Fantasy

Shadow and Bone

Shadow and Bone

  • Downloads：1569
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-04-05 04:31:52
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Leigh Bardugo
  • ISBN：B007NKMQGQ
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary

Alternate cover edition for this ASIN can be found here and here。

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 his 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。

Shadow and Bone is the first installment in Leigh Bardugo's Grisha Trilogy。

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Reviews

Kim at Divergent Gryffindor ，

I enjoyed reading the beginning and the end， but the middle part was very meh。 The world building is really good and unique。 It did a good job of thinking of something fresh amidst the many overused tropes in YA fantasy。 However， towards the middle part， it ran the risk of being just another YA fantasy novel too focused on the romance aspect rather than building a story with all the characters surrounding it。 Towards the latter part of the novel， however， that was remedied。 I can't say that I'm I enjoyed reading the beginning and the end， but the middle part was very meh。 The world building is really good and unique。 It did a good job of thinking of something fresh amidst the many overused tropes in YA fantasy。 However， towards the middle part， it ran the risk of being just another YA fantasy novel too focused on the romance aspect rather than building a story with all the characters surrounding it。 Towards the latter part of the novel， however， that was remedied。 I can't say that I'm excited to read the next book， but I'm definitely interested to know what happens next。 Overall， this was an okay book， but with a lot of promise to it。 。。。more

mars ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 *for the time being i will not be doing character breakdowns but just brief thoughts about the book WOW WOW WOW WOW。 4。5 stars for sure omg i’m so close to giving it 5。 firstly i have no idea why i waited so long to read this book it was PHENOMENAL。 my heart was beating so fast for like the last 200 pages i had no idea it was about to be that intense。 seriously i loved everything about this。 i’m so nervous for the next one and what is to come between alina and the darkling。 i was very shocked an *for the time being i will not be doing character breakdowns but just brief thoughts about the book WOW WOW WOW WOW。 4。5 stars for sure omg i’m so close to giving it 5。 firstly i have no idea why i waited so long to read this book it was PHENOMENAL。 my heart was beating so fast for like the last 200 pages i had no idea it was about to be that intense。 seriously i loved everything about this。 i’m so nervous for the next one and what is to come between alina and the darkling。 i was very shocked and confused and just all over the place with how i felt about the darkling and then BAM。 betrayal。 it was ABSURD。 it’s 3am and i’m just rambling now but gosh i loved this book and can’t wait to continue。 the only complaints i really have are the slightly confusing world building in the beginning （which is to be expected of a fantasy novel） and the usage of first person。 but thankfully （thus far） it hasn’t been particularly cringey or distasteful first person so i’m bearing it。 。。。more

Sam。 A ，

2，5

Tanvi Nishar ，

“There is nothing wrong with being a lizard either。 Unless you were born to be a hawk！” This line from the book is symbolically profound！！！ I was so enthralled by the “Grisha”。 The darkness of the Shadow Fold。 The queerness of the Apparat。 The love of two orphan friends— Mal and Alina。 And the powerful Darkling！！！

raulfratari ，

the author's writing is perfect！！！！！！！ i liked the story but i haven't loved it yet the author's writing is perfect！！！！！！！ i liked the story but i haven't loved it yet 。。。more

Hannah Kurtz ，

2。5

S ，

Ugh。 Boring。 Stereotypical。 Boring。 Cliche。 Did I say boring？ If you programed a robot to write stereotypical YA fantasy this is what it would push out。 Maybe the TV show will be better （hopefully？？）。

Alix ，

I think my expectations for this book weren’t too high to begin with so it really did align with how I thought it would be。 It wasn’t bad in any way。 The plot was interesting and I liked everything that happened。 The only issue I have with these book is the pacing。 Everything happens soooo quickly and I wish it was stretched out more。 The made up words and languages are a little confusing when reading but the story is still interesting。 Good book for sure！ Wanted to be prepared for the show！

Sam ，

Honesty， I loved everything about this。 The characters， the world building， the plot， the outfits， the romance， the war， the politics。。。 it was honestly the perfect escape that I needed right now。 I just feel so connected to this story and to Alina。

Picueta ，

No me va para nada este tipo de libro。 Así que lo dejo sin terminar。

Are ，

3。5/5

shravyareadsbooks ，

I really liked the beginning through the middle of the book a lot！ It was so cool seeing Alina progress with her powers。 I thought Mal was such an Aspen for the longest time， but I guess now he's not anymore？ Ok yeah， I saw the Darkling turning evil coming， but I didn't really feel anything。 I feel like his evil reveal could've been more slower， and intense if that makes sense。 Then towards the end， I got really confused。 SPOILERS。 So the stag is dead。 She now pretty much owns the power of it， i I really liked the beginning through the middle of the book a lot！ It was so cool seeing Alina progress with her powers。 I thought Mal was such an Aspen for the longest time， but I guess now he's not anymore？ Ok yeah， I saw the Darkling turning evil coming， but I didn't really feel anything。 I feel like his evil reveal could've been more slower， and intense if that makes sense。 Then towards the end， I got really confused。 SPOILERS。 So the stag is dead。 She now pretty much owns the power of it， if I read right。 They were at the shadow fold， and then the Darkling expanded the fold， and fed Mal to the volcra。。。 but then Alina shone her light， and ran of with Mal， right？ ther than the confusion， this book was actually really good！！ I love magical worlds， so I got attached right away！ 。。。more

