Title and Author: Shadow and Bone (Grisha Verse #1) by Leigh Bardugo

Plot Overview: While traveling through a dark area filled with monsters darkness called the fold, Alina Starkov shows heroics that no one, not even she, expected. Now her entire world is flipped upside down as she is taken away from her best friend, Mal, to where the Grisha live. There she is trained in the Darkling’s hope that she will be able to destroy the fold. As she continues to explore her new life, Alina comes to a realization that will, again, turn her life around.

Critique: The most compelling character of this book is the Darkling. At first he seems to be untouchable and terrifying, but then he treats Alina differently. His many different personalities create a complex character that greatly influences the course of the book.

Cover Critique: The cover of this book is decent. It relates to the book in ways that are noticeable after you read it.

Star Rating: The book is good. I would rate it a 4/5. I would recommend this to anyone who likes the young adult fantasy genre.

From Ms. Yang: The Grishaverse is a fascinating world! One thing I like about the covers (and I see they've been redesigned, so I'm not sure if you used a copy with original cover or not) is how they reference traditional Russian architecture. It definitely clues you in that the story is set in a Russia type world. Which, I've discovered is not exactly accurate and has bothered some readers, esp. those who do know Russian culture. But, you might find this blog post by Bardugo interesting as she talks about how she incorporated Russian language into Grisha and purposely took liberties. Artistic license, yeah?

Plot Overview: The Shadow Fold, a swathe of impenetrable monsters and darkness that feast on human flesh, is slowly destroying the once-great nation of Ravka. Alina, a lonely orphan, discovers a unique power that thrusts her into the lavish world of the kingdom’s magical elite- the Grisha.

Critique: I think overall this book is okay. It’s not amazing, but there are a few concepts and moments that are actually pretty cool. I think it’s kind of weird that the author tries to make romantic interest between Alina and the Darkling, and some of the relationship problems between Mal and Alina get annoying after a while. The politics and the world-building are done fairly well however and some of the side characters are really interesting and fun to read about. Six of Crows is written in the same world as Shadow and Bone and is apparently much better (I haven’t read it yet, but I’m trying to get my hands on a copy).

Star Rating: 3.5/5

Additional Comments: I don’t think I would read it again, but it was entertaining. Apparently they’re also making a tv show about it on Netflix that’s combining Shadow and Bone and Six of Crows into the first season.