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Product details

Listening Length	9 hours and 21 minutes
Author	Leigh Bardugo
Narrator	Lauren Fortgang
Audible.ca Release Date	November 30 2012
Publisher	Audible Studios
Program Type	Audiobook
Version	Unabridged
Language	English
ASIN	B071VHBQ4L
Best Sellers Rank	#853 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals) #25 in Science Fiction & Fantasy for Teens

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5

39,216 global ratings

5 star		67%
4 star		22%
3 star		8%
2 star		2%
1 star		1%

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Top reviews from Canada

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Vie

Brilliant and extremely well written

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on April 30, 2023

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I bought this book a while ago and ended up buying the whole series. It’s brilliant story telling and extremely well written. You get drawn in wright from the first pages, wanting to know more about what will happen with Alina and Mal and how is the story going to twist their life. And believe me, it does! I re-read the whole series recently and it’s still as good. If you like skillfully weaved fantasy tales, you won’t be disappointed with Bardugo’s work.

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Coppens Academy Childcare

A thrilling adventure full of mysticism and intrigue

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on April 11, 2023

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This is a great adventure novel for teens and young adults that enjoy stories with fantasy or light horror elements. A very fun story from start to finish.

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The Enchanted Reader

Can't wait to read book 2

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on March 31, 2023

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Fantastic characters that move the plot along and making the reader a part of the story and wanting the main character to win

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Bleuette White

fantasy with a dabble of romance

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on June 8, 2022

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I really like the covers for this series. So much effort was put into them. I especially like the antlers on either side of the palace.

The book also included a nicely drawn map.

I also really like the chapter title illustrations.

A lot of effort was put into the book's design. I can definitely see why though. YA lately are the same thing over and over, at least this one had something slightly different with the Russian and fantasy setting.

The writing was clear and very easy to get into. I definitely found the writing better than most YA books. I really liked the prologue and the epilogue's writing, probably because it was written in third person.

The setting was fun and I did enjoy it to a certain extent and there were one or two original things.

Ordinary girl finds out she has power. Taken away by organization and trained. You wouldn't believe how overused this plot line is in fantasy. Despite this, Shadow and Bone threw in a couple of surprises and it was really fun to read.

I really enjoyed it and it was such a fun read.

It was plot and fantasy with a dabble of romance.

The interesting thing about Alina was probably her power.

I liked the villain. I think everyone likes him. He's probably my favourite character.

I'll be picking up the sequel.

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on January 23, 2023

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I watched the series on Netflix before reading it.

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on August 26, 2022

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I love the original fantasy world that Leigh Bardugo has created. I first became aware of the series because of the Netflix film and as is usually the case, the books are even better! I know it’s probably written for teens, but I enjoyed it as an adult as well.

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on January 24, 2022

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I watched the Netflix series before reading this! What an amazing read! I can’t wait ro read the next one!

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on March 13, 2022

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The title page is shorter the the pages, the paper was ripped and theres a stain. Some other thing probably but I haven’t checked it all yet.

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Top reviews from other countries

Kylie G.

