Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

 

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
Publisher: Henry Holt & Co
Release Date: June 5, 2012

Summary Blurb (GR):
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 Thoughts:
I absolutely, totally, and completely loved this book!  It was everything I want in a Fantasy novel and more.

I will start with the characters.  They were in one word amazing.  I really felt what Alina struggled with and I really rooted for her.  Mal was great too, I loved his scenes at the end.  The Darkling, which by the way I love that word, was one of my favorites.  I know there are reasons why he shouldn't be and I am totally Team Mal, but yeah there is just something about him that kept me glued to the pages creepiness and all.  I never knew who was on her side and I am still not convinced that her friends were really her friends, but I guess I will have to wait and find out the truth.
The story was so intriguing.  I thought the author really hit a home run with the storyline and I would love a prequel to see exactly what happened all those years ago when the Fold was created.  The Fold is one of the scariest places I have ever read about.  Imagine being blind and then feeling the claws of a monster.  Yeah scary!  I also had no problem envisioning the setting.  I usually have a hard time with this in fantasy books but this was so well written that I could picture every place.  I loved the idea of Grisha!  What a unique idea.  Fantasy needs magic and the author did a fantastic job weaving in her own magic throughout this amazing story.  I want so much more from this world and I really hope that this series sticks around for along time. 


Overall this was a fantastic debut!  I cannot wait to get my hands on the next one!!

This copy was provided for by the publisher.  Thank you so much!
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