Mini Review: Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

Ths continues my mini-reviews of fantasy books. Y'all this one was superb. Fantastic world building, amazing characters, and a twist that surprised me. Check it:


Courtesy of Goodreads

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.

Leigh Bardugo makes her YA debut with a bang! In a world broken by darkness, and broken into castes based on special abilities, Bardugo offers a fresh take on a world full of magic. Set in the world of Ravka, our heroine Alina has been keeping a secret her whole life in order to stay with the only family she's ever known. When that secret is revealed she is thrust into the world of the magic-weilding Grisha, a societal structure far outside her norm, and under the watchful eye of the head Grisha. When mysteries come to light Alina is forced to make extreme choices. Choices that could end up killing the one she loves the most.

Shadow and Bone will leave you both satisfied, and wanting more.