Shadow and Bone (The Shadow and Bone Trilogy, #1)

by Leigh Bardugo

THE SERVANTS CALLED them malenchki, little ghosts, because they were the smallest and the youngest, and because they haunted the Duke’s house like giggling phantoms, darting in and out of rooms, hiding in cupboards to eavesdrop, sneaking into the kitchen to steal the last of the summer peaches.

Thats a very boring opening line ngl

I snorted. That might fool some fat merchant, but it was little comfort to me.

A what merchant? damn lmao

Those friendships lasted as long as it took me to figure out that their only interest in me lay in my proximity to Mal.

Ouchhhh

Eva, another assistant; she had pretty green eyes that did little to distract from her piglike nose.

DAMN SHE JUST READS EVERYONE FOR FILTH

“I don’t know. You looked so miserable at dinner.” I was surprised he’d noticed.

Oh he likes her likes her

“Just you and me,” Mal said. “Really?” “It’s always just you and me, Alina.”

Is he finna die...? Or get seperated???

This Darkling had been commanding the Grisha since before I was born, but the man seated above me on the dais didn’t look much older than I did. He had a sharp, beautiful face,

Uh oh im sensing a love interest

Mal was alive.

For now.... Jk. maybe...

My surprise gave way to calm as that same sense of power and surety flooded through me. With one hand cupping my head, he kicked the horse into a canter. I closed my eyes and tried not to think, and soon, despite the movement of the horse, despite the terrors of the day, I fell into a troubled sleep.

<3

said the Darkling.

WE GET IT THATS HIS NAME!!! Please just use "he said"

I felt a surge of annoyance.

You and me both with all this description right now

A precaution against what?

Yo mamma

“Open. Now!” I shrugged. Let them kill me or kidnap me or whatever they wanted. As long as I didn’t have to ride a horse or climb stairs, I wouldn’t complain.

Shes honestly so real for that...

“You want to change my face?” “Not change it. Just … freshen you up a bit.”

Where do i sign up???

I TURNED AND SAW the Darkling standing in an archway,

IF SHE SAYS THE DARKLING ONE MORE TIME!!!!

The Darkling surveyed the crowd and said,

Literally the scentence after the next

“Are you going to cut me again?” I asked. “I doubt I’ll have to, but it all depends on you.”

Is Mal here?

I didn’t try to fight it. I let it have its way. Light flooded the throne room, drenching us in warmth and shattering the darkness like black glass.

Consider me shocked... She actually is learning to use her power quickly

What looked like magic was really the Grisha manipulating matter at its most fundamental levels.

The Apparat stepped back, melting into the shadows.

Very sus... Is he a ghost?? Maybe her dad or grandpa? Im starting to think no one else can see him...

It was so strange to hear the Darkling called “boy” that it took me a moment to understand her meaning.

No literally lol

“They were white deer, magical creatures that appeared only at twilight.”

The cover???

“The Grisha claims the amplifier, but the amplifier claims the Grisha, as well. Once it is done, there can be no other. Like calls to like, and the bond is made.”

At the end of the season, the King and the Queen would host a final winter fete that all the Grisha would attend. Genya claimed it would be the most lavish party of all. Every noble family and high court officer would be there, along with military heroes, foreign dignitaries, and the tsarevitch, the King’s eldest son and heir to the throne.

Military heroes you say...? Mal perhaps???

“Why would you care what I think?” He looked genuinely baffled. “I don’t know,” he said. “But I do.” And then he kissed me.

WHAT HAPPENED TO HELLO? HOW ARE YOU? MY NAME IS…

Did the Darkling really just kiss me?

Genya squeaked, and I just stood there gaping at the contents. When I didn’t move, she reached into the box and pulled out yards of rippling black silk. The sleeves and neckline were delicately embroidered in gold and glittered with tiny jet beads.

Typical. Yet i eat it up every time!!

“Black,” Genya whispered. His color. What did it mean?

HE LIKES LIKES YOU OR SOMETHING

“But aren’t we giving these people false hope?” I asked. “No, Alina. I told you that you were my answer. And you are.”

Is he playing her?

As the light from one of the lamps fell on the last soldier of the group, my heart nearly stopped. “Mal!”

CALLED IT

I wanted to run after him, to take back what I’d said, to beg him to stay, but I’d spent my life running after Mal. Instead, I stood in silence and let him go.

L

“The Fold was created hundreds of years ago by the Black Heretic. The Darkling—” “He is the Black Heretic,”

Oh shit. Cant say im shocked tho

“You’re his mother,” I whispered numbly. She nodded. “I am not mad. I am the only person who knows what he truly is, what he truly intends. And I am telling you that you must run.”

That i didnt see coming lol

“The Fold was no mistake.”

Wait am i being played...? Is this deception because theres so much book left...

He will take its antlers, and once he places them around your neck, you will belong to him completely. You will be the most powerful Grisha who has ever lived, and all that newfound power will be his to command. You will be bound to him forever, and you will be powerless to resist.”

The Darkling had told Baghra to leave me be. I’d thought he was defending me, but maybe he’d just wanted to keep me weak.

he gave up his name and became the Darkling,

He did not... I JUST GOTT THE ICK

I tried to think of anything but the stormcloud color of his eyes.

An onyx storm perhaps?

“Mal,” I whispered into the night. “What?” “Thanks for finding me.” I wasn’t sure if I was dreaming, but somewhere in the dark, I thought I heard him whisper, “Always.”

<3

MAL TOOK BOTH watches and let me sleep the night through. In the morning,

WE LOVE HIM

“He’s still out there. I can feel it.” His words reminded me eerily of what the Darkling had said on the path to Baghra’s cottage. The stag was meant for you, Alina. I can feel it.

Is this actually Mal??? HOLY SHIT IF HE IS ACTUALLY THE DARLKING THIS BOOK IS TOP TIER

“But I’d like to give us a fighting chance. We have to go after the stag.”

Why would he wanna go after the stag when he was just so against all this...

Tsibeya was an inhospitable place, a wild and empty world of bitter winters and grueling summers. And we weren’t strange and ancient creatures who roamed the earth at twilight. We were just Mal and Alina, and we could not stay ahead of our pursuers forever.

He turned and strode back, dropping into a crouch in front of me so that he could look into my eyes.

I thought that said couch for a second and i was gonna ask why there was randomly couch out here lol

“Now I don’t know what to think. I just know everything is different.”

Alexa play Everything Has Changed by Taylor Swift

I’ve risked my life for you. I’ve walked half the length of Ravka for you, and I’d do it again and again and again just to be with you, just to starve with you and freeze with you and hear you complain about hard cheese every day. So don’t tell me we don’t belong together,” he said fiercely.

“I’m sorry it took me so long to see you, Alina. But I see you now.”

The moment our lips met, I knew with pure and piercing certainty that I would have waited for him forever.

“You should have listened to him, Alina.” The voice came clear and cold out of the shadows, and the Darkling stepped into the glade, a grim smile playing on his lips, his black kefta flowing behind him like an ebony stain.

NOOOOOOO

“We’ve wasted enough time here.” He strode forward and without hesitating slit the stag’s throat.

How absolutely boring...