An incredible adventure of war and love

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on October 3, 2015

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Shadow and Bone was a marvelous fantasy tale. Bardugo created relatable characters and paired them with an exceptional fictional world. The hype of this book has been large. As with many popular books, they have the tendency to have all the same qualities. Not this one. Shadow and Bone is like nothing I have ever read. I can't wait to finish the trilogy. Pick up this fantastic series today! It's fresh, unique, and filled with action.
Alina Starkov is an orphan. She was an abused child living in a house with a wretched duke, and cared for by an even more horrible lady, named Ana Kuya. Alina's life was drained of love. But when Mal , another orphan, shows up they immediately have a deep connection. Mal and Alina's relationship lays the foundation for this novel. They are the center that holds the world together. Mal is the only person that Alina can rely on. He is her rock. Alina has been in love with him since the beginning.
The fictional world of Shadow and Bone is incredible. It's kind of hard to explain, though. Basically you have the country of Ravka, which is separated by the Unsea, or the Shadow Fold. The Shadow Fold was created hundreds of years ago and contains killer creatures called Volcra. Volcra are flying creatures that used to be the people living in the area before the Fold was created.
Mal and Alina are both stationed near the fold in the First Army. Mal is a tracker and Alina is a mapmaker. This isn't a normal military base though. In Bardugo's world, there are Grisha. The Grisha are people with powers. They live in the Little Palace and are treated like royalty. However, the less important or powerful Grisha serve in the army, as well. There is a very distinct line between normal humans and Grisha. They do not associate with each other.
During Alina and Mal's service, they travel with an army into the Shadow Fold. This is a daunting task that will have many casualties. Not even the Grisha can protect the army from the dangerous Volcra. Mal and Alina are both at the brink of death. Their skin torn from the Volcra's sharp claws. As Alina's life slips, a bright light as large as the sun shines out of Alina herself.
When Alina comes too, she finds herself in the Grisha tent. Confused, she tries to play off what happened on the ship. There was no way she could be Grisha. She had been tested as a child and wasn't. There was simply no way. But the Darkling has other views on the situation. The Darkling is the leader of the Grisha. He is the ruler of the Little Palace and corresponds with the King himself. He has dark gray eyes and a handsome smile that everyone seems to fancy.
The Darkling is also an amplifier. Meaning he can increase the power in a Grisha significantly. Items can also be amplifiers, and this comes into play a little bit later. The Darkling takes Alina into his grasp, and again, she lights up like the sun. The word choice and imagery that Bardugo uses in this part of the story is incredible. Having a girl light up brightly may seem a little odd, but the way that the author beautifully explains it makes is magical. The Darkling pronounces Alina as the Sun Summoner. She is destined to team up with the Darkling and eradicate the Shadow Fold entirely. She is taken away from camp, away from Mal, and to the Little Palace, to live her life as a Grisha
Alina is revered at the Little Palace. She is prayed to and touched carefully. The Darkling goes to great lengths to protect Alina from harm. She is too important to risk. Without her and her light, there is no way to cross and destroy the Fold. This is the Darkling's only goal.
Alina knows how important it is that she learn to use her powers. She needs them to help the Darkling! In her various lessons, she fails. Whether it is with her powers or in hand to hand combat. She lacks behind the other Grisha in everything, even theory. Alina misses Mal terribly and writes to him every week. However, she never receives a reply.
Bagrha is Alina's teacher. She helps her control her power and pushes her incredibly hard. Almost too hard. There are times when the Darkling comes in and snaps at Baghra for pushing Alina too hard. The Darkling and Baghra have a very tense relationship, and Alina wants to know why. The Darkling and Alina have been getting closer and closer. But when she asks about Baghra, the Darkling just shrugs it off.
Alina's only friend in the Little Palace is Genya. Genya is one of the lower classes of Grisha. She is able to change the appearance of a person. Her main project is with the queen, because the queen always has to look good, right? Genya also helps Alina look better after her stressful days. Genya and Alina often eat dinner together and discuss the Little Palace as friends often do.
The other Grisha aren't so inviting to Alina. As the Sun Summoner, she works alone. Other Etherealki (a type of Grisha that controls the elements) usually work in pairs or groups, which makes Alina the odd one out. She also receives special treatment from the Darkling. For example, each Griash wears a Kefta. This is a large jacket or wrap that they wear. The different colors represent the different category of Grisha. Black is the Darkling's color, and he wants Alina to wear it too. Even thought it is a great honor, Alina turns it down. Eventually the Darkling gives her a black Kefta without asking her.
I really liked reading about Alina's time in the Little Palace. It was interesting to learn about all the Grisha that lived there. They all have such unique qualities, but are really relatable. Genya falls for a man that is plain, when she is the most beautiful Grisha there is. The other Etherealki, as Alina describes them, are fake. They act like the common high school girl today. Sucking up to the most popular and talking bad about people behind their backs.
Now let's talk about the most interesting part of Alina's stay at the Little Palace.
The Darkling and Alina's relationship.
When the Darkling first kissed Alina, I felt like it had taken him long enough. They obviously had some tension going on. Alina was strongly attracted to the Darkling, as were many people. She never told anyone what was really going on between them. In this part of the book I really liked the Darkling. He was dark (obviously) and mysterious. There were secrets in his eyes that the readers wanted to know. But these secrets were more horrible than anyone could imagine.
One of the best parts of the book is the Ceremony held for the Grisha. When the Darkling and Alina step on stage in their black keftas. They put on a show of interweaving light and dark. It is described so beautifully. At this point, the Darkling and Alina's magic flow together like it was destiny.
Next in the story we learn about the Stag. Going back to what I said about amplifiers being objects. This isn't a ordinary Stag. It is part of a herd that is said to be legend. If Alina kills the Stag, the antlers can be used as an amplifier so she can use her power freely. She is still having difficulty in her classes with Baghra and there is no time to waste. She needs this amplifier. The Darkling thinks it was made for her.
Now it's time for the plot twist! So if you are reading this review and have not read the book, please read it. It will be much more fun.
