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Shadow and Bone cover art

Shadow and Bone

By: Leigh Bardugo
Narrated by: Lauren Fortgang
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Summary

Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one lonely refugee.

Alina Starkov has never been good at anything. But when her regiment is attacked on the Fold and her best friend is brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power that saves her life—a power that could be the key to setting her war-ravaged country free. Wrenched from everything she knows, Alina is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling.

Yet nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. With darkness looming and an entire kingdom depending on her untamed power, Alina will have to confront the secrets of the Grisha… and the secrets of her heart.

©2012 Leigh Bardugo (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

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What listeners say about Shadow and Bone

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Not suitable for adults

Apart from the narration which is great, there is not much here for adults. This book is a YA full of unlikeable teen characters that care more about appearances, gossip and their latest crush than they care about anything else.

The only reason I give it two stars overall is the fact that the setting, which seems to be inspired by imperial Russia just before the Bolshevik revolution, felt new and interesting to me. Shame it didn’t amount to anything worthwhile in the first book. I won’t continue this series.

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45 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Interesting YA Fantasy Debut

I picked up this book for its fantasy elements – Shadow and Bone introduces us to a divided country called Ravka, besieged by the myth and magic. Leigh Bardugo’s vision for Ravka felt wonderfully cohesive – with Russian sounding place names and slang, and good explanations were offered for the Shadow Fold and other anomalies.

Alina’s ‘narration’ was full of personality and wit, and terms like “miserable oaf” leap off the page. I liked Alina although at times she lacked confidence. Mal’s character was initially presented as a womaniser and it wasn’t until the last third of the novel that I started to warm up to him.

The storyline throws you a few curveballs, which was a great surprise. These stopped the story from coming across as too sedate (despite it’s slow, plodding pace) and leant depth to the novel. I enjoyed the hints of romance and the scattering of action sequences, but it was the lack of certainty which really kept me on my toes.

I am interested to see where the sequel will take us. My ‘stab-in-the-dark’ prediction: Siege and Storm will somehow feature the King’s second son who was off training in the army during the events of Shadow and Bone…

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23 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

great start to the series

I was lucky enough to receive a copy of this via Netgalley but I actually read (listened) to this on audible. I sign up to a lot of blog tours and I end up pausing some books half way through so I can meet blog tour deadlines (totally going to be more organised next year) but I have found I can listen to books while I do other things like getting ready for work, driving, washing up etc so I actually listened to this one instead of reading the netgalley copy.

I was actually going to listen to Six of Crows as it had a full cast but I found out that the two series were related and this book was chronologically first. A lot of people said it was fine to listen to Six of Crows first but I'm a bit of stickler for that sort of thing so I went for this book (and the rest of the trilogy first) I am actually glad I did it that way round because there's a lot of world building that is in Shadow and Bone which I think you are expected to know when you read Six of Crows.

I found Alina a realistic character for one in such a made-up world. She is your average girl. There's nothing special about her. She is in love with her best friend who doesn't realise it and carries out her day to day chores and roles. I know a lot of people don't like Alina but I found her character intriguing because she was such an average girl before she discovers that she's actually grisha.

Once Alina's true identity is discovered she meets The Darkling. Essentially the leader of the grisha. I had a love-hate relationship with The Darkling. There is something so appealing about him that you want to like him but you just know you shouldn't. He's also a great character to quote.

Leigh did an amazing job with the world building in this book. I believe it is inspired by Russian history. I am not big on history but Leigh did such a good job of pulling me into the world that it really didn't matter. Everything you need to know Leigh will tell you. Piece by piece.

This was a great start to the series that will have you gasping in shock, sitting on the edge of your seat in suspense and screaming in anger. As soon as I finished this one I had to start Siege and Storm because I knew I had to be back with these characters again.

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17 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Not your average love triangle

I was a little bit put off when the protagonist declared feelings for a childhood sweetheart, only for a dark handsome stranger to appear and catch her eye. ‘Here we go’ I thought another who’s she gonna pick. But actually the descriptions of their interactions put me firmly in her mind and I wasn’t sure who I’d pick either. But then the rest of the book happens!
I liked it, interesting to set it in a sort of Russia type place but with magic. I look forward to book 2 and the tv adaptation

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Pretty good but narration was weird

Very interesting world and captivating plot but at times was predictable. The Narration was weird sometimes couldn't tell when the protagonist was speaking or thinking as the narrator used the same voice. Sometimes had strange moments where they sounded like a different recording partway through narration like it's been edited. Also found it strange that a lot of the characters from the same country spoke with American accents (often the main characters) but some of the people then spoke with Eastern European accents and a lot of the words sounded Eastern European. The narrator should have gone all the way with the accents or not at all.

Don't get me wrong I would read this again but I wouldn't listen to it again. I would still recommend it.

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Not bad

A good beginning and a promising setting, but the characters are a bit feeble and something was lacking.
I thought this book might be a complete disaster on the first half but I still managed to come through to the end and my impression has improved a bit. If you're looking for some light romance, then this might be to your taste.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

shadow and bone

awful. I couldn't wait for it to finish, I love reading and listening to books but this one was dreadful, story was bad and the reading was soul destroying I hope I don't go through that again!!!!!!

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Nothing special.

This book and the series in general is a let down. I wouldn't recommend it. The main characters have very poor development.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A great start to a series

The perfect narrator for such a fantastical story, Miss Fortgang gives life to not only Alina's voice but to the whole cast, I don't think I can imagine them soundig any other way now.

As for the book itself, its been a long time since I've been so pushed to find out what happened next but with Shadow and Bone I simply could not devour it quick enough. The world is oddly realistic and enchanting, the characters complex and interesting. I'm looking forward to reading more from Leigh Bardugo.

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    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Narration is dreadful

The narrator/reader is unbearably irritating – makes it challenging develop an affinity for any of the characters.

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2 people found this helpful