Review: Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

“I've risked my life for you. I've walked half the length of Ravka for you, and I'd do it again and again and again just to be with you, just to starve with you and freeze with you and hear you complain about hard cheese every day. So don't tell me why we don't belong together.“

 

Content:

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.

Cover:

The English cover is just so much more beautiful than any other version of this cover. You can see the “palace” which is described in the book, and I think it fits perfectly in my opinion.

My opinion:

As usual, let’s start with the writing style. I have to be honest here, it took me around 50 pages to get into this book. The first few pages were terrible to get into, and I actually wanted to put the book down, because it really annoyed me. After the first 50 pages, though (and with the first appearance of the Darkling) I started to enjoy the writing-style a little more, and it was easier to get through.

Moving on with the plot and the characters: I hate to say this, but for me the story was nothing new. There is a girl with a special ability that she first denies to have and then suddenly accepts? There is a boy, whom she knows since her childhood and loves, and who “obviously” isn’t interested in her, but suddenly he is? One person turns out to be evil, although everyone thought things are great with them? I read these things already in like 50 books, which was probably also why the “plot-twist” also didn’t come as a surprise to me then. The only which was kind of unique in this book for me was the setting. I didn’t read anything which was taking place in Russia yet, and it was great and refreshing to read. (Although I didn’t know how to pronounce the characters’ names most of the time ;) ) Nevertheless though, I did enjoy the main plot and I also enjoyed the characters. I love YA books, so I always looked forward to getting to this books again, but as I said, it was nothing new for me. There are two more books in the series; I do not know when I will read them, but eventually I will try to get to them! :)

Conclusion:

A pretty interesting setting with decent characters and a good plot; nothing too unique, but it was alright!

Rating:

3.5|5 stars

★-★-★-✬-☆