Was I the only one who didn't see the twist coming. The only one who actually liked the Darkling? I simply can't be alone, right? Of course I knew there would be some kind of twist that drew Alina back to Mal, otherwise what was the point of having their relationship in the beginning!? I knew there was going to be a twist, but wasn't expecting this. Come on, me, his name is Darkling for Pete's sake.
So the Darkling has been lying. He isn't planning on destroying the Shadow Fold. He is planning on extending it. Baghra pulls Alina from her room and tells her she has to run. This moment was so intense. I trusted the Darkling's words. I didn't see anything that told me not to. I am sure that a re-read would warrant a lot of reasons though. But in this moment, i felt exactly as Alina did. Scared and betrayed and alone.
Baghra tells Alina everything she couldn't tell her before. She is the Darkling's mother. She knew about his evil plans the whole time, but knew that he couldn't do it without the Stag. She didn't believe in the Stag at all, so she didn't think there was a reason to panic. But a powerful tracker has located the Stag, and it was just a matter of time until the plan would be revealed by the Darkling himself. She urges Alina to run, because the Darkling is pure evil. He created the Fold in the first place, and now, he wants to rule the world with it.
I couldn't believe any of the words I had read. I just stared at my Kindle for a few moments. Wait...what? What about the kisses and the moments that Alina and the Darkling shared? I admit that I like Mal more than the Darkling, but it was still an intriguing relationship. And the way it was written was just flawless. I was sad to see it go, but if the Darkling had been lying about his goals, he wasn't good for Alina anyway.
Alina runs. She escapes the Little Palace and heads toward the mountains-the last place she heard the Stag being mentioned. The Darkling's plot has a lot of terrifying aspects. For one, he is planning on killing the Stag himself and forcing the horns on Alina. By doing this, he will have complete control of her powers, and can use the light to escape the Volcra, and use his own power to extend the Fold and seize power.
Alina spends days freezing to death in the mountains. She knows she will never find the Stag on her own. Thankfully, she runs into our heroic Mal. The guy we were waiting over half the book to make his daring return. He does. He more than does. Mal and Alina's reunion is amazing. They tell each other about their feelings. it turns out Mal never received the mail from Alina, so he assumed the worst. There were rumors that she was being tortured, so he teamed up with the Grisha to help find the Stag. He knows the location, and had to lead the entire tracking crew in the wrong direction.
I didn't think this fantasy book would be so centered on their romance. Mal and Alina have a great story to tell. It wasn't some cheesy love at first sight thing. They had chemistry. They had a lot of it. The tension between them was even more than Alina and the Darkling. I love the friendship of Mal and Alina. It was a delightful addition to the plot. They reminisce about the time spent with Ana Kuya. While with Mal, Alina has an epiphany.
Yes, she was tested to see if she was Grisha as a child. She felt the power being pulled out against her will. however, she realized what this meant. It meant a separation from Mal. She would never see him again. He would be here all alone. She faught against the amplifier with everything she had inside her. And for some crazy reason. It worked. She loved Mal enough to hide her Grisha abilities. She hid the fact from herself. She told herself she was human so many times that she started to believe it.
Alina and Mal search for the Stag together. During the journey, Alina asks an uncomfortable favor from Mal. More than uncomfortable, it was devastating. Alina knows what will happen if the Darkling finds the Stag and puts the antler collar on her. She will have no choice to obey. To guide him in it mad search for power. She asked Mal to killer her before the Darkling got ahold of her. It was a really deep moment for the two of them and their relationship. She asked the for the one thing that he could not supply. But he agreed anyway.
When they find the Stag, Mal goes to bring it down. Alina has a split second to make the kill, because the Darkling and his forces are close. So , so close. And Alina can't do it. She can't kill the helpless animal. In this moment of weakness, the Darkling arrives and murders it. The life drains out of the Stag and the Darkling demands the antlers be cut to make the amplifier. Alina and Mal are taken hostage. The collar is places around Alina's neck and the Darkling takes control.
The group makes a return to the Little Palace. Nobody knows the real reason that Alina left. She begs the Darkling to show mercy to Mal, and he refuses. He tells Alina that Mal will be left in the Fold to die.
The night that Alina spends in the jail cells with Mal was very touching. They could only hold hands through the bars. The destruction of Mal was coming, and there wasn't anything either of them could do to change it. This moment in their relationship was heartbreaking. I had fallen in love with Mal, and was going to be devastated if something happened to him.
When the group of Grisha and soldiers make their way out onto the Fold, we witness the true horror of the Darkling. As he uses Alina to take out the Volcra, he is completely ruthless. After this night on the boat, the Darkling is one of my most hated villains in fantasy. Alina is a fighter. She fights every time the Darkling takes her powers. It's just not enough. The Darkling uses his own powers and extends the Fold into the nearby village. At this second, he turns into a true monster. He kills everyone in the village to extend the Fold. He leaves them to the Volcra.
The Darkling's character development is surreal. He is horrifying and terrible. He acts in a strange and calm manner, which just makes it worse. He went from a leader that I respected to an awful, merciless monster. The other Grisha are surprised by the plan of the Darkling, but nobody will help Alina. She must fight this battle on her own.
Mal is tossed out of the boat and the Darkling forces Alina to pull her light away from him, leaving his to the ravenous Volcra. Alina isn't finished, though. Her second epiphany is ever more powerful than the first. She realizes that she has the right to the amplifier collar as much as the Darkling does. She showed the Stag mercy, which the Darkling would never be able to do. Mercy wins over murder. She finds her power again. The Darkling's grasp is easy to shrug off and she rescues Mal, leaving the ship and the Darkling to die in the Fold.
This book was fantastic. It deserves every star it got. I am thrilled to read more from Leigh Bardugo. This author is so talented. This world was painted with love, friendship and power. Shadow and Bone is a rare piece of work. It's one of those books that you can read over and over and over. I recommend it to everyone, not just fantasy fans. It has everything. Action, adventure, romance and twists. Pick up a copy because you won't regret it. Join Mal, Alina, and the wretched Darkling in the adventure of a lifetime.

