Review | Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

Book Description (from the cover):
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.

My Review:
I really enjoyed this book. I liked the Russian vibe it gave off; it made the novel feel fresh, as I haven’t encountered any other YA books that have a Russian flair. I liked that the way in which the female protagonist worked through some of her emotional blocks to reveal her powers. The author does a good job of keeping the reader wondering where the evil lies and why. I’m looking forward to the sequel.

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Overall Rating:

Parent’s guide:

• Sex: none, though there are some kissing scenes, one of them intense
• Violence: fighting scenes with monsters and human-on-human, the killing of an animal
• Language: none