Shadow and Bone (The Grisha #1) By Leigh Bardugo → Start Date: December 30, 2016

[Katriann]

Join Leelynn and me in reading Shadow and Bone. :)

[Leelynn]

Katriann! Thank you so much for making the thread!

[Jessie (Saffity)]

This one sounds interesting! I would love to join!

[Katriann]

That's great Jessie. You're welcome to join. I'm planning to start this evening. :)

[Jessie (Saffity)]

I'm hoping to start tomorrow, I want to get Uglies done first :) Too many books on the go and I get the plots mixed up.

[Katriann]

Jessie (Saffity) wrote: "I'm hoping to start tomorrow, I want to get Uglies done first :) Too many books on the go and I get the plots mixed up."

Sounds good to me. How are you liking Uglies? I've considered giving it a try for quite a while, but somehow haven't got around to reading it.

[Jessie (Saffity)]

It was a bit slow at first but I think that was just world building. Once the plot started rolling it really got rolling.

[Jessie (Saffity)]

So I'm 15% in and boy is this good so far!

I particularly liked (view spoiler)[ that we were given enough information about Alexei and his relationship to Alina that his death meant something and wasn't just a throwaway death. (hide spoiler)]

[Leelynn]

Jessie, I totally agree with you! I was also really upset at that part as well. I feel like (view spoiler)[he died way too fast and we didn't get to experience him enough as a character. I was also really afraid that Mal was going to die also but then she saved him somehow! (hide spoiler)]

Who is everyone's favorite character so far?

[Jessie (Saffity)]

At the moment Alina, but I'm only a few chapters in so that may change.

[Katriann]

Okay I'm 32% in and so far I'm enjoying this book. My favorite character right now is Alina, but that may change as more characters enter the story.

I knew enough about this book before starting it (view spoiler)[ that I wasn't surprised when it turned out Alina is Grisha. However, I expected her to be just a normal Grisha not something as unique as a sun summoner. (hide spoiler)]

How do you feel about the Darkling? (view spoiler)[ I know many readers love him, but I don't really have an opinion of him yet. His skill to summon darkness is interesting, but I wish to learn more about his personality as the story progresses. (hide spoiler)]

Alina (view spoiler)[ has now spent one day at the Little Palace and so far the only nice person there seems to be Genya. Well, and maybe the Darkling. It seems to me there are a lot of things for Alina to learn about the Grisha society. I was surprised to find out that the Grisha from different orders don't seem to get along that well. (hide spoiler)]

[Leelynn]

Just from the synopsis alone (view spoiler)[I could have guessed that Alina was Grisha. How special she really was, well that one I couldn't tell yet until we are told. (hide spoiler)]

As far as the Darkling is concerned, (view spoiler)[parts of me like him and parts of me don't. I know he's ruthless, you can tell by the way people fear him. You also know by the way he is able to take down that Fjerdan assassin so easily. I also hope that we get to learn more about him throughout the rest of the trilogy :) (hide spoiler)]

I also think that (view spoiler)[Genya is really the only one that has shown Alina any real kindness. It have been a job to her before, but I think they will actually get along as friends later on in the future. She's one of my favorite characters so far. I think it's almost like a caste system though, and maybe that's why the other Grisha don't get along with others not in their same caste. Some think they are better than others I bet. (hide spoiler)]

[Katriann]

I have now read 64%.

@Leelynn (view spoiler)[ I have also grown to like Genya a lot. She's now one of my favorite characters too. :) (hide spoiler)]

Oooh, (view spoiler)[ the Darkling seems to be the villain after all. Well, I kind of suspected something was up. I just wasn't sure what he was planning. And I definitely didn't realize that Baghra was his mother. (hide spoiler)]

The Grisha (view spoiler)[ show in the fete sounded pretty great. I would love to see such a show, especially the bit with sunshine and darkness created by the darkling and Alina. Oh, and I think that a black kefta is cooler than a blue one. :D However, I understand that Alina didn't want to be singled out more than she already was. (hide spoiler)]

I would like to (view spoiler)[ know, whether Mal told the truth when he said he didn't get any letters from Alina. And I would also like to know what the Apparat wants with Alina. Why does he keep following her around? (hide spoiler)]

[Jessie (Saffity)]

Spoiled myself a bit with the Darkling comment above but for me it gives me something to look forward to.

I totally freaked out when (view spoiler)[ the Darkling kissed Alina, it was so sudden and almost out of nowhere. (hide spoiler)]

Genya and Alina (view spoiler)[ are so cute together and I really feel bad for Genya being outcast because of her station. (hide spoiler)]

Zoya (view spoiler)[ can go hang and I was so pleased that she got kicked out of training for bad behaviour and there weren't any excuses made. (hide spoiler)]

I really hope (view spoiler)[ that Mal's letters are being kept from Alina and that he isn't just ignoring her. (hide spoiler)]

Now to catch up my reading with everyone else!!

[Leelynn]

Katriann (view spoiler)[I also think a black kefta is cooler than a blue one. I'd want to stand out more, especially since she's the only one with her power. But I do understand her perspective as well. (hide spoiler)]

[Katriann]

@Jessie (view spoiler)[ I agree. That kiss came totally out of the blue. It makes more sense now when I've read further, but I don't want to give too much away. :D I also think it's unfair that Genya is treated as an outsider. She didn't choose her position, so it's not really her fault that she has to serve the queen. (hide spoiler)]

[Katriann]

Finally I get to write my final comments here. I finished the book some days ago but didn't have time to write the comments.

Huh, (view spoiler)[ I knew Mal would be the one to find Alina. I'm not sure how I feel about Mal. I don't dislike him or anything, but I do find him kind of boring. (hide spoiler)]

I bet the (view spoiler)[ Darkling will come after Alina and Mal in the next book. I'm curious to see how Alina's newly discovered power will affect her personality. I hope she won't grow too hungry for power. (hide spoiler)]

I would like to (view spoiler)[ see Genya in the other books as well. I'm glad she got to be a real Grisha in the end of this book, but I'm not sure where she stands now. Does she support the Darkling or would she be on Alina's side if she had to choose. (hide spoiler)]

[Jessie (Saffity)]

Ok, so I'm hoping to finish this tonight because I think everything's going to go nuts next chapter (view spoiler)[ because I paused to do another challenge read right before she runs away. (hide spoiler)]

Here we go!

Editing this because (view spoiler)[ I just finished this and nothing is ok.... I'll write more later ARGH! (hide spoiler)]