14 people found this helpful

Katrin von Martin

The Cover Deceived Me

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on November 23, 2014

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I'll start with a confession: I bought this book based solely on the cover. Yup, that's it. I studied Russian in college and grew to love everything about the country and its people, so I was completely drawn in by the cover's prominent onion domes the way a moth is drawn to an open flame. Much like the unfortunate moth, I was met with disappointment, as the story wasn't nearly as unique and exciting as the cover would lead one to believe. Spoilers follow.

The land of Ravka is divided by the Unsea or the Fold, an angry gash of land populated by fearsome beasts. Since the Fold effectively cuts the trade and commerce centers from the rest of Ravka, people are forced to travel through it on a regular basis to keep the economy going. Alina Starkov is a cartographer in the King's Army along with her best friend from childhood, Mal. Their regiment will be making the dangerous crossing with the help of several Grisha, the equivalent of magic users. Despite this, they are attacked by the volcra that live in the Unsea and Alina discovers that she has a certain aptitude for magic that wasn't discovered when she was tested as a child. Believed to be the Sun Summoner, the one who could destroy the Fold and reunite Ravka, she is whisked away by the mysterious Darkling, the most powerful Grisha in the country, for training. She finds herself in an unfamiliar world of decadence where everyone is hiding something...and the plans for her that are even bigger than she imagined.

Sounds pretty good, doesn't it? If only the story was as intriguing and interesting as the premise would suggest. There's nothing new here. That isn't always necessarily a bad thing; common tropes can still be very successful when executed well, but that isn't the case with "Shadow and Bone." The plot boils down to the same tired story we've seen again and again in YA novels: a normal, plain (or so she thinks) girl finds out she has an incredible power and gets to play dress up while training to use her special ability, all while trying to decide who she really loves: her best friend or the supernatural bad boy that has just walked into her life. Many other clichés can also be found: Alina's parents are dead; Alina has no female friends...in fact, she automatically hates every girl or woman she sees; everyone sees Alina as desirable or enviable; and the list just goes on. If you've read much YA, you'll likely be able to predict most of the events before they happen, as there are very few (read: no) surprising twists. This story has been done before, and it's been done better.

There are also some unfortunate problems with the pacing. The book gets almost immediately to the action and Alina is quickly spirited away, the Darkling hoping to keep her ahead of any enemy assassins. Once she gets to the capital of Os Alta, the story slows to a painful crawl. Alina goes through some training but doesn't seem to improve, she gets dressed up and laments her appearance a lot, she spends a lot of time internally snarking at every girl she meets for being shallow and insipid, and she contemplates the Darkling and Mal. If that list seemed boring, it's even worse in the book, since this is what most of the bloated middle portion contains. There's a moment where Alina suddenly (seemingly out of nowhere) comes to the realization that she's been subconsciously holding her powers back, which is why they weren't discovered when she was a child, and she begins to make progress with her training. There's even a small attempt at setting up some intrigue with the priest, but it never really goes anywhere. Once Alina escapes, things pick up again and move along at a quick pace, but the book never recovers from the monotonous pace set in the middle of the story. Many of the things that made the novel drag could have easily been reduced or cut out completely without affecting the story...in fact, it would have been better without Alina's constant game of dress up and griping about everyone she interacts with. A good editor would have done wonders for the book, but as it stands, it's a lot like a sad hammock: held up well enough at the ends with a painfully sagging middle that pulls the whole thing down.

I have to give credit where it is due: I quite liked the magic system portrayed here. Grisha aren't all-powerful wizards that can master a large variety of spells and capabilities. Instead, it's presented as the "small sciences" and each Grisha specializes in a particular subject, whether it's fire, textiles, blood, appearance, darkness, light, or many others. I liked this interesting approach to magic, and though it perhaps isn't the most unique out there, it was a welcome addition to an otherwise run-of-the-mill novel.

Much like many other YA novels out there, "Shadow and Bone" features a love triangle. Does anyone still like these at this point? As is the norm, Alina has two potential suitors to choose from: her best friend from childhood or the mysterious, brooding supernatural bad boy. She also doesn't break the mold by spending a large part of the book trying to decide who she should ultimately go for, a decision that isn't exactly difficult when the Darkling reveals himself to be a nastier guy than he would have you believe. This doesn't even make for good drama because the Darkling is, as already mentioned, so mysterious that Alina knows next to nothing about him and we never really know why she has feelings for Mal...we're simply told from the get-go that she does and are expected to take it at face value. If you're going to use the love triangle as a major source of drama and conflict for the main character, at least make us care about the figures involved. As it stands, I never got to know any of the characters enough to care about the outcome of the romantic struggle. Worse still, the few "romantic" scenes we do get are poorly written, and it feels like none of the characters have any chemistry whatsoever. As a side note to this, I cringed when Alina profusely apologized to Mal for ever having feelings for the Darkling, yet immediately forgives Mal for all of the girls he's tumbled (which, we're led to believe, has been quite a few). I don't know who still enjoys love triangles, but if you're going to use them, put a little more effort into it - this one felt like it was included just for the sake of adding more drama.

Sadly, none of the characters (save one, but I'll get to that in a bit) ever move beyond being cardboard cutouts. Alina Starkov (as an aside, her last name really should be Starkova) is a weak main character. She initially shows a little promise due to her cynicism, but her snarking gets old pretty fast, as it doesn't seem like she has any other feelings or emotions beyond being sarcastic about everything and everyone. A cynical main character can be great for adding a unique flavour to the story, especially when it's told in first person as "Shadow and Bone" is, but it's simply not utilized well. Alina fails to deliver a unique point of view. Instead, she just explains what's happening in a straightforward manner and complains a lot...that's it, no colourful expressions, nothing that really captures Alina as a character, just a straight retelling of events with a lot of whining. Really, that's perhaps Alina's biggest problem as a character: she complains about everything. I've mentioned time and time again that I love an annoying character because they have a lot of potential to grow throughout the book. The problem here is that Alina's complaining doesn't seem to be considered a character flaw, so she never moves beyond it.

