Shadow and Bone
Ratings992
Average rating3.7
4.5. Loved it and read this after watching the show. I'm not disappointed. Onto the next book!
Lovely and immersive brain candy. This would earn five stars if the world-building were original, instead of its obvious use of existing cultures even down to the spelling.
Vamos a ver, todo bien. Pero no puedes hacer que quiera al malo, es que quiero que le salga todo bien. İncluso la declaración de la renta. Es que Mal, es un imbécil de manual, en el último tercio esta más majo, pero madre mía lo que me ha costado quererle un poco.
Alina es un amor, la quiero mucho pero me ha dejado al final con la sensación de que está huyendo en vez de afrontar la cosa. Es que a ver es normal que quiera mandar a todos a tomar por saco, pero sabemos que no es lo correcto. Espero que solo sea que está en modo sanear y vuelva a tope.
Genya es la MVP del partido para mí, es que la quiero un montón. Bebé, pobrecina... Y le doy cuatro estrellas porque el mundo es una maravilla, la historia te atrapa y QUİERO MÁS.
Ach, ach, ach.
Pas op het is niet slecht hé. Maar het is ook verre van goed.
We zijn in een onbestemde periode in een wereld die wat lijkt op die van ons in pakweg de 19de eeuw of zo: er is Ravka, een Rusland-achtig land, er is een Nederlanden-achtig land, er is een vaag-Aziatisch land.
En er zijn Grisha, mensen die magie kunnen doen, maar niet echt: wat ze doen komt nooit uit het niets; ze kunnen alleen dingen manipuleren (de wind, vuur, metaal, iemands hart- en vaatstelsel).
Haal boven uw zak vol clichés: Alina is een weeskind dat samen met Mal, ook een weeskind, opgroeit. Hij ziet er uit als een jonge god, zij als een onzichtbare muis. Maar zij is ook een Grisha, die toen ze klein was haar talent verborgen heeft gehouden omdat ze niet van Mal wou gescheiden worden. En met de jaren beseft ze dat ze op hem verliefd is, maar hij ziet haar niet op die manier.
Na het weeshuis komen ze allebei in het leger terecht: zij als cartograaf, hij als soldaat.
Tussen Ravka en de zeer ligt er de Fold, een gebied waar het permanent donker is en waar het vol met volcra zit: vliegende monsters die afstammen van de mensen die er vroeger woonden. Die Fold is er gekomen toen eeuwen geleden een slechte Grisha iets verkeerd deed.
Tijdens een oversteek van de Fold wordt het leger aangevallen door volcra, en boem paukenslag, blijkt dat Alina niet alleen een Grisha is maar een soort Grisha dat nog nooit bestond: een Sun Summoner — ze kan zelfs in de donkerste plaatsen al het licht dat er is bij elkaar brengen.
Alina wordt sofort naar het koninklijk paleis gedispatched om te trainen als Grisha.
Volgt nóg een zak vol clichés: She Was Beautiful All Along, om te beginnen, en een gezonde dosis liefdesdriehoek, enzoverder, enzovoorts.
Het was niet slécht, maar het was ook niet goed. Het is enorm hard een boek voor jonge tieners, maar hey, ik ga de rest van de reeks ook maar lezen, een mens weet nooit dat het betert. (En het is ook wel ontspannend en het leest vlot, dat telt ook voor iets.)
3.5 stars
Easy to read. Really enjoyed Leigh Bardugo's writing stile (this is the first book from the author I have ever read).
A bit surface level and a bit tropy, though I am clearly not the target audience, so I wouldn't take points away from it for that.
What I did take a point away for is the skipping of time and telling rather than showing - we would go through weeks and months where what happened had been summarised for us. Not really my preferred way of witnessing stories.
I also didn't like the love triangle part, but I never do. Just a personal thing.
Regardless, I think the story was nice and I would recommend to people who are looking for a light read, with some angst and some good old chosen one to follow around.
Shadow and Bone (The Shadow and Bone Trilogy Book 1) by Leigh Bardugo
Please give my Amazon review a helpful vote - https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-reviews/R2ILT41NFVRO1S?ref=pf_ov_at_pdctrvw_srp
I came to this while watching the Netflix series. What I liked about the Netflix series, I liked here, namely the Russian/Eastern European fantasy setting, which is so different from the English urban fantasy noir setting/English medieval setting. I also liked the main characters who seemed to be engaging in their peasant stereotypes
On the other hand, the book has two drawbacks. First, it is largely cliche. The main character is a beautiful girl who thinks she's homely but has a secret power that makes her the One. Naturally, once she's discovered, she's elevated to the world of high culture where she is still the honest but scorned girl. She learns how to use her art. Conspiracies are afoot.
Second, this is not a complete book. It's a rather short section of a much larger novel. The book is barely starting when it ends and we are then invited to get the next book. I don't consider that fair, but it has become very common.
Nonetheless, this is a fun read.
One interesting difference between the novel and the series - apart from the Crows not being in the book - is that the main character, Alina, is depicted as Hsu in the series, but not in the book. This allows the series to play off of the trope of racial discrimination, rather than boring old class discrimination. It's almost as if the series is telling us that being a peasant is not a big enough drawback unless there is racial discrimination in the mix.
What that says about our age is for the discriminating reader to determine.
