Shadow and Bone
Those two words sound so tantalizing together. Maybe that’s
the real reason I decided to pick this book up. Or maybe, it was all the dazzling
reviews that have been circling the web and whispered in bookstores. Whatever
the reason, I was glad that I did.
Alina Starkov: Orphan, best friend, Grisha?
When Alina’s army regiment enters the Shadow Fold, (a slash of darkness
so scary merchant name it the “Unsea” to encourage travel through it) she is
sure they will all be torn apart by the vicious monsters inhabiting it, which
isn’t far from true. When their sandskiff is attacked, her crush and best
friend, Mal, is brutally injured, and in her panic for him, she unleashes a
power buried deep within her.
That’s when everything changes. Darklings, Grisha, Royal palaces. Alina
is whisked away to become a member of the “magical” elite that train and serve the mysterious, yet handsome, Darkling. With
his sexy ways, he convinces Alina that she is the key to destroying the Fold
and restoring peace to Ravka. Between training and trying to fit in, Alina
struggles to find who she is and become who she is really meant to be in a
world filled with magic and beauty. Not to mention her growing attraction to
the Darkling.
But what about Mal?
And what does Alina do, when she learns a dangerous secret that
threatens to destroy their world?
Alina
It isn’t easy to develop a three dimensional character, so
when you read about one, it sorta takes your breath away. She seemed very
realistic, especially when she showed a full range of emotion. Jealousy, fear,
feelings of not being good enough, trying to belong. It got even better when
those emotions conflicted and added to each other throughout the book. I also
enjoyed her character growth. She seems somewhat cowardly in the beginning,
like a Mary Sue, but as her journey throughout the book goes on, she transforms
herself, into something else, not quite the perfect hero, but something new. I’m
excited to see her growth in Siege and
Storm.
The Darkling
I’m still not entirely sure what to think about him. He’s
strong, he’s power and he’s handsome. It’s like the trifecta of drool worthy
book guys. But at the same time, he seems to be the book’s possible antagonist –
with a soul. He alone makes this book worth the read.
Mal
Mal is the guy we all know. The guy we fall in love with
when we’re little and hope that he will notice us. He’s also Alina’s best friend
and only real family. The guy who will always come through for Alina. Always. He
really strung my heart chords through the last half of this book. I’m
interested to see where he his role in this book will take him.
So will it be the Darkling or Mal?
I have to keep
reading. For those of you who hate love triangles, this book DOESN’T read like
one. Believe me, I’m usually the first to put one of those books down. They
drive me crazy. You’ll experience very little wishy washy behavior from Alina.
I also really liked Botkin, and his use of talking about
himself in third person. Gets me every time.
The Beauty:
I found myself swept into an entirely different land, one of fantastical
sciences, greedy men, magical animals, and a culture so real and lifelike, I
had a hard time believing there was no Ravka. This was also mostly due to the fact that
Bardugo chose to immerse the reader into her wildly imaginative world headfirst,
giving us a chance to really see things through Alina’s eyes.
I really also liked the use of foreshadowing throughout Shadow and Bone. It was very subtle and
at times, I found myself actually surprised.
Bardugo’s prose read like poetry. Her metaphors slid across
my brain like butter.
“The world was this step, this circle of lamplight, the two of us
suspended in the dark.”
The Tragedy: There
really wasn’t much I disliked about this book. There are a few portions of the
book, I felt could have been set up better.
There’s also the use of Russian throughout the book. Now, let
me just say, I am semi-fluent in the language, which I think is important to
mention with what I am about to say next. It only bothered me in some places.
The Russian phrases, words, and culture added into the book were added into the
culture of the book. There were a few times when I cocked my head and said, “huh?”
when I read a particular part. That being said, it mostly doesn’t matter.
Bardugo never said that Ravka is Russia. So if she uses Russian culture or
language slightly different for her world, then it’s just what those things
mean in her world.
In my opinion, this book provided a great read.
Now I’m off to pick up Seige
and Storm!
Paka (bye),