The author also falls back onto yet another YA staple regarding Alina's appearance: rather than actually being sickly, as Alina's descriptions of herself would suggest, she's actually just skinny with brown hair and brown eyes...just like numerous other YA protagonists out there. Of course, her opinion of herself increases when Genya uses her Grisha abilities to make her a little less plain. In fact, a lot of Alina's opinions on people revolve around how they look; I don't know if I've ever come across a more shallow character. Alina's primary concern when it comes to others is how attractive they are (if the character is a girl, Alina compares herself to them; if the character is a guy, she's thinking about how desirable they are or aren't). She has these amazing powers and is discovering her capabilities and their importance, yet all she can focus on is physical appearance, which makes her incredibly unlikable as the book's main protagonist.

There's another problem with Alina filling the role of main character, and that is that we simply don't know where she's coming from or what her background is. We're just sort of thrown into the middle of her trek to the Unsea and her feelings for Mal without any explanation. Ok, fine, that can work if the author goes back and somehow fills in the backstory, helping us understand our protagonists that much better, but that wasn't done here. There are some flashbacks, such as when she first began to feel that Mal was more than a friend, but even in those things are waved away with the explanation of Alina not knowing why she felt the way she did, which doesn't really work in a first person point of view novel...especially when it's used as often as it is here. As a result, we have a main character that we never fully understand. Why is she the way she is? What motivates her and her thoughts? We never really know, which makes it a bit difficult to truly connect with Alina.

The other characters don't fare any better. Most are pretty two dimensional and seem to be around solely to fill some sort of role. Mal is kind and loyal to Alina, despite a bought of jealousy brought on by her new position, and will do anything to protect her. Zoya is mean and jealous of Alina's power. The other girls at the school are insipid and like to gossip. Her trainers are tough, but ultimately want the best for her. The priest is secretive and off-putting. Genya shows a little promise due to her underdog status amongst the Grisha and the genuine friendship that she seems to form with Alina, but she ends up being willing to turn on her friend for a higher position, not making her the most endearing character ever. None of these characters are unique; we've seen them time and time again in other stories. Worse, much like with the plot, the characters simply aren't written well enough to stand out as good examples of their assigned roles. They're largely forgettable and one-note.

The one notable exception is the Darkling. He seems to be a favourite among readers, and it's hardly any wonder: he's charming, mysterious, and demonstrates more complexity than any other character in the book. I'll never know how Alina (or anyone else) never guessed that he was actually evil, as it practically oozes from him, but that's part of what makes him so great. See, he doesn't really seem to be hiding his true nature, and instead relies on others being too imperceptive to figure out his real motives (and since most of the cast seems oblivious to a lot of things, it works). He's unabashedly dubious in his ethics and methods and is very much in control. I can't blame Alina for falling for him...I don't think anyone could help falling for him. So pat yourself on the back, Bardugo, you created one Hell of an interesting antagonist!

So, honestly, I could have forgiven the lackluster plot, the saggy middle, the superficial main character, and the poorly characterized cast had the Russian elements been pulled off effectively. I'm such a Russophile that I would have enjoyed an otherwise mediocre book for that alone. But it flopped. Some readers probably won't care, but if you know much about Russian culture, you'll realize pretty quickly that it's been butchered. And yes, I realize that it was meant to be more Russian influenced than actual Russian, but the author seems to have no understanding of the culture she's trying to portray. Names are all over the place and incorrectly gendered (refer to Alina's last name), kvas is treated like a hard liquor, and the titles and terms presented make little sense. Perhaps worse, nothing about the book or its characters really "feels" Russian. Sure, they drink tea from samovars, go to the banya, and play balalaikas, but there's nothing of the rich cultural traditions, the history, or the folklore. The characters aren't particularly Russian in their actions or beliefs. Bardugo uses these Russian-ish sounding words (both real and made up) to decorate the pages, but doesn't attempt to insert anything truly Russian or Russian feeling into the story. If you took away these elements, the story would be completely unchanged because they don't matter! That's what is meant to separate this book from others in the YA genre - its Russian flavour, and yet all we get is a snowy landscape and some of the most common Russian words thrown in for set dressing.

I know I've been harsh, but there really isn't much to like about "Shadow and Bone". The cover made it seem very promising. It has an interesting premise and boasts a uniquely Russian flavour to make it stand out, but it fails to deliver on either front. The plot is the same tired story we've read in many other novels and the pacing is so bad that the middle is horribly bogged down, keeping it from being a good example of this particular story. The love triangle is uninteresting since we know too little about either romance option to care and seems to have been included just for the sake of creating drama for Alina. As a main character, Alina is whiny and shallow with no background and exhibits no growth throughout the book, which makes it difficult to connect with or even sympathize with her. A majority of the other characters are flat and one note. The Russian elements have been so poorly researched and written that they fail to add anything of value to the novel. I can only give it one star, and that's for having an interesting take on magic and the character of the Darkling. The rest has been done better elsewhere.

86 people found this helpful

Cyra Rae Schaefer

Alina Starkov has never been good at anything

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 16, 2016

Verified Purchase

The Grisha #1
Publisher: Henry Holt & Co. (BYR)
Publication Date: June 5th, 2012
Rating: 4 Stars
Source: Purchase
Pages: 368
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Summary (from Goodreads):

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.

