Shadow and Bone

Executive Summary: It was fine, but nothing special. I like the world building, but the characters and plot leave a bit to be desired.Audiobook: I thought Lauren Fortgang did a good job. When I read Six of Crows, apparently she was one of the narrators, but I couldn't tell which is which. I did comment I liked the narrator who did Inej. My guess is that is her, but I can't be certain. She didn't really do anything special to make this a must listen, but I like the way she reads and is a good fit for this book.Full ReviewI read [b:Six of Crows 23437156 Six of Crows (Six of Crows, #1) Leigh Bardugo https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1459349344l/23437156.SY75.jpg 42077459] back in 2017 and really enjoyed it. I picked this one up in 2018 with the intention of reading it not long after and then just never did. So now with the show coming out (and the fact that I own the entire trilogy), I figured it was past due for me to read this.I will say that Ms. Bardugo has certainly improved as a writer since this book. I enjoyed the Six of Crows books far more than this one. The world building and the setting are the best part of this book. The characters and the plot are not nearly as good. I do tend to prefer a heist story of what feels like a fairly standard YA Romance/post-apocalyptic story. I also remember Kaz and Inej a lot more fondly than I think about Alina and Mal. I also found the ending a bit predictable. That said, it's not a bad book and I want to see what happens next, so I've already started the next book. I don't really remember too many details of the sequel series, but apparently the show is using some of those characters in addition to those in this book. I'll be interested to see how that works out and I'm glad I finally got around to read this before watching the show.