Shadow and Bone (Book 1 of the Grisha Trilogy) by Leigh Bardubo- A Book Review

Note: This review is spoiler free (spoilers are all marked and have warnings)!
Book: Shadow and Bone
Author: Leigh Bardubo
Genre: Fantasy
Age: For readers 14 and up 
Rating: 4.5/5 

After finishing Shadow and Bone I WAS SPEECHLESS?? Not necessarily because the book was extraordinary or whatever, but because I actually enjoyed reading it! I LEGIT STAYED UP PAST MY USUAL BEDTIME TO READ THIS ONE! That hasn’t happened in FOREVER! If you've read my other reviews you’d know I’m a grumpy, miserable reviewer who basically rates all books either 2 stars or 3 stars. So it came as a mind blowing surprise when Shadow and Bone became the first book that I had genuinely enjoyed reading in over 6 months. This book had its problems and it’s faults. But ngl, Shadow and Bone was kind of…….fun. 
I literally promised myself after reading Six of Crows two years ago that I would NOT under any circumstances read Shadow and Bones. Not that I didn’t like the duology and the characters, but just because I found the Grisha world confusing. (This was my fault because I read Six of Crows before the Grisha Trilogy because I didn’t know the trilogy existed when I read Six of Crows). And partly because I didn’t want to read a separate trilogy where the crows don’t even show up once. Yet here I am, reviewing book one of the Grisha trilogy, and giving it 4.5 stars- which by the way does not happen often when I read hyped YA fantasy books!🤠
Either it’s the addicting storyline or just the captivating writing style. Whatever it was, it successfully kept my nose buried deep into this book. 

Dislikes:

• Nothing Super Special: This was your ordinary run of the mill YA fantasy book. Did I still devour the book in 48 hours? Yes. Will I remember the plot months later? Probably not. I will remember the addicting writing style but I will not for the life of me remember the plot. And that’s just because this plot is so common that it just blends right in with other YA fantasy.​
  

•  There are so many books I could immediately rattle off where a girl discovers never before seen hidden powers (how she managed to hide her powers until then is beyond me) while put in a near death situation. The main character is then separated from her best friend/everyone she knows and then is taken to a camp or castle to learn new mystical, magical powers and are supposed to save the world. Anyone else getting major Red Queen vibes? This also reminds me of a less modern version of Percy Jackson in some ways now that I think about it. But it’s the exact storyline as Red Queen! Not that Leigh Bardubo copied or anything, but the plot of Shadow and Bone is so common in YA fantasy that it’s really similar to many books. 
  
• Also,  is it just a YA thing now where every book has identical main female protagonists? The main character is depicted as ugly by literally everyone but not too ugly to pull like three guys for herself (Isn’t there a third guy in Siege and storm pinning for her?).
• Alina: She’s fine, I mean I didn’t hate her or anything but she was nothing out of the ordinary you know? I can’t decide if I really like her or not because on one hand she’s probably one of the more realistic types of YA characters who’s more naive and scared after being thrusted in a very new environment. But at the same time there’s nothing that stands out about Alina. Idk, Maybe I’ll like her more in the second book
• The Duke: Why did he even have an orphanage? It’s not like he got anything out of opening up an orphanage- no money or extra privilege- and he doesn't even like kids. 
• Magic System: Wish we went more in deep on the different powers in this magic system 
• The Ending SPOILERS SKIP THIS: Meh. I knew Alina would somehow easily escape the Darkling at the last minute with the author giving some feeble reasoning as to why she suddenly broke out of his power at the last minute. Yawn. 🥱

What I liked: 

• MALINA: I’m officially Malina trash 😃  THEY ARE SO CUTE!!!! As someone who is a hardcore best friends to lovers shipper, I shipped Malina from page one hehe. Shoo Darkling, we don’t want you here 😒  
• I’M JUST GOING TO LEAVE THIS ADORABLE QUOTE HERE (Spoilers): “I missed you every hour. And you know what the worst part was? It caught me completely by surprise. I’d catch myself walking around to find you, not for any reason, just out of habit, because I’d seen something that I wanted to tell you about or because I wanted to hear your voice. And then I’d realize that you weren’t there anymore, and every time, every single time, it was like having the wind knocked out of me. I’ve risked my life for you. I’ve walked half the length of Ravka for you, and I’d do it again and again and again just to be with you, just to starve with you and freeze with you and hear you complain about hard cheese every day. 
• Writing Style: Leigh Bardubo has such a flowy writing style that’s just so addicting! 
• It took literally less than a chapter to get into this story
• SPOILERS: This quote: I wasn’t sure if I was dreaming, but somewhere in the dark, I thought I heard him whisper, “Always.”

PEETA?! IS THAT YOU? Hehe my Hunger Games loving heart loved that quote. I may or may not have given 4.5 stars to this book solely because Mal reminded me of Peeta in this one scene….. Jk I would never do that 😏  👀

Whoops. I realized I ranted about Shadow and Bone more than I talked about the nice things about this book🤨  Well don’t listen to whatever I just said. Read the book, it’s actually pretty good but a bit generic. 
I would 10/10 recommend this book for those who have just started reading YA fantasy and would still recommend it for more experienced fantasy readers but advise to go in with lower expectations.

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