Shadow and Bone is the first installment in Leigh Bardugo's Grisha Trilogy.

I didn't even bother to attempt to omit anything spoilery. Just in case you're one of those people (like me) who is reading this and hasn't already jumped on this bandwagon. And this isn't even really a review. It's just my ramblings. Just in case that's not your thing, turn back now.

Okay, so I mentioned in a tag one time that my least favorite trope to read about in a book is the one where the girl finds herself to be so boring and plain and not pretty, but actually she is and everyone loves her and blah blah blah. Well, I'm bringing that up because I was just reading other people's reviews of this book on Goodreads and someone was saying something about how they felt Alina fit this trope and I disagree. So I wish to babble about why I disagree. Also, it's probably the most coherent thought I have on this whole book.

In the beginning of the book, Alina kind of strikes me as an outcast. She was an orphan of the forever ongoing war between Ravka and the neighboring countries along with her best friend, Mal. They grow up and join the military together and she seems to just be off by herself. She is a mapmaker and not even a very good one, in her own opinion. She is always wishing for the good old days when Mal actually noticed her or took interest in her. The way she is described makes me think of someone who is really sickly. She constantly has dark circles under her eyes, she's way too skinny, she can't sleep, she has no appetite, she doesn't have pretty skin, etc. Then going through the Shadow Fold, she unleashes her rare Grisha powers to save Mal from the volcra and she is consequently taken by the Darkling to Os Alta where she is trained to use her powers. She fails in her training with Baghra to use her powers at her own will, she fails in combat training with Botkin because of her sickly nature, and she fails in socializing with other Grisha because she doesn't believe she belongs there and doesn't believe in herself. People only seem to be interested in her for her rare Sun Summoner abilities.

Then she has kind of a realization/flashback about her past and realizes that she doesn't have to hide her powers anymore. So she lets it out and her sickly-ness goes away. She can sleep and regains her appetite so she fills out and loses the dark circles, but I still don't really recall anyone describing her as pretty. Maybe I skimmed over the book too fast NEEDING to know what happens next, but I don't remember that at all. It seemed to me that it probably took a big physical toll on Alina to suppress those powers for so long. And as a result of all that, she gains more confidence and finds that she's finally found a place where she fits in.

And as for the part of the trope where the character's got all these guys in love with her, I don't believe that the Darkling loves her. I think that he loves her power and how he can use it for his own gain. And as for Mal, I think that even though, to me, he came across as a huge douchebag in the beginning of the book, he probably always loved her. They grew up together and he took her presence for granted until she was no longer there and then he probably really realized what his feelings for her were. And as for everyone else in the book, I think that they all liked her just because they wanted to be friends with the Sun Summoner.

Except Genya, I think Genya likes Alina because Alina sees her as a person and treats her like a friend. I really liked Genya.

Anyway, so yeah, I really liked Alina. I found her to be really relatable. I appreciated that she didn't act like she always knew what was going on. I enjoyed that she made mistakes and ended up making some really tough decisions. I loved how she overcame everything. I thought she grew a lot in this book. I really enjoyed reading about her.

In the beginning, I thought that Mal was kind of a douchebag, as I mentioned above. I didn't really see the appeal of him AT FIRST. He seemed to be looking at other girls when he had a perfectly wonderful girl right in front of him that he never even saw until she was gone. But I decided that I was firmly team Mal at the part where he tells her he sees her now, right before they find the white stag. Ahhhhhhh... I love how he regrets not doing anything to get her back when she was taken by the Grisha after she revealed her power and tries to do whatever he thinks he can to help her. He tracks the white stag because he knows it's for her and then when his assignment changes to tracking her, he does just that and then runs away with her and tries to find her the stag still. I love the relationship that they have. I love when they are rekindling that friendship/something more after he finds her.

When the Darkling was introduced, I didn't really see what was so bad about him. He seemed like a genuine guy, all sad about the Shadow Fold and wanting Alina's help to destroy it and what not. And I was very happy about the kissing scenes. I DID think it was weird that he never really acted all that excited about kissing her though. I think he just wanted to make out with her sun summoning ability. Buuut then I saw his true colors and I was glad that she ran away. I really didn't find him to be all that villainous though, to be honest. I mean, yeah, he's not good. But I mean, there are definitely worse villains out there. At this point he kinda sounds like he just wants to use his Shadow Fold to force peace on all the warring countries. Things COULD be worse, but at the same time, he's probably got worse things up his sleeve. I don't know yet. We'll see.

I enjoyed the writing of this book. I enjoyed the story and the plot. I liked all the characters. I can't think of anyone in this book that I didn't like. I can think of one thing that I didn't like about this book at all...

I KNEW Alexei was gonna get snatched by a volcra in the beginning. I knew it. I knew he wasn't gonna make it through the Shadow Fold. I liked him in the brief time that he was around in the story. Poor Alexei didn't stand a chance.

I'm really excited to see what happens in the rest of this series! I would highly recommend this book if you're into fantasy. I really just think that I have a thing for books where the characters have any kind of power. So if you also have this kind of thing, read this book!

5 people found this helpful

Brittany

Amazing and enthralling!

