The Grishaverse discussion
Shadow and Bone
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SHADOW AND BONE RE-READ!
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I am so pumped up to read this book again!
Do we have to read a certain amount of pages/ chapters per day? How does it work?
I think just however you want but some people may be too busy to read a lot but if you do 33 pages a day for 11days (21st-1st) then you'll be done for the Q&A on the 1st !(:
I have read it quite some time ago so this is going to be fun refresher!
Mod
We're going to be recapping the book at specific times throughout the week but readers are welcome to read as far ahead as they like and join in on the conversation!
I can't wait! I absolutely loved these books!
A moment later the boy whispered, "I don't think you're ugly.""Shhhh!" the girl hissed. But hidden by the deep shadows of the cupboard, she smiled.
Yep, I'll be here to re-read this one.
This was AWESOME!! As much as I liked Mal, the Darkling was more mysterious, more unattainable, more everything, at least in this book! I just started re- reading! Re-read review will be found at the end of the week here: http://athousandwordsamillionbooks.bl...
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We'll be squeeing every day and posting official re-caps as we go along.
April 23: Prologue – Chapter 5
April 26: Chapters 6 – 11
April 29: Chapters 12-18
May 2: Chapter 19 – Epilogue
Please feel free to post your reactions as you read along but make sure to keep anything that's ahead of the recaps as ~SPOILERS~ (character deaths, doom and destruction, that sort of thing!)
"The boy and girl had arrived within weeks of each other, two more orphans of the border wars, dirty-faced refugees plucked from the rubble of distant towns and brought to the Duke's estate to learn to read and write, and to learn a trade. The boy was short and stocky, shy but always smiling. The girl was different, and she knew it."
“The Darkling stepped closer to me and said, his voice so low that only I could hear, “I doubt you have any idea what you are.” Then he nodded to Ivan. “Go!”I can't stop reading (again) never thought I would be so addicted (again). I love the intrigue of the darkling.
I love the way the prologue and epilogue are written!! "The girl and the boy..." I just love the feel of it!
The exciting fear mixed with all of the unimaginable possibilities of this book all just make me want to be a Grisha. I wonder if I would be, and if I were, what type?
I have NEVER finished a book in 2 weeks...here we go! xD started the re-read yesterday ^^
Thompson wrote: "The exciting fear mixed with all of the unimaginable possibilities of this book all just make me want to be a Grisha. I wonder if I would be, and if I were, what type?"You can do the quiz on the website? :D http://www.grishatrilogy.com/
Awww, I forgot about Alexei. Even if he was only in the book for like 30 pages I liked him :(
Maddi wrote: "Awww, I forgot about Alexei. Even if he was only in the book for like 30 pages I liked him :("Me too :(
Mod
We miss Alexei too! That whole chapter is when things first GOT REAL.
Macmillan Teen wrote: "Maddi wrote: "Awww, I forgot about Alexei. Even if he was only in the book for like 30 pages I liked him :("We miss Alexei too! That whole chapter is when things first GOT REAL.
"
I kinda started shipping them but then things happened but yes I love that chapter because things finally GOT REAL
LOL AT THAT GIF
That time the Darkling Cut that guy that tried to kidnap Alina. O_O I was afraid of him after that.So happy to re-read this with a bunch of people.
"Pain shot through my body.
And the world went white.
I closed my eyes as a sudden, piercing flood of light exploded across my vision. It seemed to fill my head, blinding me, drowning me. From somewhere above, I heard a horrible shriek. I felt the volcra's claws loosen their grip, felt the thud as I fell forward and my head connected with the deck, and then I felt nothing at all.
I felt a surge of frustration. If an amplifier could make it possible for me to be a real Grisha, then I didn’t want to wait for some mythical antler. I wanted a real one. Now.“If no one’s found Morozova’s herd in all this time, what makes you think you’ll find it now?” I asked.
“Because this was meant to be. The stag was meant for you, Alina. I can feel it.” He looked at me. His hair was still a mess, and in the bright morning sunlight, he looked more handsome and more human than I’d ever seen him. “I guess I’m asking you to trust me,” he said.
What was I supposed to say? I didn’t really have a choice. If the Darkling wanted me to be patient, I would have to be patient. “Okay,” I said finally. “But hurry it up.”
He laughed again, and I felt a pleased flush creep up my cheeks. Then his expression became serious. “I’ve been waiting for you a long time, Alina,” he said. “You and I are going to change the world.”
*sigh*
I LOVE it when Mal says " I missed you every hour. And you know what the worst part was? It caught me completely by surprise. I'd catch myself walking around just to find you. Not for any reason, just out of habit, because I'd seen something I'd wanted to tell you about or because I just wanted to hear your voice!"OMG!! It would have my vote for most romantic live ever!!<3
* most romantic line ever. I meant line:)
I know right! My heart melted when I read those words. Can't wait to join y'all for book 2. I haven't read it yet. *eager*
I remember I read Shadow and Bone for the first time about a month and a half before Siege and Storm came out and fell in love! I love the dynamic between the Darkling and Alina! Wish I could reread it with y'all but my S&B book resides at home.**Edited out some possibly spoiler-ish things. Whoops.
"I'll meet you in the meadow."Gah, page 33 and already the feels.
@christina: the feels are hitting me too, that quote gets me every time !
Mod
Alina Starkov always knew she was different. Weak. Scrawny. An orphan in a country ravaged by war. A mapmaker in the King’s army. Mal’s best friend.
