Shadow and Bone

De: Leigh Bardugo

Narrado por: Lauren Fortgang

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 her 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.

©2012 Leigh Bardugo (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

An "Ugly Duckling" Story

This is an "Ugly Duckling" coming of age book. Alina is an orphan. Her best friend and playmate doesn't see her beauty until she finds her "power" to call sunlight. (Yeah, it's a weird power, but it makes sense when you listen to the book.)

At first I was kicking myself because she was pining and whining for her orphan comrade who was looking elsewhere for love. I HATE jealousy and the angst that comes with it. Then she meets the mysterious "Darkling" and the plot thickens.

The ending is left open for a second book. If there isn't a second installment, it deserves only 4 stars because things are left unresolved.

Great Listen!!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I enjoyed the subtle way that the characters were developed and the unique little twists that showed up for some of the lesser characters as well.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

Good ending for this part of the story and it certainly left room for the next book in the series.

Any additional comments?

Lauren Fortgang did a great job with the narration and characters.

Team Darkling

I really enjoyed this book. I'm actually listening to it a second time. The reader does a wonderful job with the voices and accents. Leigh Bardugo is amazing. I cant wait for the next in the series. I love the Darkling. He is the ultimate bad boy. It makes for an interesting love triangle. All the characters are interesting. I love the description of the lavish parties at the castle. It was a book I thought about after finishing it which is always a good sign.

Middle was close to ruining review

The starts was great. Then, for a good portion of the middle of this book I was like, ho-hum another typical YA book with a love triangle, pettiness, and eye-roll inducing inner dialogues. But then the final chapters the characters really come alive and becoming quite haunting. Had to buy the whole series before I even finished this one.

A great fantasy book!

Any additional comments?

Fantasy isn’t my favorite genre (although I have come to like it more than I did before in the last few months) which is why this book has been sitting unread on my kindle for more than a year. Blogger fail! I’ve always wanted to read it, but it just kept getting pushed back. When I was looking through the ‘Top 10 of 2013′ posts at the end of last year, I saw this series on soooo many blogger’s lists. Honestly, I got sick of it and decided it was finally time for me to read it. Well listen to it anyway since I ended up buying the audiobook version. I definitely see why this series is such a favorite and it’s much deserved.

Alina and Mal were orphans who grew up together and now serve the Second Army. Although Alina has developed feelings for Mal, they’re just really good friends. When they come under attack one day and Mal is hurt, Alina unleashes a strong and mysterious power she wasn’t even aware she had. This power catches the attention of The Darkling who takes Alina away to train as a Grisha. Although Alina is supposed to be a savior for Ravka, she doesn’t feel like she fits in. She struggles during her lessons and can’t even call her power again. All she wants is to go back home and to see how Mal is. When Mal’s army duties bring him to Alina, their friendship is put to the test when new feelings get in the way. Soon, Alina discovers what the Darklings plans really are and she knows she can’t go through with it. With the help of Mal, they set off on a mission to save Alina’s life.

Although I liked the Darkling, he was dark and brooding and seductive and he had great chemistry with Alina, I’m gonna have to go with Team Mal on this one. I just felt like at the end of the day, if it were between Alina and power, I’m not sure what the Darkling would pick. I know Mal will always pick Alina. I’m such a huge sucker for the bad guys but in this case, the best friend won me over. Are you shocked? Because I sure as hell was! As much as I enjoyed Alina and the Darklings scenes, I liked the Alina and Mal scenes so much better. I’m excited and nervous to see how this ends!

The world that Bardugo created for us in Shadow and Bone is amazingly vivid! I was fascinated by the world of the Grisha’s. I don’t read many fantasy books so I do tend to struggle with them when I do. Especially the names. Other than the main characters (Alina, Mal and the Darkling), there are so many other smaller characters that still serve an important role and I would sometimes struggle place the characters with the names. Although it took a few tries I eventually learned all the names, this didn’t take away from my enjoyment of the book at all. I have one teeny tiny silly (so silly) issue with this book (that also didn’t affect the rating). I’ve said in other reviews how I’ve read way too many books with really cheesy sex scenes and how some of these words make me cringe. One of my favorite cringe-worthy terms is ‘folds’ *cue shudders*. What does this have to do with Shadow and Bone? Well nothing…not really. You see, there’s this thing called The Shadow Fold that plays a pretty big role in the story. Most of the time, it’s referred to as ‘The Fold.’ I couldn’t help it, every time I would hear them say they were ‘entering The Fold’ I couldn’t help but let out a very immature giggle complete with a disturbing visual. I’ve been scarred for life by the damn folds!

Audiobook review: Although I’ve had this book for a looong time, I’m glad I ended up going with the audiobook. Lauren Fortgang nailed the tone of the story. She did the accents, characters and names to perfection! I love when I can tell which character is speaking. I always knew when Alina, Mal or the Darkling were talking. One of my audiobook pet peeves is when a YA book has a old-sounding narrator and was so happy that I could picture Alina with this narrator’s voice. I already heard the Siege and Storm audiobook (check out my review tomorrow!) and plan to continue the series on audiobook. If you’re like me and you’ve had these books on your TBR forever, the audiobook is a great option!