Review: Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
Series: The Grisha Trilogy #1
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (Macmillan)
First published: June 5th, 2012
Source: NetGalley
Format: eARC
Pages: 368

Goodreads Summary:

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.

My Rating: 4.5 / 5

First thoughts:

Living up to the hype surrounding it, Shadow and Bone turned out to be a captivating novel, set in an imaginative world of magic, darkness and a young girl's journey to find out where she truly belongs. Despite a somewhat slow start, I couldn't help but fall in love with this story and can't wait to find out what Alina will experience in the second novel of this really intriguing series.

More detailed:

When it comes to books which are being hyped a lot, I'm always quite skeptical. Often they can't live up to my expectations and I end up being disappointed. Luckily Shadow and Bone doesn't fall into that category and surprised me with its uniqueness and magical world-building. If you are just as afraid as I had been that you might be disappointed, give this book a chance - it lived up to its reputation.

At first though, I needed some time to get into the story, which is probably the reason why I didn't feel like giving this five stars. I often have that problem with fantasy and / or historical settings, because the world the characters live in is so different from what I'm used to. But after a few chapters I felt more comfortable in this world and was sucked into it.

Shadow and Bone's protagonist Alina is a feisty but relatable young girl who's leading a not-so-perfect life, but seems to be able to deal with it nonetheless. An unrequited crush and the fear of the Shadow Fold plague her, but nonetheless she's "normal." At least until she realizes that there's more to her and that she possesses a power many people will be interested in.

I completely adore the Grisha mythology, which builds the foundation for Shadow and Bone. Adding Alina's experiences in their world, Leigh Bardugo has weaved an addicting tale of political intrigues and magic, making it hard to guess what might happen next and therefore difficult to put this first book of a trilogy down.

All in all, Shadow and Bone ended up being just as awesome as I expected it to be. With a bittersweet love story, which frustrated me just as much as it made me want to swoon, and a unique world-building, I'm sure that the Grisha trilogy will be on my favorite-lists. Personally, I can't wait to get my hands on the sequel and I'm hoping that Leigh Bardugo will continue to surprise me with her ideas.

Challenge(s):

Debut Author Challenge 2012

Have you read Shadow and Bone? What did you think about it?

Do you plan to read it?

Please leave your thoughts in the comment section below!

Carina

Fictional Distractions of the Week #32

Welcome to Fictional Distractions of the Week. It is inspired by Book Journey's It's Monday! What are you reading? and Fiktshun's My Reading Pile and it will show you what I'm planning to read during the next week.

The books I plan to read this week:

Since I wrote the first of three criminal law exams today and am quite happy with what I came up with, I'm going to reward myself by starting to Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo. Can't waít to see whether it's as awesome as so many people keep saying!

Goodreads Summary:
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.

Next on my tbr-pile is Timepiece by Myra McEntire and saying that I'm excited to start it would be an understatement. I fell in love with the first book Hourglass very fast and very hard and really hope that its sequel will manage to make me feel equally passionate about it. (I'm actually a bit scared of disappointment...)

Goodreads Summary:

A threat from the past could destroy the future. And the clock is ticking...

Kaleb Ballard's relentless flirting is interrupted when Jack Landers, the man who tried to murder his father, timeslips in and attacks before disappearing just as quickly. But Kaleb has never before been able to see time travelers, unlike many of his friends associated with the mysterious Hourglass organization. Are Kaleb's powers expanding, or is something very wrong?

Then the Hourglass is issued an ultimatum. Either they find Jack and the research he's stolen on the time gene, or time will be altered with devastating results.

Now Kaleb, Emerson, Michael, and the other Hourglass recruits have no choice but to use their unusual powers to find Jack. But where do they even start? And when? And even if they succeed, it may not be enough...

Since I'll have a lot of things to learn this week as well, I probably won't even get to it, but that doesn't stop me from at least mentioning Lies Beneath by Anne Greenwood Brown. I really like mermaid stories at the moment and this one sounds really awesome. Can't wait!

Goodreads Summary:
Calder White lives in the cold, clear waters of Lake Superior, the only brother in a family of murderous mermaids. To survive, Calder and his sisters prey on humans, killing them to absorb their energy. But this summer the underwater clan targets Jason Hancock out of pure revenge. They blame Hancock for their mother's death and have been waiting a long time for him to return to his family's homestead on the lake. Hancock has a fear of water, so to lure him in, Calder sets out to seduce Hancock's daughter, Lily. Easy enough—especially as Calder has lots of practice using his irresistable good looks and charm on ususpecting girls. Only this time Calder screws everything up: he falls for Lily—just as Lily starts to suspect that there's more to the monsters-in-the-lake legends than she ever imagined. And just as his sisters are losing patience with him.

