Babbling about Books: Shadow and Bone

I have troubling news. Please, sit down before reading any further (that is, if you aren't sitting already).

I'm late. Behind. Slow. At the beginning of 2013, I set a goal on Goodreads to read 110 books this year. Easy peasy, right? After all, I think I read 104 or 105 last year. But, at the mid-way point of the year, I'm eight books behind schedule. EIGHT! This is horrible news! 

Sigh. I have to redouble my efforts and get a move on!

At any rate, I finally got around to reading a much-talked-about young adult title, Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo. It was a great read; I can see why everyone is talking about the Grisha series!

The story takes place in a world that resembles and is drawn from historical Russia. Orphans Mal and Alina are raised by a benefactor and, when they are old enough, join the military; Mal as a tracker and Alina as a cartographer. But, on a mission to cross the darkness of the Shadow Fold - a tract of land that separates inland from seafront and is populated by terrifying creatures that feast on human flesh - Alina suddenly finds that she might not be quite as ordinary as she and everyone else think. She is taken away by the Darkling to be trained as a Grisha - one of the kingdom's magical elite warriors. And she just might be the most powerful Grisha there is. But Alina doesn't want to accept her power - nor does she want to be parted from her best friend, Mal. As she is forced to pursue her powers and training she might also be forced to leave her old self - and Mal - behind.

The book is rather fast-paced and mystical. I loved the setting and the world that the author created. The order of the Grisha and the powers of the Darkling are intriguing and mysterious, not to mention dangerous. There's really something for everyone: magic, action, romance, and a great plot twist to set up the second book, Siege and Storm, which was just released. (And which I cannot wait to get my hands on!) 

Has anyone else read either or both of these books?