Shadow and Bone

3.5 stars

Ok first off I want to say I really want a library like the one in the Little Palace. I mean 2 stories with a balcony on the second story and a glass domed ceiling but I would make it more cozy and colorful lol. Ok now that that nonsense is out of the way lets get to the actual review.

I was weary going into this because of all the negativity surrounding it. Because of that I went into it with little to no expectations and after finishing it I can say that I shouldn't have been worried because I really enjoyed it.

I was immediately drawn into the story right from the beginning but to me the last half of the book was better than the first half. This book if full of tropes. I mean we get the plain girl trope, friends to lovers, the chosen one and a few others. For me this isn't a problem because I am a rare bookworm who pretty much enjoys all of the tropes.

I don't tend to read a whole lot of fantasy because for some reason authors have to come up with crazy names that no one knows how to pronounce and I tend to get hung up on that because I will come across a word and I will literally sit there for a couple seconds trying to figure out the correct pronunciation and then I will give up and move on. All of that to say that annoys me and it is definitely present in this book but the more fantasy I read the more I get used to it and it doesn't bother me as much.

The Grisha are people with elemental powers and honestly reading this book I was confused on if we are supposed to like them or not. Sometimes it seems like everyone hates them and sometimes it seems like everyone loves them.

This book was pretty predictable except I never saw that twist coming in the end and I loved it. Of course I loved the romance. I was back and forth with my feelings for a couple of the characters and honestly I still am a little.

This was a quick read and I am definitely hooked and can't wait to pick up Siege and Storm.