Alina Starkov has never been good at anything. But when her regiment is attacked on the Fold and her best friend is brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power that saves his life—a power that could be the key to setting her war-ravaged country free. Wrenched from everything she knows, Alina is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling.
Yet nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. With darkness looming and an entire kingdom depending on her untamed power, Alina will have to confront the secrets of the Grisha . . . and the secrets of her heart.
Shadow and Bone is the first installment in Leigh Bardugo's Grisha Trilogy.
My Rating: 3.8/5
Genre: Fantasy, Paranormal (Magic)
Read from November 2 to 8, 2014
Hardcover, 358 pages
Published June 5th 2012 by Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
MY REVIEW:
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| The orders of Grisha |
Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo is a book that gave me lots of trouble with its rating. It's the kind of book that, in order to be rated appropriately, you'd have to read it a second time. As a quick overview, all I have to say is: fresh and interesting world building, quite predictable twists of plot, a bit of high-school drama (I don't know how Leigh Bardugo managed that, as it is a fantasy book), indifferent characters that developed strong dynamics between them and a captivating writing style. See my point?
Another halt in my enthusiasm about this book is the holes in Leigh Bardugo's creativeness. Ravka's language is Russian - yes, not a language of russian origins, Russian. As a fellow Goodread's reviewer pointed out, there where several mistakes in the use of the language, as profound as an elephant in a bathtub would be. For example, the heroine's name is Alina Starkov, whereas it should be Alina Starkova as in the Russian language there is a different verbal suffix for male and female surnames. I see this as a terrible stumble on the writer's part.
Something though that I really liked, and probably it's just me, is that the whole book is from Alina's point of view, but the Prologue and Epilogue are in a third-person narration. It felt like I was reading a fairytale, jumped right into it's pages and then came out again. That was an awesome idea of presentation.
Plot:
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| The Land of Ravka |
Through the years, Mal and Alina have developed a unique brother-and-sister relationship. As a teenager, Alina starts feeling differently towards Mal who is oblivious to her interest. When they become adults, they serve in a military regiment called the first army, where Mal is a tracker and Alina a mapmaker. One day, the First Army together with a Grisha detachment and the coach of a mysterious man called "The Darkling" are to enter the Shadow Fold in order to visit Os Alta, the metropolis of Ravka.
Alina is terrified, as the Shadow Fold is a chasm of eternal darkness, impenetrable by the sunlight. Rumors say that centuries ago, a Darkling - a Grisha that possesses the mightiest magic - went mad and unleashed such darkness, that split the country in two. Nobody knows from where and how, in that darkness came the Volkra, batlike creatures that feast on the flesh of travelers.
The Volkra attack Alina's party, killing several people. In the mayhem, Alina realizes that a Volkra has seized Mal, and jumps on top of him to protect him. Then, as Alina faints and hits her head, something inexplicable happens and their carriage is bathed in sunlight, scaring the Volkra away and granting their lot a safe passage to the other side.
When she regains consciousness, Alina is unwillingly taken to the Darkling's tent, where in front of the Grisha and the survivors of the attack she has to confess what she did and saved them. Alina denies such a possibility as she is sure that she did nothing, but the Darkling refuses to consider her testimony and takes her with him to the palace.
Alina has to struggle with an uncontrollable power she did not know she possessed, a power that can dissolve the Fold's darkness and save her country. And as she tries to gain control over her light, she is seduced by the most dangerous man in all of Ravka - a Darkling who claims her trust.
The Characters:
Before I jump into a separate review on each character, I'd like to warn you that this is the case of a love triangle. I am usually bored of love triangles, but this is quite a special one as each man has to offer a different kind of life for Alina, and answers to different sides of her personality. Even more, from Alina's choice of heart clings the future of Ravka. In the end, Alina makes the right and healthy choice according to her feelings, but that choice still leaves the future of Ravka hanging on a thread. I really don't know what I would do in her place, and this is one of the reasons that drive me into reading the rest of the trilogy.
Alina Starkov:
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| Alina captured, wearing the darklings colour |
Just like the rest of the book, Alina is a character that has many flaws, but still you can't despise her by any means. At first she did remind me of a dark cinderella (a character I sincerely HATE). In the first half of the book we meet her as a girl that everyone mistreats but has the hottest guy in the country, suffers from lack of self esteem and degrades herself and generally she is a cheesy female character that I find intolerable.
For what's good though, Alina realizes that she is a pawn in a game of chess that can destroy the whole kingdom and that the role whose shoes she's wearing want her to be that silly, small person. She gathers her whits, grows up, and shows a toughness that surprised me in the best way possible.
Mal (Malyen) Oretsev:
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| Mal's return from Fjerda |
When we meet Mal, he is a good-looking flirt who wants to get into a beutiful Grisha's pants. He is absolutely oblivious of Alina's feelings, and does not seem to have any of his own. Their separation is vital for their relationship, as he then realises how much and in how many ways he misses her. In our love triangle, Mal is the "good" guy.
The only words that comes to me when trying to describe Mal, is loyal and honest. He is loyal to his wishes, and acts accordingly without giving a damn about the price. His honesty is that kind of honesty only someone without the basic IQ could master - what you see, is what he is, without second thoughts and secrets. He is a man of instinct, something he proves by being the best tracker in the kingdom.
Genya:
At first I huffed and puffed with Genya's appereance in the story, wondering if she would take the role of the highschool queen that confronts the self-depressing heroine. Luckily, Genya was a pleasant surprise, as she taught Alina that her lack of beauty isn't necessarily bad, but sometimes can come as an advantage. Another thing about Genya, is that she told Alina to be careful with the Darkling and he's motives, but Alina shook it off as a superstition and never listened.
The Darkling:
| “ Did you tell him what I showed you in the dark? ” |
The Darkling is the seductive villain of the story. If you asked me, he is not villain enough, as his displays of power and cruelty are childish. Give me more Bram Stoker's Dracula, give me more of John Constantine's unscratched attitude, give me a brilliant twisted mind!
Alina thinks that his displays of passion towards her are hypocritical, because when she was close to unraveling the truth he kissed her in order to hush her. Truth is that the darkling is a hypocrite, but something tells me that his feelings for her exist in a preverse way.
I really want more of the Darkling. His role in the story is such that he could be a marvel of a villain, if we get to see more of his dark sides. All I've seen is a lying boy with a crazy super power and that upsets me. I hope that in the next book, he will fulfill some of my expectations.
If you want to check out my reviews on the rest of the books in the series, click on the image below to be redirected:
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