A review by orchidlilly
Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

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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