Spoiler-Free Review: Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

 

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Synopsis:

    Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo is a young adult fantasy novel and the first book in the Shadow and Bone trilogy (previously The Grisha Trilogy). It is also the first book in what is now termed, The Grishaverse. It follows a young, seemingly ordinary orphan girl: Alina Starkov who discovers that she has an extraordinary and unknown power within her that could be the key to saving her country. Soon, she is taken to the Royal Court to be trained as one of the Grisha (powerful, magical beings) to serve her country. The gilded royal court masks great underlying darkness that threatens the entire kingdom and it's up to Alina to find a way to use her power to stop it.

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  Before diving into my review, please note that it is based on my opinion of the book. As you consider my thoughts, remember that you are allowed to have different feelings about this book. If you haven't read it yet, feel free to pick up a copy and form your own opinion on it. 

Content Warnings: Animal Death, Blood, Violence, Toxic relationship, Death, Emotional Abuse, Torture, Kidnapping, Gore, Grief, Death of a Parent.

Note: This book contains some sensitive topics, please proceed with caution.

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 Review:

    Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo starts off in Alina's childhood giving some backstory and context for the events to come in the book. The beginning of the book was definitely a lot of setting up for the story and because of this was quite slow-paced. I really appreciated this as I hate being thrown directly into a fantasy world and would rather be introduced to a new fantasy world and characters in a slower way so I can actually process and learn the information. The story goes at a more medium to fast pace later on, so I recommend just sticking through the beginning and things will start to get interesting!

   The characters were simultaneously intriguing and infuriating, I know many people really dislike Mal and I second that opinion (although I won't be revealing why so that I can keep this review spoiler-free). His character just really grated on me and I just found him to be very annoying throughout the story, especially as he never really tried to understand Alina or anyone else's perspective. Also, the fact that Alina and Mal were friends for YEARS and then all of a sudden he turns his back on her almost immediately after they find out that she has magical powers really angered me. 

    The Darkling is a very mysterious character and we really don't understand or know much about his backstory throughout this installment. I'm definitely not a huge enemies-to-lovers fan but I really like the Darkling's moral grayness. Alina was pretty bland and frustrating to me and she definitely fit the "not like other girls" trope which I'm pretty tired of reading about currently. I was also frustrated by her lack of knowledge about the Grisha or anything about the kingdom really, despite the fact that she had lived in Ravka her entire life.

    So many events actually occur throughout the story that it was a bit difficult to keep track of. However, at least there was never really a dull moment throughout. Reading this book in 2021, it was pretty clear to tell that Shadow and Bone was written in the early 2010s. I am aware that Shadow and Bone was really good for its time, but it just reminded me of so many other early 2010s fantasy series that I had read and loved. The story has become just another generic young adult fantasy story as it has aged which was probably why I didn't enjoy it as much as I would have had I read the book when it first released.

      Overall, I really liked some of the characters from this story including Genya who is definitely an underrated character. I found the Darkling really intriguing and Alina and Mal just irritated me the entire way through, quite frankly. The story had a slow beginning but afterward was very action-packed with an engaging plot; the arc of the characters, world, and the story come so far in just one book. However, I just really wish it hadn't constantly reminded me of other young adult fantasy reads that I read when I was younger and came out around the same time. The story has not aged very well and it just seems to have become another generic young adult fantasy novel which, while having many good qualities, could never really live up to other fantasy books I have adored because I was missing the nostalgia factor.

Rating: 3/5 stars

Author: Leigh Bardugo

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

Publisher: Macmillan Publishing