REVIEW; Shadow and Bone
1:50 pm
“The problem with wanting," he whispered, his mouth trailing along my jaw until it hovered over my lips, "is that it makes us weak.”
 Shadow and Bone - Leigh BardugoPublish Date: 5 June 2012 Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. Genres: Fantasy, Magic, Romance, Young Adult Pages: 358 Format: Paperback Goodreads // BookDepository 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. |
WARNING: Spoilers!
Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo is the first in a trilogy known as Grisha. For a long while I've been eager to read this novel and I think because of that anticipation I was let down.
At the novel's beginning, we are introduced to Mal and Alina, two best friends and war orphans at an orphanage in the stories setting, Ravka. Both the prologue and epilogue are written in third person, but for the entirety of the book the point of view is switched to just Alina's, in first person. Taking away the fact that I adore third person a tremendous amount more than first, I felt as though Bardugo should have kept writing in third. The prologue did feel distant, which is what the author was aiming for, but was lyrical and complex in a way that was almost poetic and i really wished she'd kept the rest of the book that way. Don't get me wrong, Alina's POV was very smooth and easy to read, but at times it felt basic and I missed that third person writing style Bardugo introduced us with, especially with the depth of the story and the emotions Alina felt, I believe it would have been better portrayed in third.
As the story progressed, the world they live in and the Grisha were explained, but not enough - though i gather because it is a trilogy a lot more information will be given in the next two instalments. Regardless of this, I still don't completely understand what each Grisha does and how their world functions, which made me feel as though I was missing something. The plot was very basic and if not for the Russian elements, the setting would have been too dull and distant in Alina's descriptions for it to be of any real interest or uniqueness that it has been praised for. I would have liked more fleshed out world building and greater complexity of plot, especially because I've read reviews where they fawn over the plot twists and turns, but I was disappointed when I picked most of them from a mile away!
Character development was minimal. Alina felt distant and annoying as a protagonist, her moping and ignorance of her power was justified, but because the novel lingered and dwelled on it so much, it became irritating and boring to continuously read about. The Darkling, the antagonist of the novel, was the most entertaining character. I found myself drawn to him and longing for his return the second his name left the page. I don't completely understand why he is the antagonist of the story though, from what i gathered, the Grisha are not accepted and are the 'witches' of the world, yet Alina can't understand why the Darkling essentially wants to liberate them from that status. She is a Grisha now, so she too is at a disadvantage. The only real 'evil' thing he does is demonstrate his power by destruction and death, yet isn't that what the other countries did to their Grisha? Not sure this part was explained properly, because I feel like I'm taking his side for a wrong reason, yet I'm not certain there is a wrong reason???
The friendship between Mal and Alina was a highlight of the book for me, they depended on each other and i liked how they took one another for granted, only realising how much they need/care for one another when they were apart. Alina pushing her power down within her to stay with Mal when they were kids really proved just how much she needed him and that's something I'm very fond of in books. The only thing I don't like about the friendship is that Alina wanted it to be something more, and with the way Bardugo was describing Mal in the beginning of the novel, I don't quite feel like he does love her back the same way (even though its clear from his dialogue later on) A best-friend dynamic would have been better.
There is a love triangle *shudders* between Mal and the Darkling. Personally, I think neither suited Alina, but that may be because I felt Alina wasn't anywhere near the character Bardugo was trying to portray her as. Yet. She was distant, moody and an irritating voice to have to read, but towards the end of the novel she became stronger, fiercer, and I finally began to connect with her. I could see what the two were pining over, but it wasn't completely there. The Darkling, I feel, wanted Alina to be someone she was not and showed that he loved her for her power from before we were supposed to know it. Mal, on the other hand, loved Alina as a friend, realised he couldn't live without that friendship and thought that mourning for her was what love was supposed to feel like. Don't get me wrong, I adore Mal, his charm, his ability to do almost anything and yet remain humble and treat others as equal, but like I said before - he's not in love with/the right person for Alina. So, in summary, the love triangle as a romance part of the novel, was pointless. The pull Alina felt to the Darkling, though, that "Like calls to like" motif that Bardugo has used, is brilliant and I love it. Especially how there are these constant themes of good vs evil, represented through the darkness of the Darkling and the light of Alina, the sun summoner, its very clever that Bardugo is beginning to explore the good within the bad and not keep it strictly: Alina is the sun, she is good, the Darkling is the dark, he is evil - and I hope she fleshes out that concept more in the next book. Also, the idea of the Shadow Fold, a living, breathing darkness, is awesome. I like how she played on the idea of darkness being the place of monsters, making it not just a concept but a living thing (it reminds me of a dementor being a manifestation of depression).
So, in conclusion, I didn't love, yet didn't loathe this book. A lot was left unsaid and incomplete and I'm crossing my fingers that it will be explained in the next instalments of the series. I'm rooting for more detail, a more in depth plot and character arcs, but mostly I'm rooting for the Darkling (oops).
Well thought out, Bardugo, Russian mythology is under-represented in the world of books but I feel as though it hasn't been given enough justice. There's still time, however, and I'm looking forward to Siege and Storm..
