[REVIEW] Shadow and Bone - GrishaVerse #1
Book
Title: Shadow and Bone
Series: Grisha Verse
Volume: 1 of 3
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Publisher: Orbit
Release Date: 5. Juni 2012
Page: 358
"Like calls to like!"
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.
Opinion
What a pleasant suprise this was. I had lost interest in this series a while ago, but thought of giving it a shot none the less, because of the upcoming TV-Show.
I'm not a hughe fan of YA-Books any longer, because they are all similar story and character-wise and this one is no difference. You have the poor little girl with no selfconfidence, a mysterious feared male character, a lovetriangle (which I hate) and of course EVERYONE is beautiful. So that is like every YA novel I've read.
What made it good for me was on the one hand the story, which was interesting from the very first chapter. You were thrown into this world not lectured and I liked it, I liked it a lot. There was no big intro, no unnecessary scene - everything made sense. The wolrdbuilding is amazing, I really like the "russian" setting, it's unlike everything else and the "magic" is nice and not overpowering, which is often the case.
On the other hand the characters were great, although I'm not getting warm with Alina, I found the Darkling amazing. Not because he is the typical mysterious badass male character, no, he is written fantastical. Every behaviour, action and intention made absolutely sense to me and I really loved his coolness in nearly every situation.
Alina on the other hand was, for my taste, a bit to moody. She is always brooding over her not being beautiful. She is quick-witted, yes, but that's all, I found her to be a little plain in comparisson.
About Mal I don't speak, because I really don't give a damn.
The ending was ok but not overwhelming in my opinion, but I also have no idea where all this is going, which is good but I also wished to have a bit more for-shadowing.
The writing style of Leigh Bardugo is great, she knows how to keep the reader. It's easy to read but also exciting and entertaining. It's the perfect balance of information and story telling.
Conclusion
I couldn't stop reading, I basically inhaled the book. Great worldbuilding, characters and writings style, but there are a few points I didn't like, ecspecially the lovetriangle - so only 4 Stars.
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