Title: Shadow and Bone

Author: Leigh Bardugo

Publisher:

Pages:

Summary:

Review:

Imagine Harry Potter meeting Gossip Girl and you have Shadow and Bone.

Kind of. I never watched Gossip Girl, so I can't really say. I do know its premise though. Basically mean, backstabbing bitches who have nothing better to do all day than parade around in designer clothing and well, gossip.

Harry Potter comes into the Chosen One, special snowflake, and magical school aspects of the story. And of course, there's always the mean bully, a.k.a. Draco Malfoy. No, sorry. Zoya for this book.

Ahem. Moving on to the actual story, Shadow and Bone takes place in the fictional world of Ravka, its culture and language bearing a suspicious similarity to Russia. Once, it was a blooming nation. Now it's falling apart due to the Shadow Fold, a literal swathe of darkness that separates Ravka into two. Yet it's not the darkness itself which is dangerous--the volcra that roam the Fold have a terrible liking for human blood. This means that the majority of Ravka is cut off from its ports, which are the life source of the country.

The only thing keeping Ravka's enemies away are the Grisha, or the Second Army. They are a race of people who have the ability to manipulate matter in its smallest component. These people are led by the Darkling, a man who is able to summon shadows, the only one of his kind.

Enter Alina, an orphan (really?) who by some magical accident (not really) discovers she is a Sun Summoner, a Grisha who can summon light (y'all can see where this is going). Naturally, Alina is supposedly the only person alive who can destroy the Shadow Fold and restore Ravka to its former glory. She is whisked away into Os Alta, the training centre of the Grisha, and is introduced into their ranks. Hierarchy ranks, to be precise.

So begins the gossiping, the two-faced bitching and the lying. In fact, everyone except Alina is so intent on politicking that I sometimes wonder if they're even worried about the Shadow Fold at all. Maybe it's because these powerful Grisha truly have nothing to do all day, but seriously, they should have better things to do. Like maybe researching the Fold?!

One problem addressed, a few more to go. Another thing I don't get is why everyone is so damn gorgeous. Oh fine, they're Grisha. They're supposed to be gorgeous. This aspect would have annoyed me less if the narrator, Alina, stopped pointing out how everybody is so beautiful compared to her. All right, all right. I get it. You don't exactly carry much in looks, but stahp being so superficial.

Not to mention, how she's constantly sarcastic. All right, being sarcastic isn't a bad thing. I mean, I can ramp up the snark too. Problem is, Alina is sarcastic, yet when other people make snarky remarks about the king/Darkling/whatever, she's inexplicably scandalised. Oh sure, hon. You didn't do the same thing two pages later.

Okay, okay. Let me address oooonnneeee more issue, then I promise that I'll put the saltiness to rest, okay?

It's Mal.

The best friend slash love interest. The one who Alina has been pining for every fucking day since she was fourteen years old. Honestly though, discussing him here would be kinda spoilery, but hey, I'm open to PMs. Just don't lovingly type out a hate message because I have a different opinion from yours.

Whew. Saltiness, put aside. So despite all my issues with the book, it's actually...not a bad read. Bardugo definitely knows how to craft an enjoyable story. I'll give her that. Like Truthwitch from before, it was extremely easy to dive into the world of Ravka. Couple that with a sarcastic heroine, two hot love interests, quite a few neatly done plot twists, and you have yourselves an instant crowd-winner, boys.

The most unique aspect about Shadow and Bone is the world. Before this, I've never ever seen a book which is heavily rooted in Russian culture. The tastes, the smells, the sights...all of them practically scream Russian. Which is a good thing. Not that I have a thing against Euro-medieval fantasy (I write it too) but it's nice to have a refreshing change once in a while.

Another unique feature is the magic system. Oh, fine. The Grisha don't address their inhuman superpowers as magic, but as the Small Science. (But just between you and me, it is magic. Like how Photoshop is magic.) Their order is divided into three main groups, namely Corporalki (the ones who work with the human body), Etheralki (the ones who work with the elements), and Fabrikators (the ones who work with matter). It's very structured, and Bardugo incorporates the Small Science seamlessly into her world. Almost everywhere, you see Grisha influence, and I really like that.

By the way, who else wants to be a Heartrender? I know I do. Stopping people's organs with your hands? I shall be unstoppable.