Shadow and Bone By Leigh Bardugo

Release Date: June 5th 2012
Author Info: Leigh Bardugo
Publisher: Henery Holt and Co.
Age: 14+
Recommendation: Buy
Source: Library

Teaser: I twisted and Kicked as the yellow-bearded man grabbed hold of my legs. I looked desperately down to the glen, but the soldiers and Grisha below me were fighting for their lives, clearly outnumbered and unable to come to my aid. I struggled and thrashed, but the Fjerdan was too strong. He climbed on top of me, using his knees to pin my arms to my sides, and reached for his knife. "I'll gut you right here, witch," he snarled in a heavy Fjerdan accent.

Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one lonely refugee.

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.

It’s taken me a while to write this review because it was hard to put into words how much I adored this book. It’s hard for me to put into words the things that MADE me adore this book but I must try. Let’s start off with the world of Shadow and Bone, This world is not too far from our own past, it’s based on an alternate history of a country a lot like Russia. That right there was unique in its own. Although I love reading fantasy books based in London I felt relieved that this wasn’t one of them. As a lover and student of History it also gave me a lot of joy to feel that I was learning about a new culture.

As far as the romance goes you will not find any insta-love in this book. Mal and Alina have known each other their whole lives; they’ve had so much time for their love to grow and to really know each other. I also loved that his was what it claimed to be its FANTASY, FANTASY not ROMANCE disguised as Fantasy. Finally the villain. I have a hard time convincing myself that the villain of this book is actually the villain and I LOVE that.  I felt for him, I understood him and he was believable because he did not see himself as the bad guy but as the savior of a entire race and country.

If you have not read Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo  I recommend that you go out and Buy this book as soon as possible. The Sequel Siege and Storm will be coming out in June and I can not wait!