It was OK
I base my reviews based on how much I think about the book after I've finished it and whether I want to jump back into that world. There have been only a couple series where I've NEEDED to read the sequel straight after and a fair few where I knew I'd definitely be jumping back in at some point. However unfortunately this series hasn't brought me in quite as much. There weren't a huge number of characters and especially none that were that likeable. None really had that much personality and the story was really rather generic and doesn't leave me with any questions or queries I'm particularly bothered about having answered in the sequel. I will likely read the sequel as I'd like to for the upcoming Netflix series(‘) but that's it. A positive was that it wasn't too long as there was a cool magic system and unique “villains”.
hands down the best intro book to a YA High Fantasy I've read to date.
This one flies by. Leigh gives us fantastic powers and beasts alongside real human ambition and weakness. A few surprises. I'm looking forward to the rest of the series.
I enjoyed more than the first time I read it but it's not my favourite thing in the world... Not a fan of Mal either rolling eyes
Mediocre.
Non è affatto brutto, ma non è neanche particolarmente entusiasmante. La caratterizzazione di personaggi è abbastanza banale, a tratti stereotipata, complice anche il fatto che sia scritto in prima persona, quindi con la sola prospettiva della protagonista Alina (personaggio che tra l'altro ho trovato spesso contraddittorio). Si perde così l'occasione di conoscere meglio gli altri personaggi e il mondo, che in realtà sono molto interessanti, da una prospettiva più ampia (per quello suggerisco la lettura di Sei di Corvi, decisamente su un altro livello). La storia è molto scorrevole e interessante quel giusto da spingerti ad andare avanti; c'è molto potenziale non sfruttato al meglio, ma tutto sommato è una buona lettura.
Vedrò cosa mi aspetta con i prossimi libri!
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.
I don't really know why I spent years reading this but now I really really want to see the TV show!!
I WANTED TO LIKE THIS SO BAD...
i was genuinely into it in the beginning but as it went on i just became bored. i skimmed through a bunch of the ending because it dragged on. it was very repetitive as well.
mal seemed better that the darkling in this?? i've seen so many people say mal is horrible but i don't see it? ok the darkling seems hot as fuck and that one scene made me scream but it was just to get on alina's good side. anywho.. i'm not sure i'll read the rest of the series because i know i'll end up disappointed.
Six of Crows >>>
5 stars!
I just loved this!
This book hooked me from the first chapter! Yes, it was kinda predictable but I really like Alina. She is young, insecure, and naive. And I think it made the story more interesting for me. (I still like the main characters who are not convinced that they are the best. I mean, I don't mind badass characters but sometimes it is over the top). I also like how she grows by the end. I felt Katniss vibes here!
The story itself was fast passed but it was easy to follow.
Really excited to start the second book! Also can't wait for the TV Show!
an enjoyable experience, but it felt kind of shallow. i wish bardugo delved more into the powers of the grisha, and what the heck alina's power could do (other than.......be light haha) and what it felt like. i quite liked alina (way more interesting than fayre lmao) but i would've loved to dig more into the world itself.
really curious to see where it goes! well....since i read the six of crows duology, i kinda know where it goes, but still haha.
Very minor spoilers below.
First time I read I DNFed. Then I'm reading as a readalong for the show annnnnd... my thoughts have changed when I was a little girl reading this for the first time.
First off. I hate the mc! But I am IN LOVE with the DARKLING.
Never have I been rooting for a villain before!
And the best friends to lovers but the guy was a dick because it took the girl to get beautiful trope? Can f-off.
And the whole ‘oh I'm not pretty but actually I am”
This is the definition of ‘fine' or ‘average' for me. I'm serious! If there is a book that is the most deserving of 2.5 stars it is Shadow and Bone.
Why? Because it's exactly that - fine, ok, average, alright, and all the other beautiful synonyms. It's not a grand adventure written by a master of prose and an excellent storyteller, the characters aren't nuanced and multi-layered, the worldbuilding isn't captivating to a point I'd want to live there.
But you know what? That's OK! I had fun reading it. Alina Starkov was a fun character even if with maybe too little character at times. The antagonist, who I shall not name as it is supposedly a spoiler (it's more blinding than Alina's light magic, come on now), is also fun. Mal is fun even though I desperately wanted to see more of him.
A lot of the plot came from absolute nowhere. Suddenly X is revealed as a thing and it is just plain random. Do I mind? Yes. Does it ruin the enjoyment of the book? NOPE.
- incoming: sticker rant -
What I disliked the most, by far, is the fake sticker informing me Netflix is about to ruin ehm... adapt the book into a show. Seriously, publishers stop abusing beautiful covers like this. At least make it a normal, real sticker I can peel off.
- sticker rant over -
Anyway, Shadow and Bone is fine and I liked it. I've already bought Siege and Storm, Ruin and Rising, and the Six of Crows Duology. I also already own King of Scars, which I bought last year thinking it to be standalone.
I thought this book was good for the first entry in the trilogy. I found the pacing and character progression to be lacking but for now, I'll chalk it up to it being the first book in a trilogy. I'll re-evaluate my opinion once I have the full picture. Until then, I'll say this book did its job of making me interested enough to continue on.
Bom demais! Fui sem saber o que esperar, já que tinha ouvido alguns comentários não tão positivos, mas na expectativa por causa da série. Gostei demais desde o começo - apesar de ter ficado perdido nas classificações e nomes difíceis. É uma história fácil de ser compreendida apesar de haver vários detalhes, um mundo legal de se mergulhar, uns mistérios e umas missões que ficaram mais legais ainda por causa dos personagens, que têm senso de humor (na maior parte do tempo) e não são chatos - alguns são. Ansioso pra conhecer mais do universo Grisha.
I got through this book extremely fast and it kept my attention really well throughout. I love the world but the characters generally fell a little flat to me. I plan to read the rest of the trilogy.