. However, I don't think I could give this book a rating lower than 5.

This book was everything I needed and more. As someone coming from a long book slump and just now getting into the fantasy "populars", I feel like Shadow and Bone was the perfect book for me.

This story was SO good. So much so that I can say there wasn't a single moment while reading it that I didn't enjoy. Every page of this book kept me even more captivated by the story than the last. I read it at record speed for me.

I think the way the author writes descriptions is what drew me in the most—it's just so beautiful. Every sentence that I read made it feel as if I were really living this story myself, inside the book.

I was instantly consumed by its world and characters the moment I first laid eyes on the page. It's such a creative but simple concept, too. What if darkness was a place? The Shadow Fold is by far my favorite part of this world. The magic is great too, and I loved memorizing the different colors of kefta and associating them with the right powers. I have to say I loved the Darkling
at first, hated him at the end of the book,
and I definitely did not see the plot twist coming. But I loved it either way.

I do think Alina and some other characters could do with a bit more personality, sometimes feeling too flat. But overall, this was an amazing read, so it didn't really bother me too much. And honestly, it might be something that we get to see in the next two books, so I'm keeping an open mind. I had so much fun, and I can't wait to read the next books!
Expand filter menu Content Warnings