Shadow & Bone(Shadow & Bone Triology,#1)

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                                                     CONTAINS SPOILERS

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. 

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SHADOW AND BONE is a series that I heard others talking about for some time. I wanted to read it and had on my to-read list, and finally had a chance to read it. After reading SHADOW AND BONE , I am blown away by the story, the magical world that LEIGH BARDUGO created. It did not take me long to finish the book because I had trouble putting the book down; I could not. I am from Russia and loved the fact that it took place in Russia, which is not something you often see when it comes to fantasy books. I was hooked to the book from the beginning and spent hours reading the book, until reaching the end. There was always so much happening in the book, and as a reader, you were eager to see what will happen next. There were twists and turns that you did not see coming, causing you to keep on turning the pages. SHADOW AND BONE is a book that you cannot help but fall in love with.



Alina and Mal: I was hoping that the two of them would find a way to each other. You can tell from the start that their bond was special. However, at first, I was not sure if Mal felt the same way about Alina as she thought about him. I was happy to find out that he did. I do wonder what will happen with two of them in the next book if the two of them will remain together, or will something or someone tear them apart. Darkling, I like him at first, and I was sure that he was trying to help Alina, at first. I did question his motives; just way, he acted with her. Even if Alina would not admit, he favorited her over everyone else, and I did wonder if it is because he liked her or if there was another reason behind it. I did get a feeling that there was something not right about Darkling, that he was not quite a good person. I had no idea how off I was about him. I am worried about him and the effect he may have on Alina, considering the connection that the two of them have.



The Grisha universe, I was amazed by the whole world. It seemed magical, and it made me want to go and travel there myself, to explore it. Despite the world being made up, reading about it while reading the book, it felt real to me. There were a few characters that I fell in love with, which I am curious about what will happen with them in the next book. Once I reached the ending of SHADOW AND BONE , I wanted to pick up the next book in the series right away, I wanted to see what happened with everyone, what challenges they might have to face next. I was blown away by this magical world. SHADOW AND BONE was the first book that I read by the author, and now I am eager to check out the rest of her books.