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Friday, September 21, 2018

Review: Shadow and Bone

Title Shadow and Bone (The Grisha Trilogy #1)
By Leigh Bardugo
Genre YA Fantasy
Format Print
Rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Synopsis
Alina Starkov always felt different but never suspected how much. When her regiment tries to cross the Shadow Fold, a stretch of darkness filled with monsters who feast on human flesh, her difference comes to light and she's whisked away to serve the Darkling and learn about the Grisha's. As she's pulled every which way by those who would use her as a tool she must learn who she really is and what she's really capable of.

First Sentence
Standing on the edge of a crowded road, I looked down onto the rolling fields and abandoned farms of the Tula Valley and got my first glimpse of the Shadow Fold.

This is one of those series I've been meaning to read since it first came out. I finally decided to pick up my copy and give it a go.

I'll be honest, it started out rough for me. I felt like I was reading a story I've read a million times before. Fantasy books have a nice little formula and this one followed the ingredients without wavering. I found myself a bit bored and having to force myself to keep going.

I'm not sure when exactly my feelings changed but even though it still followed that similar formula I started to care about the characters and story. I suppose that's why fantasy keeps being written and read and loved. It doesn't matter how formulaic it is, we seem to like it all the same.

I inhaled that last part of this book and am going to jump into the next book because I partly want to see what happens and partly don't want to forget what happened in this one; I'm afraid I won't remember much about it if I don't hurry.

9 comments:

  1. Goodreads says I read this, but it was a long time ago, and I don't remember a thing. I want to read this series though.

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  2. Glad that you ended up enjoying this one despite how it started. Fantasy isn't really my thing, but I run into that a lot in contemporary romance. How the author writes the same story told before can make all the difference. I hope you enjoy the second one!

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    1. It’s very important. I seem to have more patience with contemporary romances that are similar than fantasy but if the author does it right it’s all good.

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  3. I've only read Wonder Woman by this author and enjoyed it. I should check out her other books and this series is one of them.

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    1. Yeah. I’m curious to try Wonder Woman and that whole series. She’s a pretty good writer.

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  4. I LOVE that cover!! I have yet to pick up anything from this series, but I hope to soon!! Enjoy the next book! :)

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    1. It is a fun cover. It took me forever to get to it so no worries.

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  5. I was late to this series too, and it was also a bit of a slow start for me (although, audio makes it easier). I've only read the first book, and it's been awhile, but I have the other 2 books in my audio library, so I will get to them... eventually.

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