“The problem with waiting is that it makes us weak.”
Leigh Bardugo, Shadow and Bone
*This post contains spoilers for Shadow and Bone By Leigh Bardugo
Let me just say, I went in to this book with no previously conceived notions.
I have not watched the television show or read any kind of review or synopsis for the book. I have heard the main character’s name mentioned before but other than some unspoiler post on bookstagram, I really knew nothing about this.
This is obviously a wildly popular book and series so I figured that I would give it a shot as many people who I follow and tend to like the same books, have said great things.
I would like to make a slightly off topic rant that my copy had a permanent marking stating that this is now a TV series and those things really bug me. I mean, if you are going to put a sticker on at least make it so it can be taken off. It completely ruins the beautiful cover and it doesn’t even match the color scheme
Overview: Alina Starkov, a mediocre mapmaker and soldier, discovers a hidden power while traversing the Shadow Fold- an area of darkness and danger that divides the nation, Ravka. With her best friend and fellow orphan Mal in a near fatal situation, her ability to summon light emerges.
Alina is quickly taken to train with her fellow Grisha under the watchful eyes of the Darkling- the most powerful Grisha in Ravka.
Soon, she realizes that appearances are not all that they seem and some may be trying to use her powers to further a sinister agenda and not to save Ravka from the Shadow Fold as she was originally told to believe.
My thoughts: The world building is interesting. I like that even though the Grisha are special they are still servants to the upper class. A lot of books would make these chosen people be the top of the food chain but they are servants just like everyone else and therefore, that air of rebellion is always looming.
So often, this type of book would have relied on a gentlemen of a higher status realizing that he was on the wrong side in order for the female protagonist to start an uprising. This is a nice deviation from that overused trope and lends itself to a much more interesting story overall.
The light and dark parallels are explored nicely. It is a little on the nose to have a person who brings light be the savior and the person who summons darkness to be the antagonist. I will say that Bardugo does do a good job of depicting their abilities as a balance and that either has the ability to cancel the other out. However, their relationship is in no way even and the Darkling takes full advantage of Alina’s lack of knowledge on her powers. Once this is discovered, it makes the first half of the book unsettling and if I were to read it again I would definitely look at it with a different lens.
It does seem to fall into a similar trap that a lot of first books do. Having not read the second and third book, I can only assume that a lot of time was spent on setting up what happens later on in the series. However, I would have liked to have spent more time on certain story lines throughout the book. Alina’s journey after she leaves the Little Palace was so interesting as she made her way through all of the different towns. I wish the author had spent more time on this and really explored what it was like for her to be truly alone for the first time in her life.
I did also really enjoy the twist on the classic fable of the white deer. If you are unfamiliar, there are several fairy tales/fables where the protagonist much catch a white deer and they will then be granted a wish upon releasing them. Here, it is a very similar case of Alina needing to go on a quest to find this deer to elevate her power. Perhaps because the deer is slain and not spared, this is foreshadowing to the person doing the killing ultimately not getting what they desire or I’m reading too much into it and it is just coincidence but I guess we will see.
Overall, I enjoyed the book and I’m hoping that the second one doesn’t fall into the slump that normally comes with trilogies. Looking forward to things getting moving and the plan of the Darkling to really take shape and to learn about his background more.
Again, I do wish that certain portions of the book were explored more and not just used to get Alina from one point to another. Because of this I couldn’t give it the full five starts but I have high hopes for the next two books and the TV series.
Rating: 4/5 stars
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