Book Review – Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

Hey book lovers! I’m here with a book review for Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo. After loving Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom I decided to read Bardugo’s debut novel during The Reading Rush read-a-thon. This is the first book of the Grisha trilogy.

About The Book 📚

Publication Date: June 2017 (first published 2012

Publisher: Square Fish

Suggested Reader Age: 13+

Genre: YA Fantasy, Romance

Goodreads Link

My Review

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The Grisha are soldiers of the Second Army and Masters of the Small Science. Born with unique talents, Grisha are separated into three groups:
• Corporalki, The Order of the Living and the Dead. Their powers affect the human body. Heartrenders can damage internal organs and Healers can heal wounds.
• Etherealki, The Order of Summoners. Squallers control air, Inferni control fire, Tidemakers control water.
• Materialki, The Order of Fabrikators. Durasts can control molecules and can manipulate any material, Alkemi are experts with poison and explosives.

Alina and Mal are orphans who grew up together at an orphanage and home for war widows run by a war hero, the Duke. Grisha examiners had come to test the children to see if they had abilities, but Alina’s talent remained undetected.

Alina has always been a nervous girl who worries constantly. She’s now a junior cartographer’s assistant. Her best friend, Mal, has grown into a handsome, easy-going, talented tracker. They are traveling with the army to The Shadow Fold – AKA “the unsea”.

“A swath of nearly impenetrable darkness that grew with every passing year and crawled with horrors.”

Their group is led by The Darkling, who commands the Grisha. The Shadow Fold is said to be created by the Darkling’s Great-Great-Great-Grandfather hundreds of years ago.

Alina and Mal want to see the True Sea. Here, Mal would hunt creatures only found past The Shadow Fold, and Alina would stay in Os Kervo to finish cartographer training.

The army is attacked while crossing through The Shadow Fold, Alina’s power is awakened as she tries to save Mal, and it’s revealed she is the Sun Summoner. Knowing their enemies will try to kill Alina once they hear of her power, The Darkling sends her with his best Grisha to the Ravka palace.

“The Fjerdans burn us as witches, and the Kerch sell us as slaves. The Shu Han carve us up seeking the source of our power.”

› Likes 😻
• Alina and Mal’s friendship. They always have each other’s back, no matter what.
• I love the parts where Alina is training and learning at the Grisha grounds. Reminded me of Divergent and Harry Potter.
• My favourite characters are Alina, Mal, and another Grisha named Genya.
• Bardugo’s writing is perfection.
• The Darkling is my fav kind of villain – morally gray. At times I found myself rooting for him. He’s just so charismatic.
• Alina traveling through the woods felt like Frodo on his journey to destroy the ring. Wilderness + being chased by enemies = exciting, fast-paced plot.

› Shadow and Bone highlights the power/wealth relationship but in a unique way. Typically wealth gives power, but in the Grisha world, the most powerful Grisha are the wealthiest. This is a story about light versus dark, good vs evil, and proves that one of the best ways to change your life is to accept who you are.

› Final Thoughts
• Shadow and Bone is a fast-paced fantasy with magic, monsters, adventure, friendship, betrayal, and love. Highly recommend this to readers thirteen and up. I can’t wait to read the next book of the trilogy, Seige and Storm.

About The Author

“Leigh Bardugo is a #1 New York Times bestselling author of fantasy novels and the creator of the Grishaverse. With over three million copies sold, her Grishaverse spans the Shadow and Bone Trilogy, the Six of Crows Duology, The Language of Thorns, and King of Scars—with more to come. (To hear about new releases, tour dates, and giveaways first, sign up for Leigh’s newsletter here.) Her short stories can be found in multiple anthologies, including The Best of Tor.com and the Best American Science Fiction & Fantasy. Her other works include Wonder Woman: Warbringer and the forthcoming Ninth House. Leigh was born in Jerusalem, grew up in Southern California, graduated from Yale University, and has worked in advertising, journalism, and even makeup and special effects. These days she lives and writes in Los Angeles.”

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4575289.Leigh_Bardugo

https://www.leighbardugo.com/