Shadow and Bone

I was lucky enough to recieve a proof of this book, which I am ashamed to say lay on my "to read" pile for rather too long. The first two books in the trilogy are now available so I'm a little bit of a latecomer to the Grisha trilogy, but I did get there in the end, and I'm very glad I did.
This was a difficult book to review, simply because every time I tried to review it I ended up retelling the story. I find that a lot with fantasy books: I feel that I have to try to explain everything about the fantasy land. I'm going to try and not do that now.

I'll say is that it's a fantasy set in Ravka, based on 18th century imperial Russia and it's an excellent setting; unusual and refreshingly different from the usual medieval settings that fantasy authors usually think they have to use. Our narrator is Alina, an orphan, who it is discovered is a Grisha; a person with magical power. Alina's powers are unique and potentially very powerful. She is a Sun Summoner and has the potential to banish The Fold, a terrifying area of darkness that splits the country of Ravka in two and is perilous to cross.

It wouldn't be a teen title without a heavy dose of romance and Alina has two very different suitors. The first is Mal, her childhood companion, who is a tracker in the army. The second is the Darkling, the leader and most powerful of the Grisha. He's the character who sweeps in charismatically and departs almost as quickly, making the female Grisha, Alina included, swoon in his wake. However he has ulterior motives and Alina soon discovers his true intent.

Shadow And Bone is a quite superb book. It's the sort of book that should have huge crossover appeal. Alina is an interesting narrator, she describes herself as far from beautiful and yet has a strength of character which makes her rather attractive. The Grisha are well created. Their different ranks and their political intrigue is well written: informative but unpatronising. 

The book has been likened to Potter, Game of Thrones, Twilight and the Hunger Games. I'm not sure I agree about the Potter reference, but I think if you've enjoyed Twilight and The Hunger Games, then this is well worth a read. I think that it is certainly superior to Twilight, but I sadly don't think that it will inspire the devotion that those books did. Shadow And Bone is pacey and clever and if you read it soon, you can feel pleasantly smug at having read it before the film is made, which is speculated to be coming within the next two years.

I think the only disappointing thing about the book is the jacket. I really like it, but It's grey and has what looks like a Russian Cathedral on the front. Though I rather appreciate an onion dome or three, I'm not sure that they have wide teen appeal. Don't let it put you off. This is a romantic and thrilling read and well worth investing in.