This is the first book in the Shadow and Bone Trilogy, part of the Grishaverse.
Soldier. Summoner. Saint. Orphaned and expendable, Alina Starkov is a soldier who knows she may not survive her first trek across the Shadow Fold – a swath of unnatural darkness crawling with monsters. But when her regiment is attacked, Alina unleashes dormant magic not even she knew she possessed.
Now Alina will enter a lavish world of royalty and intrigue as she trains with the Grisha, her country’s magical military elite – and falls under the spell of their notorious leader, the Darkling. He believes Alina can summon a force capable of destroying the Shadow Fold and reuniting their war-ravaged country, but only if she can master her untamed gift.
As the threat to the kingdom mounts and Alina unlocks the secrets of her past, she will make a dangerous discovery that could threaten all she loves and the very future of a nation.
Welcome to Ravka . . . a world of science and superstition where nothing is what it seems.
Now I didn’t know what to expect going into this book. I heard a lot about how great the book was from different Facebook groups and bookstagram.
Shadow and Bone had an interesting world and I liked reading about it. The characters and the magic system were very intriguing but some of the characters lacked a lot of depth. The magic is more of an elemental nature that plays with objects called amplifiers in some cases.
Leigh Bardugo plays with the battle between dark and light both figuratively and realistically with her characters.
The main character Alina is an interesting main character as she starts off as a weak character but throughout the book develops strength. It will be interesting see how she progresses in the next book.
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Lara Jane Reviews 