Recently Read: Shadow and Bone

Author: Leigh Bardugo
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Publication Date: 2012
Status: First in a completed trilogy
Page Count: 248
Rating: 4/5

I've been hearing lots of great things about The Grisha Trilogy by Leigh Bardugo for a very long time. I finally got around to picking up the first book in the series, Shadow and Bone and I flew through it.

This novel is set in a fantasy world that loosely resembles Russia. The main character Alina and her best friend Mal grew up Orphans until entering the First Army. They are sent on a mission to cross The Shadow Fold, a dangerous and mysterious black spot that divides the country in two, when something goes wrong and Alina realizes she may have more to offer the world than she previously thought. 

This book contains a lot of tropes, orphan girl discovers she has magical powers, has a crush on her male best friend. is forced to make sacrifices and difficult decisions, falls for a powerful stranger etc. BUT they are very well done. The characters are great, and I can tell that they will continue to develop throughout the series. The action was greatly paced and the book was hard to put down. The Darkling, a very power character in this book which I won't say too much about because of spoilers, is very interesting and I'm eager to see where his character goes throughout the series. And I suspect that my soft spot for Mal will grow as the series continues as well. 

I also liked the world in this novel. The magic and fantasy elements are simple and easy to follow but yet interesting. I have a feeling that a lot more information about the world will be revealed in the following two books. I've heard lots of great things about the other two books in the series as well, so I have high hopes that I will enjoy them as much as I enjoyed this one. It's so nice to take a break from reading critically and analytically for school for a bit and just read something fun and adventurous for a while.  

For the first book in a series this book had a lot of action. There was very brief set up and then the action started, which was great. I'm planning on starting the second book in this series as soon as I finish this review.