SHADOW AND BONE begins as Alina and Mal’s regiment is preparing to cross the shadow fold, the “unsea”, a smudge of darkness on the land filled with monsters that cuts most of Ravka off from the ocean. Alina is, understandably, nervous. (I mean, who wouldn’t be?)
Alina and Mal were thick as thieves growing up in the orphanage at the Duke’s estate, but more recently they’re drifting apart, with Mal drifting over to other girls who are practically jumping over Alina to get closer to Mal.
Then they start to cross the fold and THINGS. GET. REAL.
They’re attacked by volcra, the monsters who haunt and hunt within the fold — legend had it they could smell human blood from miles away.
Mal is injured after trying to protect Alina, so she tries to shield him with her body and suddenly:
Next thing Alina knows she’s hauled in front of the Darkling and the rest of the first and second armies, and is told that she’s the one who saved them on the fold. She’s taken away to the Little Palace in the dead of night.
OMG. What did you think of the first five chapters? Your first time reading it? What was it that pulled you in? SO MANY THINGS.
Still love it so much! I'm sucked in right away every time. =)
I think the first five chapters are my favourite!! <3 but, then, I'm sure when I read the rest, those will become too!The Grisha is the BEST series ever!!
I'm not re-reading this at the moment; as I re-read them both in February :D But holy crap. Shadow and Bone is AMAZING! I loved it so much. <3 One of the best books. And sigh. My favorite parts are still every part with Mal in it (A) But I love Alina so much as well. Though. Getting to know about their childhood in the prologue was the best part, I think :)
Reading this for the first time I was all for The Darkling in the beginning. He was so mysterious but he also seemed to be misunderstood. Now re-reading I really notice how well he played Alina (but I still adore him).
I guess,the first time you read a good novel is and will always be special- an unbeatable moment- In fact sometimes I wish I could erase parts of my memory to be able to re-read my favorite books and experience them in that virginal state...unfortunately not possible.But, you know a novel is good for sure when you re-read it and enjoy it just as much- but just see it in another light, or from another angle, perhaps even in more detail. I'm experiencing this pleasure right now while re-reading Shadow and Bone. When I go back to my first time-I remember being pulled-make that SUCKED into the story from the start. The prologue is a little marvel. I also like the fact it's in third person-storyteller style- and that the book truly starts in first person. Another 'me being vacumed into this story's bag' effect was the original scenery. The description as they penetrate the Fold gave me the shivers, 'I realised that I could no longer see the prow of our skiff and then that I could not see my own hand on the railing.I looked back over my shoulder.The living world had disappeared.Darkness fell around us,black, weightless, and absolute.We were in the Fold.' I visited a cave not so long ago, and had an all lights out moment- I think Leigh couldn't have done a better job in describing that suffocating and all encompassing fear pure darkness can produce.Loved that.
Also, like Christina, the first time I read the book, I was so taken by the story I was possessed by naivety, and did so not see what the Darkling was up to. Now in re-reading it, I'm enjoying the extra bit of knowledge and find myself admiring his craftiness- How did I not see him in that light...pfffff.
I'm going off to bed, to read some more. Nighty night,don't let those bed bugs bite!
Dat Darklina scene in the Queen's chambers 
lol, i almost died, and i cant believe there is only one Darkling, or is that just another lie??? (Sigh) I lOVE Re-Reads
I absolutely fell in love with this world. I was expecting a slow buildup, but the action starts right away and we find out Alina's secret right away too.
Does anyone know if Mal hooked up with Zoya at any point before Alina arrived at the castle? I know Mal intended to do so and that Alina wonders if he did, but is it ever explicitly said?
Maddi wrote: "Does anyone know if Mal hooked up with Zoya at any point before Alina arrived at the castle? I know Mal intended to do so and that Alina wonders if he did, but is it ever explicitly said?"No i dont think so
I thought Zoya was the "pretty Grisha in blue" that Alina saw in the beginning of S&B. The night he visited her before he snuck off, I think he was going to the Grisha tent with his friends. I assumed Zoya was there.
So I read the next few chapters! :) Still loving it, of course. Here's one of my favorite quotes. It's from chapter 7."Stop!" I shouted, backing away from them. They hesitated, looking from me to the girl.
Honestly, nothing sounded better than a hot bath and a change of clothes, but I wasn't about te let some tyrannical redhead push me around. "What is going on? Who are you?"
"I don't have ti-"
"Make time!' I snapped. "I've coverd almost two hundred miles on horseback. I haven't had a good night's sleep in a week, and I've nearly been killed twice. So before I do anything else, you're going to have to tell me who you are and why it's so very important that you get my clothes off."
"The only place I'd ever felt I belongs was with Mal, and even that hadn't lasted."
Oh Chapter 8, you're killing us.
Oh Chapter 8, you're killing us.
Enjoyed the re-read. The main thing that felt different to last time was the careful interplay between Alina, the Darkling and Mal. It's really all about them. Bardugo does that mean author thing and totally directs your alliegance to them...the Darkling towards the middle... (Mal you neglectful bastard why don't you reply to my letters?)
Mal at the end... (Darkling you fiend! You lied to me!)
It's clever. Authors who can do that are special indeed.
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.
April 21 - May 2: Shadow and Bone
May 1 at 3pm EST / 12pm PST: Q&A with Leigh Bardugo!