The Shadow and Bone Trilogy Boxed Set: Shadow and Bone, Siege and Storm, Ruin and Rising

The start of this series is a quick, easy read with an interesting premise, but it flounders a bit under some common YA tropes and, overall, I found it a tad on the dull side.

The setting (the Grishaverse, I guess) has some interesting Russian-esque influences which would have benefit from a bit more fleshing-out. Much of the ‘scene-setting’ is all about cliques, classism, and low-level racial stereotypes.

Alina, as our heroine and 1st-person narrator, could also use some work. So much of her time is spent discussing her looks, and how she’s not beautiful, and doesn’t belong with the Grishas. It’s practically her whole identity, the other being her lack of confidence and disbelief in her own powers.

All in all, I’m not completely put off, and will continue with the series because I think there’s something here. But it seems like it may just be a popcorn fluff, kinda series.

Book 1: Shadow and Bone - ⭐⭐
Book 2: Siege and Storm - ⭐⭐⭐
Book 3: Ruin and Rising - ⭐⭐⭐

4.25 stars!

I'm so so very late to the Grishaverse. Honestly, I've been terrified I wouldn't like it as much as my fellow readers and bloggers who live and die by this world. I had been terribly confused by much of it, unsure if I should start with Shadow and Bone or Six of Crows. I finally decided to read them in the order they were written, and I'm glad I did. And I feel like maybe I'm saving the best for last, since Six of Crows seems to be the favorite. I've tried so hard to avoid spoilers, and so far I've managed--or at least forgotten them.

On to what I thought! After just reading the preface, I was hooked! Whew. It was a big relief. I liked the world Bardugo created, I liked the characters. There were a few things that bothered me, particularly Alina's preoccupation with beauty in the beginning, but it didn't detract from the story.

I wasn't expecting a lot of love story in the first book. I don't know why. I think because that's typically how the first book in a series goes, but I was pleasantly surprised. I'm a sucker for romance.

I was holding my breath expecting a cliffhanger in the end, but was relieved there wasn't one. Not that it mattered since I own the entire series. But it's a habit. I'm excited to dive into Siege and Storm next!

My Random Thoughts While Binge-Reading The Shadow and Bone Trilogy

#popsugarreadingchallenge2020 (prompt #18)

my first booktok read and to be honest the first book is really really fire and not even explicit but the ending did disappoint a bit ... it has enough battles but be warned the protagonist isn't always on the winning side but the crazy twists make up

Gibt’s auch eine Netflix Serie, fand ich cool :)

Magic
I loved the magic in this book. It had a certain structure to it, which made it easy to follow and offered its own dynamic to the book. Even when I thought I had it figured out, another layer popped up. It was a great way to discover the fundamentals of magic.

Cliches
This book had promise until the author threw in some of the most stereotypical cliches in the young adult genre. While being able to ignore some and finish the book, others came back to bite me.

The Dark Side
I love the way this novel plays with concepts of ‘darkness’ and ‘evil.’ Unlike many novels, it doesn’t leave them black and white, but adds a gradient to them, making it difficult to tell who is bad and who is good. The reader has to get to know the characters before they can understand them.

Plot Variation
Most novels pick one of the seven basic plots and stick to it. However, this book mixed a few together. It starts off as a rags to riches plot, quite in a Cinderella-esque fashion, but doesn’t stop there. The change in the plot and ability of the author to transfer the character’s focus adds to the overall draw of the book.

Character
Alina Starkov is your stereotypical self-loathing, plain, uninteresting teenage girl, which is very frustrating. It’s for this reason that she doesn’t know who she is, has little faith in herself, and isn’t one for getting close to people or making friends. She also is unable to see herself as anything other than ordinary. Meanwhile, everyone else sees her as extraordinary.

Plot
Honestly, the beginning with the ‘rags to riches’ concept is done inappropriately. Not only does the MC, Alina, find out she has a magical power, but she’s the ONLY PERSON ON THE PLANET WHO HAS IT! -.- Yeah, that was frustrating for me because it’s stupid, overdone, and just… uninteresting. For this reason she becomes… dun dun dun… the savior. What else? *yawn*

Alina not being able to control her power was done well. She didn’t figure it out instantly. In fact, it took her sometime and a bit of self-exploration to really figure out why she can’t use her power. Now, we’re all set to go on our quest, but uh-oh, there’s a monster!

This! This was my favorite part because Alina was drawn to the mysterious, all-powerful Dark One (obviously because he’s handsome and alluring) and because he’s EVIL! YES! First off, we all saw that coming from a mile away. I mean, really? How could you not? Granted, the reasoning behind him being evil was a bit different than I suspected, but… symantics. I still loved the mentor becoming the antagonist. ^.^ *has a thing for the dark side*