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on May 7, 2014

Verified Purchase

Review originally posted on The Book Addict's Guide

Once again I find myself singing the praises of high fantasy! I’d seen tons of praise for this book pretty much everywhere and after seeing Leigh Bardugo at Anderson’s Bookshop first on the Fierce Reads tour in June and again at Anderson’s on August 30th (although I actually finished the book before then!), just seeing her personality and hearing her talk about the book and how she came up with it really drove me to get into the story.

I absolutely loved the development of the Grisha and the story behind their history and abilities. It seemed utterly magical but as we learn more about the talents, there’s a little bit of practicality mixed in as well. It was really interesting to learn about and I found it quite unique.

Another thing I really enjoyed is that the romance aspect isn’t overdone. We first learn that Alina has developed a crush on Mal in the very beginning of the book, so that’s something we already know, but since Mal is also her best friend and pretty much only friend, that also makes him so much more to Alina. He’s incredibly important to her and it’s not just a lust factor. As for The Darkling….. well that’s just a pure lust situation!

So yes, I really loved where the story went and I loved how it all came together in the end! Leigh Bardugo’s writing was also extremely enjoyable and I loved the new elements that she brought to the story.

Characters--
Alina: I didn’t find myself like Alina so much as I could understand her. As an orphan, Alina grew up alone. She’s stubborn, she’s protective, she’s independent; it’s not like I’d want her for my friend but I admire her courage and determination to make the best of herself and the situation she came from. It did get a bit tiresome at first once Alina was figuring out her abilities and once she became part of the Grisha society that she spent most of her time trying not to be noticed and pining for Mal. But then the more I thought about it, the more it made perfect sense. If you’re a person who’s not used to attention, it’s overwhelming when people are constantly praising you, following you around, and giving you special treatment. As a poor orphan, Alina never experienced anything like that before. Even though her ability is extraordinary, it’s now something that has put her in an uncomfortable spotlight and ripped her away from her only family – Mal.
The Darkling: **Mild spoiler alert in The Darkling section (it’s not really a spoiler, but if you want to be kept totally in the dark, skip this part!)** He’s mysterious, he’s sexy, he’s…. old? We find out that due to the nature of The Darkling’s power, it severely enlongates his life. He reveals to Alina that he’s well over 100 years old so um, thanks but no thanks? It’s kind of a Twilight situation here (which somehow I was totally okay with in Twilight but not okay with in Shadow and Bone – I don’t know – don’t ask me why). I can understand he looks sexy and he acts sexy, but.. but.. he’s an old man? So yeah, he totally just didn’t appeal to me after I heard that! Had the age not been a factor, we’d have a little bit of a swoon situation going on. After knowing that? Yipes.
----
Re-read review: This was quite the interesting re-read for me… I think this was the first re-read in which I had two totally different expectations going into it: When I first picked up SHADOW AND BONE almost two years ago (!!!), I was not a fantasy reader. I think I had read Graceling first and that was about it, so I wasn’t expecting much in the way of a new fantasy book and it turned out that I loved it! I was really scared going into the re-read this time because I had since fallen in love with this series and was afraid that the re-read just wouldn’t be the same. Honestly, I did read the book entirely differently. Well, in two ways — I bought the audiobook from Audible because I’ve started to really enjoy doing my re-reads via audiobook and also because I been obsessing over the series for two years now and all of the THINGS that I know, I’m able to pick up on so much more with a re-read.

I must say, re-reading SHADOW AND BONE really proved to me how amazing SIEGE AND STORM was. As someone who wasn’t a fantasy reader before, I very much appreciated the whole revelation of having powers, learning how to use them in that almost boarding school-type setting, and the romances involved but reading all of these things a second time and especially after reading SIEGE AND STORM came across totally differently. Honestly, TOTALLY. For one, I already knew Alina had powers and exactly what they entailed, so I wasn’t as interested in the figuring out process so much as paying attention to the other details that I may have glossed over in my first read. The whole learning process actually wasn’t as appealing to me the second time around, I think because I really already knew how it happened so I was ready to dive into more character development of secondary characters which didn’t happen as much in the first book as it does in the second. SHADOW AND BONE is very much about Alina and about Mal and about their ties to the Grisha so my impatience didn’t exactly pay off haha. But of course, it was still enjoyable to go through that experience again!

I read the romance aspect of this book entirely differently the second time around. During my first read, I did not get what was the big deal about Mal. I liked him and I loved his friendship with Alina but I didn’t fall for him (or the Darkling, really, but that’s another story) the way other readers did. During my re-read. YEAH. MAL. I’M THERE. I really got to know him better in SIEGE AND STORM so that made my connection in this re-read stronger but WHOO BOY, that best friend romance thing going on there…. *fans self* How was I not more into this during my first read!? I don’t understand. Because best friends falling for each other is a trope that I luuuurve and I was totally on board with it during my re-read. I also felt less love-triangley about the Darkling because knowing what I know now, it seemed more like a power play than a romance and I had it in my head that way more happened than it actually did in the book. Since I already knew about the world-building side of the book, I did pay more attention to the romance this time around which hadn’t really seemed to play a big part for me during my original read.

