Book Review
Feb. 12th, 2022 04:10 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kenjariShadow and Bone
by Leigh Bardugo
This entertaining YA fantasy is set in a world based on late imperial Russia. Ravka is a land divided by the Fold, a seam of magical darkness populated by monsters, create ages ago by the Black Heretic, a Grisha who used his magic for ill. Alina and Mal are orphans serving in the army, fighting Ravka's centuries-old war. During a crossing of the Fold, Alina's power of light summoning erupts, sweeping her up into the luxurious and mysterious world of the Grisha. She is sent to the Little Palace, where she is trained to use her powers. she also is introduced to court intrigue and gets swept into the orbit of the Darkling, head of the Grisha, whose plans to reunite Ravka and end the war hinge on Alina's power. She must also contend with her unexpressed feelings for Mal.
I quite liked this book. The world-building is very good, and the magic system is very interesting. I liked Alina a lot, especially her growth as she accepts her powers and figures herself out. The Darkling is also a great character, complex and manipulative so that it's hard to tell what is genuine. And I couldn't help but like Baghra, who is 100% based on Baba Yaga. I hope she appears in the sequels. The romance between Alina and Mal is sweet but a little too much of a straight line with no conflict or suspense. Their shared childhood in an orphanage created an emotional bond that became a deep love. The plot is overall exciting and compelling. I'd watched the Netflix series before reading the book, so I can't speak to how suspenseful or surprising it is, but the spoilers didn't affect my enjoyment of the story.
by Leigh Bardugo
This entertaining YA fantasy is set in a world based on late imperial Russia. Ravka is a land divided by the Fold, a seam of magical darkness populated by monsters, create ages ago by the Black Heretic, a Grisha who used his magic for ill. Alina and Mal are orphans serving in the army, fighting Ravka's centuries-old war. During a crossing of the Fold, Alina's power of light summoning erupts, sweeping her up into the luxurious and mysterious world of the Grisha. She is sent to the Little Palace, where she is trained to use her powers. she also is introduced to court intrigue and gets swept into the orbit of the Darkling, head of the Grisha, whose plans to reunite Ravka and end the war hinge on Alina's power. She must also contend with her unexpressed feelings for Mal.
I quite liked this book. The world-building is very good, and the magic system is very interesting. I liked Alina a lot, especially her growth as she accepts her powers and figures herself out. The Darkling is also a great character, complex and manipulative so that it's hard to tell what is genuine. And I couldn't help but like Baghra, who is 100% based on Baba Yaga. I hope she appears in the sequels. The romance between Alina and Mal is sweet but a little too much of a straight line with no conflict or suspense. Their shared childhood in an orphanage created an emotional bond that became a deep love. The plot is overall exciting and compelling. I'd watched the Netflix series before reading the book, so I can't speak to how suspenseful or surprising it is, but the spoilers didn't affect my enjoyment of the story.
