Ritika Bhattacharjee

rating - 5/5

honestly loved this book so much more than its precursors. The pacing in the beginning was a little slow, but when it picked up; i genuinely couldn't put it down. might've stayed up till 4 am, reading. but we don't talk about that.

ABSOLUTELY LOVE LOVE LOVE Aaron Warner. any doubts whatsoever have been replaced with absolute admiration for this man. He is everything.

“I want so many things,” he whispers. “I want your mind. Your strength. I want to be worth your time.” His fingers graze the hem of my top and he says “I want this up.” He tugs on the waist of my pants and says “I want these down.” He touches the tips of his fingers to the sides of my body and says, “I want to feel your skin on fire. I want to feel your heart racing next to mine and I want to know it's racing because of me, because you want me. Because you never,” he says, he breathes, “never want me to stop. I want every second. Every inch of you. I want all of it.”

“All you do is sit around and think about your feelings. You've got problems. boo-freaking-hoo.”...“Those aren't problems”. “It's stupid and ungrateful because you don't have a clue what everyone else in the world is going through right now”

“he's one of my favourite people on this planet and I'm so happy he's okay. I'm so happy he's my friend.

fares extremely well in terms of the romance, plot twists and action.

keeping the reader invested throughout.

rating - 3.5/5Did i think this book had a lot of clichès? yes. Did i still eat that shit up? absolutely.

To be fair, I haven't read anything in a while and just wanted something super fast paced and fun to get me back to reading and this was perfect for that.
Would i love it as much if i had been reading other romances right before this? maybe not. But reading is subjective, it depends on your moods; and it was the perfect time to pick this up. I've also loved f1 for a while now, and this book singlehandedly fed my romance and f1 obsession.

The writing wasn't perfect but i loved the rivals to teammates aspect. I was nervous about how formula one would be written about, but the author did a pretty great job; ( let's leave out maya talking over the radio, because it was solely for plot purposes. right? right.) i knew most of the terms but it was explained well enough for anyone who didn't know the sport.

I was comparing this to real world f1 constantly haha. was it just me or is bandini, ferrari? (but in an alternate world where ferrari don't mess up. And Noah is charles with max's personality.) i know the author didn't write about real f1 drivers but come on now. not just me right?

The only complaint i probably have, is the conflict resolution. Noah's father and santi ofc were pretty strong plot devices but i felt like the resolution was very easy?? For something they talk about for almost 60% of the book; Santi was pretty okay with their relationship? he was upset for like one page, bahaha.
Eitherway, noah and maya are so cute! I have attachment issues and always end up having a soft spot for the first couple in all these books (cough hannah and garrett coughcough lilo cough) so let's see if jax/liam/santi can do better:) will probably pick up collided as soon as i finish this review!
edit:found out this was lauren asher's debut book so that explains the writing style.

anyway you should definitely pick this up in between books for a light-hearted read and give it a chance.

rating - 2/5

i don't know if it was me or the book but dear god, that was AWFUL.

somehow the writing style or the phrases used were just not for me; it was not immersive and i felt disconnected from the storyline throughout. That being said, there definitely was potential. The premise and setting had me excited and the first few chapters even had me hooked; however it was just a downward slope after that. I always like the lead up to the fmc and mmc getting together but somehow I didn't even enjoy THAT phase in this book.

Overall, although i liked Astrid, her thoughts when it came to Levi were annoying as heck and everytime Levi called her a princess i wanted to strangle him. i.e what I'm saying is— no :).
The side story/murder plot that the author was foreshadowing throughout the book wasn't all that great either and was extremely predictable.
I'm really really upset i didn't enjoy this book because i was extremely ready to just get into the rina kent universe and love lots of new characters but it is what it is, i guess:/

“And there's nothing wrong with being a lizard either. Unless you were born to be a hawk.”

rating- 3.5/5

okay I'm not going to lie, i didn't intend to read these books. i almost picked up six of crows and only later decided I'm going to read the grisha trilogy first. (solely because I've heard the grishaverse is a tad bit complicated to understand at first, + i just like reading things chronologically, it's just one of those things, don't ask)—and honestly? I'm glad i did—most of my friends have read six of crows and have absolutely loved it, but they don't really like the grisha trilogy or don't even plan on reading it? this made me a little sceptical at first and i even considered skipping these books and moving on to six of crows, as I'm aware most people have done. Naturally, my expectations weren't very high going into it. But, to it's credit it did take me by surprise and i liked the book a lot.

PREMISE

(i don't understand why this is a thing since it's literally in the synopsis thing of the book and also people who read detailed reviews are people who've already read the book, right?)

it follows Alina Starkov - an orphan who is a cartographer in the first army, in a world where the common people- who work in the armies and people with powers - the grisha, live together. She discovers dormant powers that are the only way to save Ravka from its downfall due to the dark barrier called the shadow fold dividing it into two. we follow her journey and development as she discovers lies and secrets that change everything.

my views on the book

Shadow and Bone is a very straightforward and uncomplicated book with few plot twists. (to the point where most readers find it plain and boring), but in my opinion this makes it a fast, enjoyable read. If you want a light, breezy read after a complicated book, then this might be for you. Leigh Bardugo's writing is simple, engaging and flows really well, that makes you want to keep reading. The first half of the book was comparatively slower, while the second half distinctively fast, that put me off a little bit, but not enough to stop reading. The plot had a few drawbacks and was a little tropey. but if you can look past the cliches, then it's definitely something you should pick up.

