Shadow and Bone

Autor: Leigh Bardugo
416 pages
Genre: YA Fantasy
First Published: June 2012
Book Description (from Good Reads):  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.

Points to Consider:

1. Plot: 7.5
1. The world, as usual, is not explained you have to pick it up as you go along and figure out how the society works. It can be a bit annoying at times and the system for the magic is also explored as you go along. It is not really explained but you make your own as you go along so it might take a while to figure it out. 
2. It has the typical troupe, the orphan nobody who discovers amazing powers and is seen as the savior people have been waiting for all this time. It is not my favorite but it is necessary for this story to progress. It also includes the best friend pinning while the other doesn't even notice anything at all, without mentioning that the typical ooh everyone wants him and yet he chooses the poor, not so beautiful or knowledgeable invisible girl.... No one had even shown interest in the ungraceful girl except the almost most powerful man in the kingdom. So yeah be warned, it is full of YA troupes. 
3. It is not a fast-paced story, Alina is discovering the magical powers and how to work them, she becomes used and trains for a good portion of the book. The magic is very peculiar and it does not allow them like the ability to do anything, it is limited to the type of power you possess- you are born with an ability and you train it in different areas depending on what you wish your ability to develop. 
4. The story is based on imperial Russia with the Grisha and surrounded by the dangerous Fold and face the creatures there. I do not know anything about Imperial Russia so I read it as a totally made up world and enjoyed it. So.... yeah I don't know if it is accurate to the Russian culture or not but I recommend that you look at it as a completely fantastic world without comparing it to a real culture, that will be much better. 
5. This is the first time I see that the magic is tried to be explained not like simply saying its magic but more like it is science applied in a very specific way like it was kind of mentioned in this story, it gives it an interesting point of view on the whole thing. It allows you to try to understand it better. 
2. Characters: 8.5
1. Alina is a typical insecure girl and considers herself a nobody and when suddenly she is the hope of their nation. She is very adamant about it not being possible. She denies her ability so much even when it is plainly obvious she has it, but it is understandable really. She has a very low self-esteem to begin with and it certainly must come as a shock; she sees herself as very unappealing so she also has issues about accepting or contemplating romantic interests. Again with her background that is understandable. 
2. Mel is a typical best friend who is there for you, yet he treats Alina like a middle ground, she is not treated as one of the guys obviously but not like a girl he goes after to flirt with because she's obviously his best friend. You just see Alina miss him throughout the book because she has to go away to train her new found powers. He is really the kind of friend people always wish to have according to her. The one thing is very intriguing about him is his ability, he is a normal person, yet he is recognized as the best tracker above all others. Because that little fact is mentioned several times, it intrigues me the reason. I will have to wait to read the next books to make sure if there's a reason for it.
3. Darkling is a very powerful man, he is confusing and you're not really sure what to make of him. People fear him, admire him, envy him, hate him. He is just all over the place. When you're reading about him, he is enchanting and it is very understandable because we are reading it from Alina's point of view and she is very intrigued by him so the story is reflected as you move along on it.
4. There are other Grisha that Alina comes in contact with that you get to dislike, example the good looking girl Alina felt inferior to because of Mel's interest in her the first time they saw her and then there are others who she befriends, like 
3. Logic: 8.5
1. Alina's reaction and slow acceptance of her power and fate make total sense. She is very low on her self-esteem so you can't expect her to accept she's a Grisha and go head on and triumph immediately. 
2. The magic is tried as science made to happen with practice and concentration. It actually helps me try to understand it better.
3. What does not make much sense is the power the Darkling has over people and why so many follow him even if he's kind of crazy.
4. Mel is not overly explored and besides the fact that Alina and him grew up together but it does not really explore much of him. We do not get anything on his thinking or what he went through when he wasn't with Alina. You get more questions about him than answers really.
4. Intrigue: 7.0
1. This book is not suspenseful at all and for the first half or a bit past that, you can simply go along at a nice pace without any rush because well the problems presented have been going on for years and most of the time is spent worrying about love, friends, training and court politics so you don't feel any impending rush to solve anything. But then after the big reveal the pace starts to pick p a bit more but still you don't feel super strong about figuring it out. 
2. Also, the end gives you a good enough feeling that it is not necessary to pick the next book up. It is not a cliffhanger, so if you are reading the book at the time it first came out, it would have not been painful to wait for the next book to come out. I actually appreciate that. Thank you, author.
5. Intention: 8.0
1. One detail that I consider it's the most important lesson we need to take from this story is that you can't deny who or what you are just to stay with a boy (man) because it is not certain that he will be there with you. It is better to be yourself and it's better to be your true self and the other person must be able to accept you the way you are. If not might as well move on since day one.
2. Romance is a big part of the story, so yeah not excellent for you if you like fantasy more than romance. 
6. Enjoyment: 8.0
7. Writing Style: 9.0 
1. The writing is pretty good, I like the way the story progresses and the pace.

Total Score: 56.5
Average: 8.0
Star Rating: 4.0

Accomplished challenges:

• Magical Readathon Extra Credit
• Alohomora- Read a book that is a first in a series.
• Accio- A book at the top of your TBR
• YA-a-thon
• Read a book that you have been putting to the side for a while.