Saturday 12 May 2012

Book Review- Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo


The Gathering Dark (The Grisha, #1)Title: The Gathering Dark/Shadow and Bone
 Author: Leigh Bardugo
Series:  The Grisha Trilogy #1
Published:   7 June 2012
Length: 240 pages
Warnings: violence, romance 12+
Source: Publisher
Shadow and Bone (The Grisha, #1)Other info: It’s called Shadow and Bone in America. The next two will be called The Shadow Fold and The Darkest Light (I think).
Summary : The Shadow Fold, a swathe of impenetrable darkness, crawling with monsters that feast on human flesh, is slowly destroying the once-great nation of Ravka. Alina, a pale, lonely orphan, discovers a unique power that thrusts her into the lavish world of the kingdom’s magical elite—the Grisha. Could she be the key to unravelling the dark fabric of the Shadow Fold and setting Ravka free? The Darkling, a creature of seductive charm and terrifying power, leader of the Grisha. If Alina is to fulfil her destiny, she must discover how to unlock her gift and face up to her dangerous attraction to him. But what of Mal, Alina’s childhood best friend? As Alina contemplates her dazzling new future, why can’t she ever quite forget him?

Review: Alina is an orphan who discovers she has a magical power-she can summon sunlight at will. Her summoning abilities mean that she is pulled into the Ravka’s Grisha-the magical elite. The leader of the Grisha is called The Darkling-amazingly powerful and more than a little seductive. He and Alina are destined to save Ravka from the Shadow Fold-the darkness where monsters live. But, while Alina’s falling for Darkling, she’s also thinking of Mal, her childhood friend who is now a soldier. Predictably, their paths cross and they go on a journey full of adventure. And danger.
I don’t  often read pure fantasy without lots of horror or sci-fi mixed in. I do enjoy them though. This is definitely a fantasy based book. It comes through in the names, the writing (it’s all very  descriptive) and the book as a whole is the kind I like when I want something between relaxing and scary.
There’s a nice little mix of characters. Alina undergoes a lot of development and learning, and I quite liked her. My favourite character was Genya-although she was horrible to start with, I ended up liking her by the end as she reveals her fun nature as you get to know her. Mal was ok. His devotion to Alina  was really nice, but he’s not the type of main male character that I really really like. And Darkling-he was just so annoying. And arrogant. And manipulative. I really didn’t like him.
The Gathering Dark is a deceptively short book. A lot happens in it though, many of which you will not see coming.
The world building is slow, subtle and full. You get a really good idea of the court, and the way the magical society works. It’s impossible to place exactly in time and location, but I still really enjoyed it.
Like many books, It would have done ok without the love triangle. I was for Mal all the way, and Alina’s feelings for The Darkling were unnecessary, especially when he wasn’t that good anyway. Oh well. What other people like. 

Overall:  Strength 4 tea to a good fantasy novel that I’d really like to see what direction it goes in for the next novel, The Shadow Fold.
Links: | Goodreads | Author website

6 comments:

  1. Ive been hearing good things about this book and didnt know it has other name but it does sounds like my kind of read. Im glad you enjoyed it. Loving that cover too. Great review Nina.

    Ƹ̴Ӂ̴ƷFICBOOKREVIEWSƸ̴Ӂ̴Ʒ

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love that you like this, Nina! I am really so excited to read this ever since the positive reviews started showering. Great review!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I really like fantasy, so this one sounds great! Glad you enjoyed it. I like that there's slow world-building, it really helps you appreciate the setting. Fab review! Thanks ;).

    ReplyDelete
  4. I've been seeing this book around a lot and it sounds really good! Glad to see that you really liked it. I myself looove fantasy books so this will be perfect for me. I see what you're saying about the love triangle, they always take away from the book more than they help it when it's an obvious choice between the two love interests. Thanks for the review!

    P.S. I'm a new follower here! *waves* Nice to meet you. :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. I've seen this one around, and sometimes I really want to read it, but other times it doesn't appeal to me. I guess it depends on my mood. I do love a character who can make you change your feelings for them by the end of the book, though.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Lovely review, Nina! I thought this was a really good book and I loved how unpredictable it was. :D

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for taking time to read this!
Comments are much loved.
Nina xxx

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger... Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...