WORLD BUILDING

The world building is something that stood out to me and although, it does feel like we're thrown into the world. (In most fantasy books, the character whose point-of-view we read the book from, is also as clueless as the readers; either because they were unaware or less informed about the workings of the world. In that case, both the characters and the readers learn about this new fantasy world together. In shadow and bone however, that was not the case. Alina already knew about the grisha and their orders, how everything works, etcetera. So there was little explanation of the world for somebody who knows nothing about it. It did feel a tad bit abrupt, but it wasn't something that bothered me.)

Apart from the straight-off nature, the world building was pretty commendable. it was gradual and not rushed. i really liked the concept of the Russian inspired - Ravka. (I'm aware of the numerous linguistic mistakes in the Russian that was incorporated, as many reviews have pointed out. However, as somebody who doesn't know Russian, this is not something i found out until after i read other reviews and therefore it did not influence my views)

CHARACTERS

Alina Starkov is a strong female lead and definitely stood out to me. Most people don't like her (mostly because of the 'not like other girls' trope) and find her to be whiny and self deprecating. but then again, I'm someone with low self esteem and that's how our thought processes work. it doesn't necessarily mean she was ugly or skinny, that's how SHE views herself, which is completely okay. And I think this makes her character more real and endearing.

“The thought filled me with grief, grief for the dreams we'd shared, for the love I'd felt, for the hopeful girl I would never be again.”

Malyen Orestev (mal) is also one of my favourite characters and although his absence in the first half of the book is very noticeable, he almost makes up for it in the second half. the reviews about Mal did shock to me, to say the least. i honestly don't understand why everybody hates him so much. I'm not sure if we read the same thing? because i remember him being a little rude to Alina only once and he also apologizes for this later. Again, like Alina he has his flaws, but to me was different from the typical love interest which again helped him to stand out.

"I love you, Alina, even the part of you that loved him.”

The darkling's character is extremely well developed. I'm sure he has a backstory and motivations that set him apart. I'm yet to read The Demon in the Wood, and he already intrigues me. In the first half, i almost thought there was going to be a redemption arc but after the stag bit— i almost cried. animals dying is just:(— i knew there was no going back. I'm curious to see how the author develops the darkling's character- throughout the next two books in the series.

“The Darkling slumped back in his chair. “Fine,” he said with a weary shrug. “Make me your villain.”

A few setbacks:

first off, something that bothered me was the way Alina's powers were said to have been dormant for many years. she clearly remembers feeling her powers when she got tested by the grisha examiners and yet she's constantly surprised she has them. also, i think that her powers suddenly appearing in the fold was a little far-fetched. In my opinion, it would have been nicer to have a few displays of her power throughout the years. for example, a little sun-ray or a sudden burst of light when she's very angry or something along those lines.

Moreover, instead of making her completely oblivious to those powers, the book should have portrayed her to having some idea that she had powers but being afraid to embrace them. This would have been easier to believe. Alina being a little confused as to what those rays of lights were, that only got more and more frequent with the years, would have given us more time to get accustomed to the change from the cartographer Alina in the first army to grisha Alina, THE sun summoner- who's the only one who can save Ravka. This would've made the transition smoother (although i do understand that the point of the sudden display of her powers was to bring an element of surprise, i believe an easier to digest plot is more important than the occasional surprise plot twist.)

secondly, i thought maybe a few Mal or the Darkling point-of-view chapters would have made it a more interesting read. Despite liking Alina, the single point of view does get a little plain.

what i loved:

definitely the plot twist. it wasn't something i was expecting. the book like i said, is very simple and most issues resolve easily. The plot twist involving the darkling definitely saved the book. it's not something most readers would expect considering the first half of the book was quite predictable. It makes the darkling so much more interesting and your whole view and whatever you have gathered so far, suddenly changes.

The ending also stood out to me. After the morozova's collar was put on Alina, i wasn't sure the book would have anything else to offer and i thought the plot would continue in Siege and Storm. what happened in the fold in the end, again, wasn't something i was expecting and took me by surprise.

"I had spared a life. The power of that life belonged to me as surely as it belonged to the man who had taken it."

“They are orphans again, with no true home but each other and whatever life they can make together on the other side of the sea.”

Overall, Shadow and Bone is a decent read. there are quite a few tropes at play, but as long as you don't let this divert you from the world and plot, you'll be fine. the writing is way better than i expected and more importantly, extremely good for a debut novel. it flows very well and nothing feels forced. The magic system is unique, well thought out and i loved the science point of view being involved instead of making it seem like pure witchcraft/magic as most fantasy books do.

The characters are definitely flawed, but this is what makes them seem real and easier to connect with.

You should definitely give this book a chance, if you haven't already :)