Bardugo, Leigh; Shadow and Bone (The Grisha #1) - Buddy Read "Revisit"- (Start date 28 December, 2014) - November 7, 2015; Revisit starts June 15, 2018

[[deleted user]]

I liked Six of Crows better but it may be because I too read that one before this. But I liked this story enough to want to read the whole trilogy. And I am curious how the political events here impacted Six of Crows which I am currently rereading.

[Donna]

Chapters 1-11
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Test: How did Alina get thru the test without being discovered? I am curious if Mal could be the opposite of an amplifier. They were holding hands when they were tested. Could he have some kind of suppression gift?

The Fold: That was different. I certainly wasn't expecting there to something out there attacking them. Poor Alexei!

Letters: obviously, someone is keeping her letters from making it to Mal. Why don't they want them communicating?

Overall thoughts: I don't know what I think of this book yet. I am having a bit of trouble getting into the story. I will keep pushing because I know books can improve if you push thru.

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[Donna]

chapters 12- end

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Test: Well, now I understand how Alina didn't get discovered during her test. I guess it also explains why she had dark circles and looked like she did. Holding her powers back was truly wreaking havoc on her body.

Darkling: I think the reason I didn't care much for him was that he was too interested in such a young girl. Now I know that he had dark plans for her. I was surprised that Baghra was his mother and that he was responsible for the Fold.

Mal: I liked him better towards the end. Gone was the player and he seriously acted like he cared about Alina.

Alina: Well, she is certainly not my favorite heroine. She was too dependent on Mal in the beginning and then too whiny when she was separated from him. At the end, she was a little tougher but not enough. I prefer tougher heroines and she just wasn't.

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I think my problem with this book was that I didn't like the characters at the beginning. It was way too late in the book that I became interested in them. This does happen sometimes. Usually when this happens I like the later books better. I might try book 2 to see if that happens.

[Nox]

I enjoyed the book overall, but I did take issue with the Darkling and Alina’s “romance”. They didn’t really interact much and then suddenly he’s kissing her and asking if he could visit her in her room?

The world building and magic system is amazing however, and I was really invested in Alina as a character. I’m glad that I was able to follow her through adjusting to being a Grisha.