A review by atris_lauraborealis
Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
4.0
Man, I'm a slow reader and I read this in two days!
I really enjoyed this book, it was different than most other YA fantasy I've read. It's set in an entirely different world with a very Cyrillic feel. It's almost like a Russian Harry Potter with a very very dark side (In fact, I was kind of surprised this is considered YA).
One thing I loved was that instead of slowing drawing the reader into the protagonist's pining love interest, you're dropped right into the center of it and the story instead follows the protagonist's journey of growing up, and growing out of love. It'll strike a chord with anyone who has had to let a love go, been spurned, or suddenly discovered a love they didn't know they had.
And yet...the book isn't about love, which is something I find remarkable. The story truly focuses NOT on the love life of the protagonist, but instead on the struggle of the protagonist to find herself amidst a society that keeps trying to tell her where she fits in.
I really enjoyed this book, it was different than most other YA fantasy I've read. It's set in an entirely different world with a very Cyrillic feel. It's almost like a Russian Harry Potter with a very very dark side (In fact, I was kind of surprised this is considered YA).
One thing I loved was that instead of slowing drawing the reader into the protagonist's pining love interest, you're dropped right into the center of it and the story instead follows the protagonist's journey of growing up, and growing out of love. It'll strike a chord with anyone who has had to let a love go, been spurned, or suddenly discovered a love they didn't know they had.
And yet...the book isn't about love, which is something I find remarkable. The story truly focuses NOT on the love life of the protagonist, but instead on the struggle of the protagonist to find herself amidst a society that keeps trying to tell her where she fits in.