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.
Shadow and Bone is the first installment in Leigh Bardugo's Grisha Trilogy.
REVIEW: I've been really excited to dive into the Grishaverse and I'm glad I finally did. This was such a light and easy read and I really enjoyed it. I love the orphan origin story, that always intrigues me and I love Alina's "relationship" with Mal. After all the talk of the Darkling, I'm glad to finally meet him and see what he's about. I think there's definitely more than meets the eye when it comes to The Darkling. There seems to be a lot going on behind closed doors that I hope we get to become privy to in the next book. Alina's journey to self acceptance and self discovery is a rollercoaster. All the different types of magic sound amazing and the way they are all classified by the different kaftas, while sounding a little cult like, I've got to say I don't hate. I'm really excited to see where this series goes next and to delve deeper into the Grishaverse.
Publication Date: June 5, 2012