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A review by jayarna
Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
4.0
This is a really hard one for me to rate. I came in with low expectations, knowing that everyone and their mother was shouting that this wasn't as good as Six of Crows. For some reason, I assumed that meant the story itself wasn't great, and that the writing would be similar.
If you handed me this book unmarked and told me this was Leigh Bardugo, I wouldn't believe you. I personally see barely a trace of her style from Six of Crows. The amount of growth she has done just on prose alone is commendable.
This story is good. It's very typical YA but it's good typical YA. I enjoyed this story, although at parts it's slow, and the lack of originality or feeling that I'm reading something special means it's extremely forgettable. If I was looking for a good fantasy YA with all the tropes I know and love, I'd pick a book like this. And while it's nothing to write home about, I have to commend her for that. I read this in two days, which is pretty big for me, considering how long it usually takes me to get through a fantasy.
I also didn't get Mal. Like, why do we like him? Why do we care? Give me some intrigue, some excitement. He's like a soggy tissue. Absolutely no sex appeal. Makes it hard to read a "love triangle" when I only like one of the participants.
Funny, because while I powered through this, the end was weak, and I'm not particularly inspired to pick up the next one.
If you handed me this book unmarked and told me this was Leigh Bardugo, I wouldn't believe you. I personally see barely a trace of her style from Six of Crows. The amount of growth she has done just on prose alone is commendable.
This story is good. It's very typical YA but it's good typical YA. I enjoyed this story, although at parts it's slow, and the lack of originality or feeling that I'm reading something special means it's extremely forgettable. If I was looking for a good fantasy YA with all the tropes I know and love, I'd pick a book like this. And while it's nothing to write home about, I have to commend her for that. I read this in two days, which is pretty big for me, considering how long it usually takes me to get through a fantasy.
I also didn't get Mal. Like, why do we like him? Why do we care? Give me some intrigue, some excitement. He's like a soggy tissue. Absolutely no sex appeal. Makes it hard to read a "love triangle" when I only like one of the participants.
Funny, because while I powered through this, the end was weak, and I'm not particularly inspired to pick up the next one.