REVIEW: Shadow and Bone (Leigh Bardugo)

Book: Shadow and Bone

Author: Leigh Bardugo

My rating: 4/5.

Premise: Alina Starkov is a soldier. When her regiment is attacked whilst crossing the Shadow Fold - a swath of near impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters - Alina unleashes dormant magic not even she knew she possessed. With an entire kingdom depending on her untamed power, Alina is whisked away to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling. But as Alina unlocks the secrets of her powers, she makes a dangerous discovery that could threaten the future of the nation.

I wasn't planning to read this but Six of Crows and the Netflix trailer persuaded me. Sure you could say it was predictable and the basic plot is has been done so many times before. But I was such a sucker for this book! This story was fast paced so I ended up reading it all in a day. I loved the world. How the countries are based on Russia, Netherlands and Scandinavia. I loved the magic and how it was explained. The romance side was very predictable (although she didn't end up with who I wanted!) and didn't have much depth (much like the guy she ends up with!). But for a YA fantasy, it was such an easy, comforting read. I am now super excited for the TV series!