Shadow and Bone

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

The Shadow Fold, a swathe of impenetrable darkness, is slowly destroying the once-great nation of Ravka.
Alina, a pale, lonely orphan, discovers a unique power that thrusts her into the world of the kingdom’s magical elite─the Grisha. Could she be the key to setting Ravka free?

The Darkling, a man of seductive charm and terrifying power. If Alina is to fulfil her destiny, she must unlock her gift and face up to her dangerous attraction to him.

But what of Mal, Alina’s childhood best friend? As Alina contemplates her dazzling new future, why can’t she ever quite forget him?

Shadow and Bone can be best summed up in four words: Glorious, Epic, Irresistible, Romance. Which are the exact four words on the back cover of the book. And I tell you they did not lie! The first time I laid eyes on it in the bookstore, I just knew I had to own it. The cover was so beautiful and the blurb so intriguing; I couldn’t wait to start reading the story. But awesome covers aside, Shadow and Bone really is worth reading. Even Sarah J. Maas gave it a five-star rating. Need I say more? LOL, most probably not, but I can’t help myself.

I loved the unique fantasy world of the Grishas that Bardugo created for her characters to live in. The land of Ravka, where our story takes place, clearly has a lot of Russian inspiration and the Russian elements really added something special to creating the rich setting of this story.
Alina goes through a lot of character growth in this book. And Bardugo takes the reader along on Alina’s journey of self-discovery as she discovers her true destiny and potential. I found the story of Alina and Mal’s friendship very intriguing to follow. Mal is so much more than just Alina’s best friend and crush; he is the closest thing to family she has.

This book also has an intriguing character, The Darkling, who is the head of the Grisha. Don’t be surprised if you end up being one of the many readers who find themselves swooning over him along with Alina. The love story in this book is totally engrossing and is one of the many reasons why this book is such a page-turner.

Another reason is the feeling of suspense you get every time the characters have to enter the Shadow Fold. Some books struggle to create a real sense of danger, but Bardugo made me feel scared for Alina and her friends every time they had to travel into the Shadow Fold and face the evil creatures that live there.

This book is my favorite YA Fantasy book of all time. Well, this book and Winterkill by Kate A. Boorman kind of battle it out in my heart for first place from time to time. But nine out of ten times, Shadow and Bone wins. Shadow and Bone is an epic read and if you haven’t read it then you are missing out.

I was wondering this exact thing when I first bought the book. Especially since the version I bought is called The Gathering Dark. So let me set your mind at ease that yes, it is in fact the exact same book. It’s just that The Gathering Dark version of the book has a way cooler cover 😉

Some people do feel that to call this book high fantasy is slightly misleading. So just to clarify it is the kind of high fantasy you would find in Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas not the kind in you find in Game of Thrones.