★★★☆☆ - (3.5 Stars)
P.S - That MAP! How Gorgeous!!
Love, Natalia
xx
Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo is the first in a trilogy known as Grisha. For a long while I've been eager to read this novel and I think because of that anticipation I was let down.
At the novel's beginning, we are introduced to Mal and Alina, two best friends and war orphans at an orphanage in the stories setting, Ravka. Both the prologue and epilogue are written in third person, but for the entirety of the book the point of view is switched to just Alina's, in first person. Taking away the fact that I adore third person a tremendous amount more than first, I felt as though Bardugo should have kept writing in third. The prologue did feel distant, which is what the author was aiming for, but was lyrical and complex in a way that was almost poetic and i really wished she'd kept the rest of the book that way. Don't get me wrong, Alina's POV was very smooth and easy to read, but at times it felt basic and I missed that third person writing style Bardugo introduced us with, especially with the depth of the story and the emotions Alina felt, I believe it would have been better portrayed in third.
As the story progressed, the world they live in and the Grisha were explained, but not enough - though i gather because it is a trilogy a lot more information will be given in the next two instalments. Regardless of this, I still don't completely understand what each Grisha does and how their world functions, which made me feel as though I was missing something. The plot was very basic and if not for the Russian elements, the setting would have been too dull and distant in Alina's descriptions for it to be of any real interest or uniqueness that it has been praised for. I would have liked more fleshed out world building and greater complexity of plot, especially because I've read reviews where they fawn over the plot twists and turns, but I was disappointed when I picked most of them from a mile away!
Character development was minimal. Alina felt distant and annoying as a protagonist, her moping and ignorance of her power was justified, but because the novel lingered and dwelled on it so much, it became irritating and boring to continuously read about. The Darkling, the antagonist of the novel, was the most entertaining character. I found myself drawn to him and longing for his return the second his name left the page. I don't completely understand why he is the antagonist of the story though, from what i gathered, the Grisha are not accepted and are the 'witches' of the world, yet Alina can't understand why the Darkling essentially wants to liberate them from that status. She is a Grisha now, so she too is at a disadvantage. The only real 'evil' thing he does is demonstrate his power by destruction and death, yet isn't that what the other countries did to their Grisha? Not sure this part was explained properly, because I feel like I'm taking his side for a wrong reason, yet I'm not certain there is a wrong reason???
The friendship between Mal and Alina was a highlight of the book for me, they depended on each other and i liked how they took one another for granted, only realising how much they need/care for one another when they were apart. Alina pushing her power down within her to stay with Mal when they were kids really proved just how much she needed him and that's something I'm very fond of in books. The only thing I don't like about the friendship is that Alina wanted it to be something more, and with the way Bardugo was describing Mal in the beginning of the novel, I don't quite feel like he does love her back the same way (even though its clear from his dialogue later on) A best-friend dynamic would have been better.
There is a love triangle *shudders* between Mal and the Darkling. Personally, I think neither suited Alina, but that may be because I felt Alina wasn't anywhere near the character Bardugo was trying to portray her as. Yet. She was distant, moody and an irritating voice to have to read, but towards the end of the novel she became stronger, fiercer, and I finally began to connect with her. I could see what the two were pining over, but it wasn't completely there. The Darkling, I feel, wanted Alina to be someone she was not and showed that he loved her for her power from before we were supposed to know it. Mal, on the other hand, loved Alina as a friend, realised he couldn't live without that friendship and thought that mourning for her was what love was supposed to feel like. Don't get me wrong, I adore Mal, his charm, his ability to do almost anything and yet remain humble and treat others as equal, but like I said before - he's not in love with/the right person for Alina. So, in summary, the love triangle as a romance part of the novel, was pointless. The pull Alina felt to the Darkling, though, that "Like calls to like" motif that Bardugo has used, is brilliant and I love it. Especially how there are these constant themes of good vs evil, represented through the darkness of the Darkling and the light of Alina, the sun summoner, its very clever that Bardugo is beginning to explore the good within the bad and not keep it strictly: Alina is the sun, she is good, the Darkling is the dark, he is evil - and I hope she fleshes out that concept more in the next book. Also, the idea of the Shadow Fold, a living, breathing darkness, is awesome. I like how she played on the idea of darkness being the place of monsters, making it not just a concept but a living thing (it reminds me of a dementor being a manifestation of depression).
So, in conclusion, I didn't love, yet didn't loathe this book. A lot was left unsaid and incomplete and I'm crossing my fingers that it will be explained in the next instalments of the series. I'm rooting for more detail, a more in depth plot and character arcs, but mostly I'm rooting for the Darkling (oops).
Well thought out, Bardugo, Russian mythology is under-represented in the world of books but I feel as though it hasn't been given enough justice. There's still time, however, and I'm looking forward to Siege and Storm..
★★★☆☆ - (3.5 Stars)
P.S - That MAP! How Gorgeous!!
Love, Natalia
xx
0 comments