Jonaikel ，

4。5 Me atrapo desde es principio pero me costo aprenderme los nombres

Orla ，

“They are orphans again， with no true home but each other and whatever life they can make together on the other side of the sea。” I will admit that my expectations weren’t very high for this book。 I read Six of Crows before this （go read it right now）， and I knew Shadow and Bone wouldn’t live up to how great Six of Crows was and that a lot of people don’t like this book and that it’s her debut novel。 So the bar was low for me， which is maybe why this book surprised me so much。 I enjoyed this！ I “They are orphans again， with no true home but each other and whatever life they can make together on the other side of the sea。” I will admit that my expectations weren’t very high for this book。 I read Six of Crows before this （go read it right now）， and I knew Shadow and Bone wouldn’t live up to how great Six of Crows was and that a lot of people don’t like this book and that it’s her debut novel。 So the bar was low for me， which is maybe why this book surprised me so much。 I enjoyed this！ I wasn’t sure I would， but I really enjoyed this。 I recommend this if you liked Six of Crows， but I also recommend keeping your expectations not too high。 The characters The Six of Crows gang isn’t in this book （contrary to what the Netflix trailer for the series leads you to believe） so that was sad。 I think the reason why a lot of people don't like this book is because of the characters。 Many of them， Alina in particular， follow cookie-cutter character templates: Alina is 'the chosen one'， Mal is 'the boy bestfriend'， and the Darkling is 'the misunderstood brooding love interest'。 But I think that there was still some nuance to these characters。- Alina is the protagonist of the book。 She’s a mapmaker who discovers that she has secret powers that can save Ravka， which has been split apart by the Shadow Fold。 I know a lot of people find her annoying， but she was tolerable for me。 I was mostly frustrated by how unoriginal her character template is。 She possesses the “I’m not like other girls” trope （that I absolutely despise）; she’s the “chosen one”; and she’s in love with her womanizer boy best friend。 I expected better from you， Bardugo…She is strong-willed at times but also impressionable and naive。 She does some really stupid things。 She was tolerable for me because I didn't find that I was so annoyed with her that I didn't want to read。。。 it was a mild annoyance。 I will admit， however， that there were a couple of times I was internally screaming at Alina。 Like this moment for example: “The Apparat was hurrying towards me， his brown robes flapping behind him。 Oh please not now。 “Alina！” he called。“I have to get back to the ball，” I said cheerily and turned away from him。” Alina！？！？！ Why are you running！？！？ - Mal is Alina's bestfriend。 She grew up with him， and they are both orphans。 Alina has had a crush on Mal for a long time， but she didn't act on her crush because Mal is too busy gallivanting with lots of different girls。 Mal was probably my least favorite character。 First of all， he is waaaaaay too controlling。 （view spoiler）[ It’s not fair of him to not show any romantic interest in Alina for as long as he’s known her， and then suddenly be overbearingly jealous when she actually finds someone else。 （hide spoiler）] He has some heroic moments， but he annoyed me a lot of the time。- The Darkling is a really interesting character in my opinion。 While he is the villain， I got the sense that he has good intentions （just executing them badly）。 Towards the end of the book we see Alina realizing this: “He sounded so sincere， so reasonable， less a creature of relentless ambition than a man who believed he was doing the right thing for his people。 Despite all he’d done and all he intended， I did almost believe him。 Almost。 The romance is weird。 He’s so much older than her， and （view spoiler）[ he wants to turn her into his slave （hide spoiler）]！？！！ 😬- As for side characters: Baghra was a great character， and I really wish we had seen more of her。 I also liked Genya， and I liked how （view spoiler）[ she is emotionally torn at the end because she wants to be a good friend to Alina but she wants to remain loyal to her country （hide spoiler）]。 I think they were both well-developed， and they had very interesting character templates （unlike Alina 🙄）。 The writing You all know I love Bardugo’s writing。 I can definitely tell that this is her debut novel， but I still enjoyed it。 Also， the worldbuilding is AMAZING。 There are so many details and every detail seems like it was written in so carefully。 I dislike when authors dump all of the information on us at the very beginning， so I love how Bardugo sews setting information seamlessly。 And the different twists are executed so well！ I would sell my soul to Leigh Bardugo。 She could run me over with a bulldozer， and I would thank her。 In conclusion， I really liked this book。 It’s not as great as Six of Crows and the characters are much blander （particularly Alina）， but I still enjoyed this book very much and recommend it！["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]> 。。。more

