Reviews with content warning for Sexual harassment - Shadow and Bone

Reviews tagging 'Sexual harassment'

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

37 reviews

babyblueming's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

The only reason I didn't give this book a lower rating was that it redeemed itself in the last quarter as much as it could've. It almost seemed like the ending was written first and the rest of the book was just an afterthought. The book is written similarly to those fanfictions I used to read on AO3 when I was 14 and that's not really a compliment. Most of the writing is telling not showing and a lot of the scenes seem to be written just to get the word count up. I don't need to be told every chapter that the character woke up and got dressed. I expected much more than what I got, as the first 3/4 of the book were just the main character getting dragged around by others, complaining and whining about her situation and acting like she's in highschool. Mean girls, slut shaming, pick me behavior, whining, getting magically prettier even though she always thought she was ugly, complaining that she's "too skinny" etc. I spent most of my reading experience being super annoyed with her pov. Luckily her character seems to develop past that at least a bit towards the end. The romance seems entirely unnecessary as well. I hope the other books get better.

I wondered why the hell would an ancient magician that looks 20 fall in love with a teenager but LUCKILY he was just manipulating her and was basically a villain the whole time. I'm glad about that and I hope the whole romance between Alina and Darkling doesn't continue in the other books. The romance scenes between them made me uncomfortable and I gagged when they kissed cuz it was so instaromance and there was basically no reason they'd be attracted to each other except their powers and that the Darkling's hot.

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jeggert10's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional relaxing fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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ellalouisedavey's review against another edition

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medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Diverse cast of characters? No

4.25

Very good ate this up in a matter of days. Some little plot holes or things I wished were further explained but I guess that’s what we have sequels for!

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orchidlilly's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

Fantasy not-quite-Imperial-Russia with weird magic people is a pretty neat premise. I really appreciate the world building, which feels realistic but not so overtly 'just Russia' that it pulls you out. The magic is fun, even though it isn't very in-depth, and the plot as a whole is very gripping. Mostly, the characters are the biggest issue. Insofar as they don't have much personality. Alina is just a bland YA fmc, the Darkling is just broody hot and evil, Mal is good and also hot, and I can smell the love triangle from a mile away. It's not terrible, though, just very full of the standard YA cliches. I also don't generally love first person, but the writing is good enough that I can overlook it.

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sunflower7skull's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I thought it was a good book! I went into it knowing a ton of people like it, which I think was my problem - I was expecting exceptionality, and though the book definitely was, it didn't live up to the hype in my head. I still would definitely recommend it though!

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catinaflatcap's review against another edition

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adventurous dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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lola218_'s review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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bergha1998's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Not my favorite of the series, but it’s definitely not bad. It just feels rushed in comparison; there isn’t enough development of characters, plot, or the world building. Also, I get shipping the Darkling and Alina in the tv show, but book him is flat.

Fantasy, Magic System, Romance Subplot

“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.”

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yasidiaz's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

When Alina Starkov unleashes a dormant power she is taken to train among the Grisha, the powerful elite army of Ravka. Longing for a place to belong and overwhelmed with the feeling of being Ravka’s last flick of hope, she gives it her all. However, she soon finds out the court is not what it seems and she must be careful who she trusts.

It has been a long time since I have read a YA fantasy like this. I’m surprised it took me so long to read this because this genre was my thing back when I was 15 and 16. Now my tastes have shifted significantly. I focus now more on romance, specifically queer romance, so being fully honest, I worried if I still enjoyed this genre. And as it turns out, I still very much do.

The amount of effort put into worldbuilding made me realize how much I missed a good fantasy book. I loved all the little details, the differences between different areas of Ravka, and the political complexities of the court and the Grisha (although I hope to get more of that in the next book).

The Darkling was also a very interesting character and I liked how the book kept you on your toes with his character. In contrast, I found it so easy to trust Mal. From the moment he first appeared he became my boy and wanted to give him everything.

Alina was a great protagonist as well. I love when characters are flawed and you see them grow as the story progresses. However, I do hope in the next and other books her powers and strength go beyond her love for Mal.

This was a good book to get back into the high fantasy genre and I can’t wait to read the rest of the series.

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michaelavanr's review against another edition

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adventurous tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I can’t decide whether or not to read the next two books. I set this book as a goal on a Christmas night shift and it took me 3 shifts. The main character is fine but I don’t feel the need to chase her to the end of the world. I feel the world and magic system is cool but a bit underdeveloped. Like I want to know more about the history and politics of Ravka but I don’t want Alina to be the one telling me.

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