Review: Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Edition: ebook/audiobook
Publisher: Henry Holt and co. (June 5, 2012)
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Synopsis
Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one lonely refugee.
Alina Starkov has never been good at anything. But when her regiment is attacked on the Fold and her best friend is brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power that saves his life—a power that could be the key to setting her war-ravaged country free. Wrenched from everything she knows, Alina is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling.
Yet nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. With darkness looming and an entire kingdom depending on her untamed power, Alina will have to confront the secrets of the Grisha . . . and the secrets of her heart.
My review of Shadow and Bone
I enjoyed this a lot more than I expected, to be fully honest! It’s a solid book with a setting and premise I liked and want more of. Now here are a few rambly (and spoiler-y!) thoughts about what did and didn’t work for me or what I wanted more/less of:
Plot and Pacing
Shadow and Bone is a classic fantasy adventure in its plot and structure and because that’s what I expected, I enjoyed it a lot more than I expected! I think the book’s strength lies primarily in worldbuilding, which immediately intrigued me. Ravka, the main country the story is set in, is kind of a fantastical version of Russia, a setting that I haven’t encountered as much in YA fantasy. In my opinion, Leigh Bardugo did a good job setting up the basic lore of the world necessary to follow the story and anticipate the main conflicts. I can see why the Grishaverse is so beloved, it’s an incredibly interesting world!
Speaking of Grisha, I am kind of in love with the magic system! It’s fairly simple and easy to grasp as a reader and most importantly: it felt real. Admittedly, I might be biased because I love magic that works like science and affects the real world on a molecular basis instead of being some kind of overpowered wonder.
Lastly, and this is my main point of critique for this book, the turn into act three and the change of the Darkling’s motivation (or the reveal of his true motive) felt incredibly rushed and underwritten. Everything happens ridiculously quickly after the first 2/3 of the book being kind of slow and it just didn’t work for me. I actually didn’t mind the slow start but then being hit with “oh yeah he actually is evil, go run, oh no he got me, ah I can fight him now, ok let’s sail off with my childhood friend/lover”…honestly gave me a bit of whiplash. I hope the other books in this series are more consistent in their pacing and plot development because Shadow and Bone seemed unbalanced on that front.
Characters
I like Alina but I kind of wish I could’ve gotten to learn more about her as a mapmaker. Until she got her Grisha powers, she didn’t feel competent which added to the “oh, I’m just shy but also not like other girls” vibe she had. Give the girl some non-magical skills!
In addition to this, the love corner didn’t really do it for me. That’s both because I find most romances to be too quick but also because neither Mal nor the Darkling were complex or compelling enough for me to root for either of them in a relationship with Alina. I can see this potentially changing as the series continues, but right now I just don’t care about these men, sorry. Speaking of the Darkling, he’s cool. Classic “I’m obviously bad but also very hot”. Knowing he’s gonna be played by Ben Barnes did a lot of work for him in how I perceived his character though.
Finally, I really, really wish that there were more other women besides Alina and that the women that did exist were portrayed better. Genya is really the only other female character we get to know and even she isn’t particularly fleshed out (maybe this is just me being mad because I like her and want more). But Marie and Nadia were walking sexist stereotypes of shallow mean girls. Come on, we can have a female main character who’s strong without her “not like other girls” vibe having to degrade classic forms of femininity! We didn’t get to see Nadia or Marie do magic once if I’m not mistaken. Sorry, but that just didn’t sit right with me.
Overall, I was pleasantly surprised and will continue reading the series because I’m intrigued to see how it continues. Additionally, I feel like this book is very much a set-up for the rest of the trilogy, which explains some of the plot and pacing related shortcomings.
This book is for you if…
…you enjoy classic YA fantasy with a unique setting, solid worldbuilding and fun magic.
…you are willing to overlook some of the pacing issues
You might also enjoy: my review of The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi
2 Comments
Olivia-Savannah
It has been years since I have read this book because I read it as a teen. I remember liking it a lot and finding the setting grounded and all. I liked Alina but didn’t love her, but fell hard for the darkling. His character becomes more developed over the course of the series. I did find Mal quite underdeveloped all the way through though.
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