What are your Fictional Distractions of the Week?

 

Fictional Distractions of the Week #31

Welcome to Fictional Distractions of the Week. It is inspired by Book Journey's It's Monday! What are you reading? and Fiktshun's My Reading Pile and it will show you what I'm planning to read during the next week.

The books I plan to read this week:

I didn't get to start Dark Kiss by Michelle Rowen last week, so I'm going to do so today. I'm still definitely looking forward to it, especially since I've read a few more positive reviews for it during the last few days. I hope that I'll be one of those who like it, too.

Goodreads Summary:

I don't do dangerous. Smart, über-careful, ordinary Samantha-that's me. But I just couldn't pass up a surprise kiss from my number-one unattainable crush. A kiss that did something to me...something strange. Now I feel hungry all the time, but not for food. It's like part of me is missing-and I don't know if I can get it back. Then there's Bishop. At first I thought he was just a street kid, but the secrets he's keeping are as intense as his unearthly blue eyes. If he's what I think he is, he may be the only one who can help me. But something terrifying is closing in, and the one chance Bishop and I have to stop it means losing everything I ever wanted and embracing the darkness inside me.... NIGHTWATCHERS When angels and demons must work together, something beyond evil is rising...

My read after that will be Undertow by Callie Kingston, whose blog tour will stop by next Tuesday. I don't really know what to expect from it, but I'm looking forward to it nonetheless.

Goodreads Summary:

While she sleeps beside a log on the wild Oregon coast, a rogue wave pulls Marissa into the sea. Now she dreams each night of a merman who rescues her. Obsessed with returning to this beautiful creature, she again risks her life in the frigid ocean.

Will Marissa remain lost forever in the eddies of her mind, or can real love save her from the abyss? Sometimes, the dangers which lie within are the deadliest.

And my last and most anticipated read for this week will be Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo. It's insane how many incredibly positive reviews I've read for this one, so I'm almost scared of being let down by all this hype. I really hope I'll enjoy it as much as everyone else.

Goodreads Summary:

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.

What are your Fictional Distractions of the Week?

 

Cover Comparisons #55: Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

Living in Germany gives me the perfect opportunity to compare original covers with the ones German publishers choose. Sometimes they're gorgeous, sometimes they make me cringe, but it's always interesting to see different covers for the same novel.

Cover Comparisons is a weekly feature here at Fictional Distraction.

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Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

(US / UK / GER)

First of all, I love that all of these covers scream "fantasy novel" to me, making it easy to realize what you would be picking up in a book store. Secondly, I'm totally not sure what my favorite is. To be honest, there are covers out there that are more gorgeous than these, but at the same time they have a special look to them that's unique. Having said that, I think the UK version is my least favorite, because it's the most "usual" one. But I'm having serious troubles deciding whether I prefer the US cover or the German cover. There's something special about both of them and deciding on favouring one of them can only be based on my mood and could therefore change every day. A tie for me.

Which version do you like best?

USUKGER

pollcode.com free polls

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Last week's winner is the US cover of The Alchemy of Forever by Avery Williams.

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Carina

In My Mailbox #45

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren. It gives bloggers the chance to appreciate the books they got last week and to meet new people.

Last week's interesting posts:

My Soul to Save by Rachel Vincent (Review)
My Enchanted Life by Laura Eno (Review)

Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick (Cover Comparisons)
Beta by Rachel Cohn (Waiting on Wednesday)

Gifted / Won:

A Need So Beautiful by Suzanne Young

Curse of Ancient Shadows by Rod Tyson

 I received A Need So Beautiful as a RAK gift from Andrea from The Busy Bibliophile and the e-mail with the Kindle-gift was such a huge but wonderful surprise, I couldn't really believe it at first. Thank you so much, Andrea!

I won Curse of Ancient Shadows from Celine and Vicky as part of the first challenge for the Review Copy Cleanup.

For review:

Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

Jaguar Sun by Marthe Bourke

Thanks to Random House, Macmillan & NetGalley and Kismet Book Touring.

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All of these are e-books, so no pictures today. And even though I say it every week, I'm very excited for all of these again. I'll definitely have to make room in my reading schedule for A Need So Beautiful soon, because I've been dying to read it for the longest time and I am soooo grateful for this RAK! I'm also very happy about both NetGalley titles I got since they both sound like very unique and interesting reads - definitely looking forward to start them soon.

I've now joined LINKY FOLLOWERS and you can follow Fictional Distraction via that one now, too. The widget is in the sidebar underneath the GFC widget. :)

What did you get in your mailbox?

Carina