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Shadow and Bone (#1) by Leigh Bardugo
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy | 358 Pages | Published: June 5, 2012 by Henry Holt and Co.
Book Jacket Synposis:
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.
Book Links: Amazon
Favorite Quotes
- It was as if that moment in Baghda’s cottage was my first full breath and I had awakened into a new life.
- A gift? So a Grisha is no better than a serf? We all serve someone.
Review & Thoughts
I love that so many books are being made into tv series. Being a true book-lover, I prefer to read a book before I watch the screen-adaptation. That way I compare the show/movie to the book rather than the other way around.
When I realized Shadow and Bone was coming to Netflix I purchased the boxed trilogy set and binge-read the book over the course of three evenings, then proceeded to binge-watch the Netflix series in two evenings. I was bummed that the show included a storyline from another book so there was a bit that I didn’t know going in but I was glad that I had background on the main portion of the Shadow and Bone story.
Overall, I absolutely loved this and basically devoured the book. I don’t read a lot of fantasy, so I appreciated that this was a Young Adult book and not overly difficult to read and follow. Looking forward to reading books 2 and 3 of the series then moving on to read The Six of Crows two-book series.
My Review Rating: ♥♥♥♥.5 | Recommend for: Young Adult Fantasy lovers, Book to Screen; Netflix series
Book Format & Source: Paperback boxed set purchased from Barnes & Noble.
About Leigh Bardugo
Leigh Bardugo is a #1 New York Times bestselling author of fantasy novels and the creator of the Grishaverse (now a Netflix original series) which spans the Shadow and Bone Trilogy, the Six of Crows Duology, The Language of Thorns, and King of Scars–with more to come. Her short stories can be found in multiple anthologies, including the Best American Science Fiction & Fantasy. Her other works include Wonder Woman: Warbringer and Ninth House (Goodreads Choice Winner for Best Fantasy 2019) which is being developed for television by Amazon Studios.
Leigh grew up in Southern California and graduated from Yale University. These days she lives and writes in Los Angeles. For information on new releases and appearances, sign up for Leigh’s newsletter: http://bit.ly/bardugonews.
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