From the Bookshelf of ♥ Nothing Better Than Reading!! ♥ …

Shadow and Bone (Shadow and Bone, #1)

Leigh Bardugo

Start date: January 1, 2016

Finish date: January 31, 2016

Discussion: Book/Genre of the Month

Find A Copy At

Libraries

Group Discussions About This Book

Showing 2 of 169 topics — 1,401 comments total

Book/Genre of the Month

* The System
By A , Crazy. · 2 posts · 468 views

last updated Nov 26, 2020 11:02AM

Your books in 2023
By Miriam · 3 posts · 19 views

last updated Jan 23, 2023 11:40PM

showing 2 of 2 topics view all »

What Members Thought

Oct 22, 2017 Grace =^_^= rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, ya-fantasy, young-adult

There was crying.

So good. Looking forward to reading book two!

40 likes · Like · see review

Dec 06, 2019 Vikas rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: nbtr, part-of-box-set, owned, first-editions, hardcover, leigh-bardugo

I had heard about Six of Crows and since it was set in this universe I had to get the trilogy too which I got in Gorgeous Hardcovers. And after many months I finally started and slowly finished this tale which is set in a fictional version of Russia I suppose where the land is divided into two parts with mysterious darkness which holds various monsters and then there are mutants or powered individuals of this world who are called Grisha. This book kept on twisting and turning from one scenario t ...more

10 likes · Like · see review

Jun 14, 2021 Angela Blount rated it liked it

Shelves: ya, fantasy

3.5 Stars

A single POV telling with mid-level worldbuilding, lightly spiced with some loosely interpreted Russian vocabulary. I'm not personally familiar with the language, so I'm not among those who seemed to take offense. (If one goes in with the thought that this is some magical alternate reality, the linguistic licenses taken are perhaps less grating.)

For a first book, Bardugo's already got her writing feet under her. The prose is strong and richly descriptive, and the main character is give ...more

5 likes · Like · see review

Mar 20, 2021 S.C. rated it liked it

I decided to check out this book series because the Netflix trailer for the show looked really good. I love fantasy and I love books that have characters that I can really root for, and by that I mean: ship. I love getting so invested in a ship between characters that I can't put the book down. Even better if that book is well written and takes place in a well-thought-out fantasy world. This book was a little bit of all of those things I love but not enough of any of them. I feel like my enjoyme I decided to check out this book series because the Netflix trailer for the show looked really good. I love fantasy and I love books that have characters that I can really root for, and by that I mean: ship. I love getting so invested in a ship between characters that I can't put the book down. Even better if that book is well written and takes place in a well-thought-out fantasy world. This book was a little bit of all of those things I love but not enough of any of them. I feel like my enjoyment of this book suffered because I've been on a reading binge of books of a similar vein and they were just so much...better. These books include the latest Shadowhunters universe novel, Chain of Iron, the Cruel Prince trilogy, and Blood and Ash and it's sequel (which is a bit of a cheat as it isn't YA, it's *cough* adult adult). These novels featured female protagonists who were much more likeable and dynamic characters, all the other book characters were way more interesting, and the male lead characters were so much better it's almost laughable (when compared to Mal). And I was really invested in all of the ships in these novels. They were something to root for. Now let's get back to this book:

Alina: I honestly don't know how to feel about her. She seems to just go along with things without really ever knowing what to do or who to trust. This is understandable in the context of the story but it makes you unsure of what you, as the reader, are actually rooting for her to accomplish. Should she overthrow the incompetent King with the Darkling? Should she drop her infatuation with Mal for the Darkling (YES)? Should she betray the Darkling who she spent months building a relationship with immediately after deciding she wanted to sleep with him?

Mal: Don't even get me started. First off, I'm not a fan of unrequited love. Especially the kind where someone is pinning for someone for years and then that person suddenly reciprocates. This is very unrealistic and almost never happens. Alina should be with someone who has always seen her. Also, as soon as Mal loves her back he goes from treating her as his best friend to treating her like his possession and is crazy jealous that she might have been with the Darkling even though he's the one who probably has an STI.

The Darkling: Now here was an interesting character. The author could have done way more with him. He was the one I shipped with Alina. He is the one who has chemistry with her and doesn't want her to change. You spend the whole book shipping them and then you find out he is a monster. And without even the hope of some Zuko-type redemption since he is really just that bad. So then you feel bad for shipping something so toxic except Mal sucks so you can't help it.

The Magical World: The magical universe is interesting but what even are people's powers? Alina is light, Darkling is dark (subtle) but both can cut things in half and one can create monsters? Very logical.

I'll continue to read this series because even though I've read better, I am invested and I want to know what happens. Also, I am hoping the show is better and I want to watch it. I will continue to ship Alina and the Darkling even though it is toxic but her and Mal are a bad match.
...more

1 like · Like · see review

Oct 30, 2012 Anna rated it really liked it

Shelves: the-grisha

Worldbuilding - 3 stars. The author says the world of Ravka was inspired by Russian culture, however, there are pretty of mistakes, like incorrect name forms, and since when kvas became an alcohol beverage? Tatiana's review sums all the mistakes up nicely. But there were some things Leigh Bardugo got right - I found myself nodding when I read about banya or Butter Week. And nature. These pine forests, and birch copses, and snow plains really felt like Russian. And we had seen very little of Ravk Worldbuilding - 3 stars. The author says the world of Ravka was inspired by Russian culture, however, there are pretty of mistakes, like incorrect name forms, and since when kvas became an alcohol beverage? Tatiana's review sums all the mistakes up nicely. But there were some things Leigh Bardugo got right - I found myself nodding when I read about banya or Butter Week. And nature. These pine forests, and birch copses, and snow plains really felt like Russian. And we had seen very little of Ravka itself, a country torn apart with wars and Shadow Fold. Most of the action takes part at the Little Palace where the Grisha live and glamourous and vain King's court. Although maybe it's more of plot point, since the King was incompetent and the Grisha distant from people they were supposed to protect. The magic system wasn't original, but some points were interesting, like amplifiers.

Action - 3 stars. The start was very dynamic and interesting, but when the story got to the Little Palace, I got bored. I understand that the author had to introduce us to the settings and magic system, but still... There were a lot of girl talk, dresses and balls and very little of actual training. Then at about 2/3 of the book it takes a sudden turn, and becomes really thrilling! There is journey and action and fights at the end worth waiting to get to them.

Characters - 4 stars. Alina was difficult character at first: sometimes I wanted to cheer for her, and sometimes I wanted to whack her on the head to stop her doing stupid things. But she grew a lot during the book, and at the end she is more responsible and strong and overall better person than at the beginning. Her best friend Mal is a great character, the type of person I would like to be friends with. I'm touched by Alina and Mal's relationships, the way they clutch to each other, don't let each other go. Of course, a good book needs a good villian. There he is - cold, manipulative, ruthless, elusive, the type you love to hate. However, I felt that side characters like David and Botkin could have more depth. Baghra was great, and now I want more of her, maybe a side story about her life.

Plot - 5 stars. It was amazing! First, the very idea of Shadow Fold, a place where darkness and terror rule. I liked that the heroine was supposed to fight not a person, but a place. Then a twist came, and a new danger appeared in a from of power-hungry enemy. I just loved how Alina managed to oppose the villan: he believed only in power, and she believed in mercy, which had power of its own. Now I'm eager to get the second book - there are so many deeds to do and things to set right.

Overall rating - 3.75 stars. ...more

1 like · Like · see review