Shadow and Bone - Leigh Bardugo

Shadow and Bone

By Leigh Bardugo

  • Release Date: 2012-06-05
  • Genre: Fantasy for Young Adults
Score: 4.5
4.5
From 2,332 Ratings

Description

See the Grishaverse come to life on screen with the Netflix series, Shadow and Bone -- Season 2 streaming now!

Discover the adventure that started it all and meet Alina, Mal, and the Darkling in Shadow and Bone from #1 bestselling author, Leigh Bardugo.

Soldier
. Summoner. Saint. Orphaned and expendable, Alina Starkov is a soldier who knows she may not survive her first trek across the Shadow Fold—a swath of unnatural darkness crawling with monsters. But when her regiment is attacked, Alina unleashes dormant magic not even she knew she possessed.

Now Alina will enter a lavish world of royalty and intrigue as she trains with the Grisha, her country’s magical military elite—and falls under the spell of their notorious leader, the Darkling. He believes Alina can summon a force capable of destroying the Shadow Fold and reuniting their war-ravaged country, but only if she can master her untamed gift.

As the threat to the kingdom mounts and Alina unlocks the secrets of her past, she will make a dangerous discovery that could threaten all she loves and the very future of a nation.

Welcome to Ravka . . . a world of science and superstition where nothing is what it seems.

The Shadow and Bone Trilogy
(previously published as The Grisha Trilogy)
Shadow and Bone
Siege and Storm
Ruin and Rising

Praise for the Grishaverse

“A master of fantasy.” —The Huffington Post
“Utterly, extremely bewitching.” —The Guardian

Reviews

  • Overall it was ok

    4
    By mak_04
    *****CONTAINS SPOILERS***** ___________________________________ I expect more from this book and I blame that on being introduced to it by its tv show counterpart. I am unaware of how old Bardugo was when she wrote this but the book felt as if written by a younger inexperienced writer (I haven’t done my research so this very much could have been true for bardugo.) The characters developments and connections weren’t very developed and were a bit confusing sometimes. For example, we learn that Alina since childhood has stopped at nothing to be with mal (friend or more) but we never really learn how deep those feelings go or really learn how much they care for one another until the end. Also after a few months apart she was so willing to let go of the boy she claimed to love so much in order to let her power grow (understandable), but I wish we could have seen that inner-turmoil and seen her struggle with the ideal of letting him go mentally/emotionally almost as much as we saw her struggle and let him go physically in the fold (twice). She portrays to us the connection she feels towards the darkling but never actually defines what it is (maybe this was for a reason that the author is hiding and we will find out later), but Alina makes questionable choices because of this pull that is only furthering the confusion. Alina complains about not fitting in anywhere, but she was the reason she never fit in with the grisha because there was a lack of effort (except for genya) on her part. Overall the book was decent and has tremendous possibilities for growth, I love the culture and world that Bardugo created and I was able to easily piece together the geography and war between the countries. I can’t wait to see where Alina and mal’s adventures take them and I will definitely be reading more of this series!!!
  • could be a little better

    4
    By my name is Lindsay Lovegood
     for starters,i give it a 3 1/2 out of 5.my opinion was that it was just way too sappy and the beginning was sooooo hard to get through and when i finally got to the little palace it started getting good but then came the love triangle between Mal,Alina,and the darkling.and in my opinion it wasn’t really necessary to add that. i will say,i loved the writing of the darkling and his villain arc but that’s basically all i enjoyed about it.i’m going to finish the series but i do have high hopes that’s it’s a lot better than the first one and hopefully i like the rest of the books
  • Good

    3
    By beani boo
    Not the worst i’ve ever read, but considering the quality of “the six of crows,” it was definitely a disappointing read. Otherwise the plot was relatively unique and writing style was above average.
  • Good book but 1 problem about It

    4
    By slay :>
    It is good but there are some characters who say he is fat and big stuff Ik they are showing how the characters look like but a bit rude about It but I respect that as long as they are not body shaming the characters I liked the book.
  • Loved

    5
    By Genisis Iris
    Do yourself a favor and get this book!!! One of my all time favorite fantasy books
  • Amazing

    4
    By Zacha_cat
    I love this series, I always hate the bad guy but I fell ‘in love’ with him. The characters are amazing and well written and it’s cool to see the protagonists story and the e irony and story with her and the antagonist. The movie ends wrong because they added another series the author wrote which I have not read, so once again the book is better than the movie but once again: awesome book.
  • Love This Series ❤️

    5
    By Juliet Ortsev
    I was recommended this book by a really close fan and was skeptical at first. It sounded a little boring BUT: Give the book a chance. It is PERFECTION. It’s very descriptive and detailed and I just couldn’t put it down. I have to say, Siege and Storm was a bit of a letdown but then Ruin and Rising is just Chef’s Kiss. So read it! It’s sooooo good!
  • Review

    5
    By Thondhd
    Great book
  • Gripping

    5
    By CutaneousHorn
    I enjoyed it very much. Good, complex characters and an exciting plot. You really grow to like Alina and Mal.
  • Great book!

    5
    By TannertheDuck
    Absolutely loved this book from the start! Now on to the next one!