Mara Hessler ，

Thumbs up。

Rittika ，

Actual rating : 3。5I'm a huge fan of the Six of Crows Duology， so I may be biased when it comes to issues regarding world-building。Pros:-- Leigh Bardugo's writing style。-- Setting and magic systems。-- Supporting cast。 Baghra and Genya are my favourites。Cons:-- Quite predictable， as far the storyline goes。 I saw the twists coming， as well as the progression of the romances and such。-- The main character， Alina Starkov， isn't refreshing。 This book was written a while back， and it shows。 Alina foll Actual rating : 3。5I'm a huge fan of the Six of Crows Duology， so I may be biased when it comes to issues regarding world-building。Pros:-- Leigh Bardugo's writing style。-- Setting and magic systems。-- Supporting cast。 Baghra and Genya are my favourites。Cons:-- Quite predictable， as far the storyline goes。 I saw the twists coming， as well as the progression of the romances and such。-- The main character， Alina Starkov， isn't refreshing。 This book was written a while back， and it shows。 Alina follows many of the main girl tropes， and while this didn't particularly bother me to the point of taking away from the story for me， I can recognise that these kind of characters are certainly overdone。All in all， it's a fun， easy read。 I found it enjoyable， mainly for the quick story， and the beautiful world。 。。。more

Abigail （abigailsbookself） ，

I adore this series and I was delighted to find that I enjoyed it the second time as much as I enjoyed it the first time！ Actually， I probably enjoyed it more since I crossed over to team Mal。

Erika ，

meh， it was just simply okayI had been warned not to go into the trilogy with high expectations， which is honestly the best piece of advice I can give。 It's an interesting concept， definitely very character driven， like Leigh's other books， but for some reason the characters didn't feel particularly real and so I didn't care much about what would happen to them。 I had the same issue with 'Clockwork prince' so maybe I'll grow more accustomed to them as the series goes on。Whilst everyone is obsess meh， it was just simply okayI had been warned not to go into the trilogy with high expectations， which is honestly the best piece of advice I can give。 It's an interesting concept， definitely very character driven， like Leigh's other books， but for some reason the characters didn't feel particularly real and so I didn't care much about what would happen to them。 I had the same issue with 'Clockwork prince' so maybe I'll grow more accustomed to them as the series goes on。Whilst everyone is obsessed with the Darkling I understand where it's coming from， but personally I find him a little revolting。 I just like Mal so much more， especially considering how much he has done for Alina。 I think it's cute。I'd probably recommend this if you're just looking to start reading fantasy or if you're around the age of 14， but personally I don't think I will be rereading it in the future and moreover I don't really care what will happen next （apart from what happens to Genya and I'm eager to finally meet Nikolai）。 If it wasn't for the show then I would probably procrastinate finishing this series。 。。。more

Kimberly ，

Couldn't put it down！ Couldn't put it down！ 。。。more

ana farias ✰ ，

3，5The grishaverse seems incredible but we don't get to see it that much。 I hope there's a better world building in the next book。 Alina annoyed me tons of times and the end was kinda bleh for me。 I'll read the rest of the trilogy but my expectations are not too high。 3，5The grishaverse seems incredible but we don't get to see it that much。 I hope there's a better world building in the next book。 Alina annoyed me tons of times and the end was kinda bleh for me。 I'll read the rest of the trilogy but my expectations are not too high。 。。。more

Sammie ，

3。75 stars！ I have mixed emotions about this book。 Alina and Mal just weren’t it for me， but the Darkling was definitely one of my favorites！

lara ，

lindo， incrível e tudo de bom

Aleksandra ，

3，5

Gabriela ，

Estoy sintiendo tantas cosas en este momento。 Para empezar es el primer libro， que no es novela gráfica， que me leo en tan poco tiempo。 La verdad es que me ha encantado de principio a fin。 Iba con bajas expectativas por el hecho de que habían opiniones muy variadas， pero me ha sorprendido。 Lo amé， léanlo。 Ahora me retiro para ver el trailer de la serie 😙✌🏼

Kara Miller ，

Starts off slow but it's introduction to the series as a whole versus a stand alone book if that makes sense Starts off slow but it's introduction to the series as a whole versus a stand alone book if that makes sense 。。。more

Kooky12 ，

No tenía ni idea de que se trataba el libro y tampoco tenía las expectativas muy altas que digamos así que me sorprendió bastante。

Amber ，

Loved it， I dont understand why some people find it hard to read。 there where a few times when I wanted to through the book across the room or tear it to pieces， but those moment made the book better

Alexa ，

It was a good read but it was kinda boring and dull。 i felt like even the climatic moments weren’t really that dramatic

Peggy Jupe ，

I honestly was expecting a lot and was STILL surprised by how good this was！ I love the Russian inspired fantasy world！

Austin ，

i'm giving this one more star than it actually deserves because of my insane relationship with it i do not like it but i think about it all the time and HAVE reread it THRICE i'm giving this one more star than it actually deserves because of my insane relationship with it i do not like it but i think about it all the time and HAVE reread it THRICE 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Shadow and Bone

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Shadow and Bone&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Shadow and Bone&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0