Speaking of world building, that was something I really enjoyed even more. The more I read about this world, the more I fall in love with it. It’s always a little difficult to get a grasp on a new world with unique (and foreign) names so now that I know a little more about the Grishaverse, I really got a hold on what happens where and exactly what’s involved. As far as plotting and characters go, obviously now I know their connections, but even then I was formulating new theories about the Darkling and why we don’t know his name yet and what if it’s related to or connected to characters we’ve already met and don’t know it?!

I think I enjoyed my original read a little bit more than the re-read but I am even MORE anxious to re-read SIEGE AND STORM and I’m still salivating over RUIN AND RISING and dreaming about how it’s SO CLOSE. I’m still in love with this world and this series and it will be bittersweet to end in June but I still can’t wait!

Jess Gofton

Cut-out characters fail this fantasy world

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on May 16, 2019

Verified Purchase

Hoo boy. I don’t believe in not saying you didn’t like a book if you didn’t like it, but even I sometimes get nervous about criticising a beloved book on the internet – especially when everyone’s talking about said book because it’s being adapted for Netflix.

But here we are.

Now I’ve already told a bit of a fib there because I didn’t exactly dislike Shadow and Bone – I have read far worse books – but even going into it with lowered expectations, this is not the book I thought it would be.

I fell head over heels in love with Six of Crows last year and it’s now one of my favourite books of all time. Knowing that one of the characters from that book would be making an appearance in King of Scars, I knew I’d have to read her original Grisha trilogy even though it was never a series I was particularly interested in – and at least now I know my gut instincts about this book were right.

I’m not going to sit here and compare Shadow and Bone with Six of Crows because that’s not fair on so many levels. Six of Crows is a heist story while Shadow and Bone is very much a traditional ‘chosen one’ fantasy story, they just so happen to be set in the same world, and if nothing else this book reminded me just how much I love Six of Crows. I love that we can clearly see how much Bardugo is improving with each book because Six of Crows is a masterpiece, so I’m not going to hold it against her that her earlier novel isn’t as accomplished because that’s how being an author works. Usually, authors get better at their craft with each story.

Shadow and Bone has a lot in it to be admired. It’s easy to see how this trilogy took inspiration from and went on to inspire other Russian-inspired fantasy novels, and I did like the setting and the concept of the Shadow Fold.

My main problem with this novel was the characters. I’ve seen Alina Starkov on so many ‘Favourite Heroine’ lists (and that’s nothing against the people who love her at all!) but I found her so… frustrating, and kind of boring. I wanted her to make more decisions for herself earlier in the novel, not only when her childhood friend Mal was in mortal danger. I felt like she spent the entire novel letting herself be pushed around by everyone, and while it could be argued that this was to show her develop when she finally stood up for herself I felt like I never actually knew her well enough to care when she did.

Considering the country of Ravka has been at war for years and has a big shadowy mess of literal monsters in the middle of it, I felt like I spent far too much time with Alina’s boy problems. The Darkling and Mal, and I’m sorry to say this because I know the Darkling is beloved, were kind of boring. In fact especially the Darkling, for me. I don’t think I saw enough of Mal to really have an opinion of him, but I saw plenty of the Darkling and considering he’s literally described as ‘ancient’ in this book I didn’t expect him to act like an angsty teenager.

I’m sure he has some kind of tragic past, and knowing the kind of stories I know Bardugo can write I’m sure I’ll learn more about him and start to like him more as a character (not as a person) as the series continues, but in this book he was just a bully, and I have no interest in romanticising bullies. In fact he was the worst kind of bully by lying and making himself appear to be a friend first; even all the Grisha he was nice to he was essentially using for his own gain, which I would be fine with if he was doing it honestly, but trying to seduce Alina while she thought he was someone he wasn’t? Again I know he’s beloved, but I just thought he was a bit of a creep.

And I suppose that’s the point. At least I hope so. I can’t really be annoyed with the villain for being the villain, but he’s been so romanticised by fans that I was expecting him to be more sympathetic than he is.

As for Mal, I am so bored of the childhood friend who only wants the girl when he sees her with someone else. When he and Alina had scenes together I thought they were pretty sweet – I know, Grisha fans everywhere are aghast – but, like Alina, I didn’t know enough about him or the Darkling or anyone to actually care. Alina and Mal at least had a history between them, but the ‘romance’ between Alina and the Darkling came completely out of the blue for me – or at least it started a lot faster than I was expecting.

This book was published in 2012 and, reading it now, I could really tell. This is very post-Twilight YA with the love triangle featuring a girl with no gumption, a broody bellend and a childhood friend bellend. This is a better book than Twilight and, even though it might not seem it, there was stuff in this book that I did like a lot. My problem was I wanted to know more about the politics and the war and less about how Alina was wearing her hair.

The majority of Shadow and Bone was essentially a set-up for a wider story, but I can’t help feeling it could have been a few chapters at the beginning of another book rather than a whole book by itself.

I do understand why this book is so well-loved and this is very much just my opinion! I think I was ruined for this trilogy reading Six of Crows first, but I’m glad I read the books this way around because I might not have enjoyed this trilogy enough to be inclined to pick Six of Crows up if I’d read Shadow and Bone first.

If nothing else, Shadow and Bone was fun and fast-paced and, even though I didn’t love it, I’m hoping I’ll enjoy the rest of the trilogy and I think a Netflix adaptation will be really fun to watch!

93 people found this helpful

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