Review 141. Leigh Bardugo – Shadow and bone.

Title: Shadow and bone.
Author: Leigh Bardugo.
Pages: 358.
Published: June 5th 2012.
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
Sort: Part one of ‘The Grisha’
Source: Won in a giveaway.

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.

Rating:

First impression: WOW. Why did I wait so long? From the first chapter I was hooked to this exciting story. This book also features one of my favorite things: a map! If you haven’t read this book, please, do yourself a favour and get a copy! Because this is AMAZING.

This wonderful story starts with two orphans, Alina and Mal. They grew up together and they are now in the same army. Alina is a mapmaker, Mal is a gifted tracker. They are sent to cross the Shadow Fold, an impenetrable darkness that cleaves the country Ravka in two parts. When they are attacked by the Volcra, terrible flying creatures and Mal is heavily injured, Alina discovers her power and saves their lives. Nothing will ever be the same. Alina is whisked away to the royal court as a new member of the Grisha. That is a group of magical people led by the Darkling. Alina is trained in different aspects of her new life, like controlling her power and learning more about the Grisha. She is unique and the key role in setting the country free.

Alina is forced to flee away from court after someone reveals a dangerous secret and that is how she runs into Mal. Together, they must find an important animal. His antlers will function as an amplifier (to increase her power) and it’s the only way she can resist the hold of the Darkling.

This book has a magnificent world-building and an unique concept. The world is ruled by the King and Queen, but the Darkling has the most power with his army of Grisha’s. There are different types of power and they all wear their own color kefta’s and titles. This is my only “complaint” about this book; the new terms and words with Russian influences definitely added something to the sphere of the book, but they were sometimes hard to define. I would have appreciated a list with words, because it’s easy to get lost. But, Bardugo did a great job on explaining everything and after a while, everything made sense.

The plot was very exciting. Alina is going to play an important role in the survival of their world. The twist in the middle of the book was great and I couldn’t stop reading. I wanted to find out about the real intention of the Darkling and how Alina was going to deal with it.

Alina is a great character. She is lost when she first uses her power and I loved her development. She is starting to understand her power and she finally finds a place in the world. She has quite some spunk. Everybody is afraid for the Darkling, but she doesn’t hesitate to stand up for herself. Alina is incredibly strong and I appreciated the fact that she never indulges in whining. She definitely had enough reasons to, because she is separated from the person that makes her feel like she belongs somewhere: Mal. I liked him. They were so cute together and you can see that they have a special bond.

He is more on the background, but he is so loyal to Alina. He is willing to sacrifice everything for her. 

That brings me to the mysterious Darkling, one of my favorite characters from this book. I love complex characters and my oh my, doesn’t he sound like one hot guy (despite the fact that he is very old). I never knew what was going on in his mind and he was very unpredictable. One moment, he shows his soft human side to Alina, the other moment he chops a guy in half without blinking.

The ending had no cliff-hanger. Yeay for books with normal endings, that still manage to make you excited for the next one! For me, that is a true gift for writing. Most things are neatly wrapped-up, but there is enough space for the next book.  I can’t wait to read Siege and Storm!

“What are you smiling at?”
….
"Well?” He asked, looking up at me.
"Myself,” I admitted.
"Are you that funny?”
"I’m hilarious.”