Book Review: Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
Publisher: Macmillan (Henry Holt)
Publication date: June 2012
Pages: 368
Source: Library
For: Fun
Series: Grisha Trilogy, Book 1

Alina and Mal have grown up together, orphans, with nothing but each other. But when the two are sent on a dangerous mission to the Shadow Fold, Alina suddenly finds herself shoved into the spotlight, with powers she never dreamed she had. Pulled from everything she knew before, in the lap of luxury, and at the side of the mysterious Darkling, Alina will discover just how much power she has.

Things I Liked:
I fell completely in love with the gorgeous setting.  I loved the details and the uniqueness (maybe I need to read more Eastern European inspired books) and just how well the story fit into the setting.  I think these are the true details that set this fantasy apart from others I've read.  I loved the imagination in creating the magic system and especially the Shadow Fold.  I did like Alina, though sometimes I was annoyed by her inability to decide sometimes what she wanted or recognizing that she was actually pretty cool (which, you know, is how a lot of us feel).  I did feel invested in how she was going to get out of her situation.  I was more intrigued by Genya, because she seemed complicated and more interesting to me.  I kind of want to hear more about her in the next books.

Things I Didn't Like:
I have to admit, the story was pretty predictable.  I knew almost from the start how things would work out.  Though, to be fair, the very end was somewhat unexpected.  I think what contributed to this was that the story is very familiar.  The arc of the story wasn't exactly original, and the romantic plot was obvious from the start as well.  As I mentioned, the details and some characters kept me intrigued and invested in the story, but the actual plot was lacking for me.  These failings, however, did not prevent me from devouring that ending, reveling in the beautiful details, and overall enjoying this book.

Read-alikes:
Reminded me of Chalice by Robin McKinley
Perhaps The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson too

BOOK CONTENT RATINGS:
s-factor: !
a few here and there

mrg-factor: X
one rather steamy scene

v-factor: ->->
a couple of parts, mostly not described on page

Overall rating: ****

What are your feelings about this one?  

If you buy through my Amazon linkage, I will get a very small percentage