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.
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When I saw the previews for the Netflix show I was instantly curious about this series. I’m so glad I decided to gab the books. Amazing! The world that Bardugo creates in so unique and truly just one of a kind. The first few chapters were kind of slow for me but I think it was more from learning the terms and setting of this world. Once I got …
Absolutely LOVED this book!! It was an interesting take on a futuristic world where some citizens are born with powers while others aren’t, which leads to prejudice against them. There is a major conflict between countries and the standing between citizens with powers and without. The characters are well thought out and interesting. There is a …
real rating 3.75
So this book has been on my tbr for a while but it wasn’t a priority. However, I’m going to buddy read Six of Crows so I thought it was the perfect timing for reading Sh&B.
Ok so I loved the characters, the plot and the world (although I have to say it is a bit confusing at first and there’re some holes) but it was very …
Beautiful world building.
Who else binge watched the entire first season of Shadow and Bone in one day? So good, right? I really loved how faithful to the book this adaptation was, or I should say books since the TV show blended SHADOW AND BONE and SIX OF CROWS (which I haven’t read yet though I especially loved the character of Inej and the storyline between the heart …
The Shadow and Bone series by Leigh Bardugo, the first series in the Grishaverse, has recently become more popular because of the premiere of the Netflix show. Leigh Bardugo is a fantasy novelist who was born in Jerusalem, grew up in California, and currently lives in LA. I’ve seen people talking about Shadow and Bone on Bookstagram, about …
Loved this and LOVED the Darkling. Sigh. Alina, just give in to Aleksander already. He’s a tortured soul who just wants to rule the world. LOL. But seriously, I thoroughly enjoyed the story and characters and can’t wait to see what kind of delicious badness awaits in the next book.
This was such a great read. Leigh Bardugo captures you from the beginning, I could not turn the page fast enough. I can not wait to read the next book.
This took me so long – I just wasn’t super interested and kept picking up other books instead. It didn’t help that my kindle percentage lied to me – my book ended on 60% so at like 40% I was thinking how is this so loooonnnggg?!? I think I’m most interested in the love triangle that seems to be brewing, so I might like book two more!
I read this book for two reasons
1. I knew there was a netflix adaption coming
2. My reading challenge group suggested it
If not for those two reasons I am not sure if I would have been motivated to finish it. It was an ok story and the writing was good but I was never really overly invested in the characters. I am not in a rush to go out and …
Reread review: This book is still as good as the first time. I still love Alina, Mal, and the Darkling. I definitely recommend this series.
So I have heard a lot of good things about this series and I kept putting off reading it and I’m upset that I did. The world building is amazing and descriptions throughout the book make you feel like you are right there. The only complaint that I have is that there was some poor character development and a couple characters fell a little flat for …
I’m kind of conflicted on how I feel about this book. There were parts that I thought were great. But there were parts that felt really slow. There were so many parts where nothing was really happening. Those were boring for me, and I had to force myself to get though them. But there were also parts where we got action that was great. I just felt …
I’ve had Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo on my TBR for a while now. I needed to finally read it since the book series has been adapted into a Netflix series. (The trailer had me intrigued the minute I saw it and knew I had to push this series up on my TBR to read.) I’m so glad I made time to read it, and now I’m onto the second book. (Yup, it’s …
Sometimes, traditionally published books can be over-hyped. Not this one. I thoroughly enjoyed this detailed, many textured high fantasy. Alina felt ambiguous about the Darkling— handsome, charming and evil — for most of the book, and I felt the same. This is a skilled and cleverly plotted book. And yes, of course I have to read Book 2 and I’m …
“You’re the first glimmer of hope I’ve had in a long time”
I absolutely loved this book! Leigh Bardugo does such an amazing job with her descriptions of clothes and what places look like, honestly the world building is phenomenal and out of this world. Then there are the characters, I related a lot to Alina. She is painted as a weakling in every …
A beautiful and compelling. Leigh Bardugo’s lyrical prose and talent for building anticipation will keep you up all night.
Yes, I’m way behind on my reading considering how long ago this book came out, but with the Netflix series on the horizon, I’m sure I’m not the only one diving in. Simply put, I loved it: great balance of magic, world-building, plot and character. YA and regular A readers, great way to get your fantasy fix.
This book is a victim of its own hype and is written for a younger audience and as such I was a bit disappointed. I found it superficial, skimming over the top, and to be honest not a lot happens. The Grishaverse obviously has quite a following, but the Darkling was absent most of the time, and I didn’t really warm to Alina or Mal. It will be …
This is the story of Alina Starkov – an orphan who grew up to become a soldier that needs to enter the Shadow Fold. (darkness that is crawling with monsters) During a fight, when her best friends life was at stake, Alina unleashes magic she had no idea she had.
Now that her power has been discovered, the Darkling has come to claim her and bring …