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Shadow and Bone cover art

Shadow and Bone

By: Leigh Bardugo
Narrated by: Lauren Fortgang
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Publisher's Summary

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 her 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.

©2012 Leigh Bardugo (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

What listeners say about Shadow and Bone

Average Customer Ratings
Overall
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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Awesome!

I bought this because I'd just finished the King of Scars and enjoyed it so much I wanted to start the series from the start. The author's writing is just amazing, and her themes have me thinking long after I press the pause button, but I was really disappointed with this book *at first*.

At the start came across like a teenage romance only it made too much sense for the most part. But after the King of Scars, I was pretty disappointed, because it's just not the kind of thing I'm interested in. I liked the fantasy, the world of magic the author has built is really intriguing and thought. I am just not up for the shallow 50 shades of romance thing. At one stage I groaned when a (spoiler I won't give away here) happened and I said that's it, I'm returning it. But everything else about the book was spot on (so don't let my personal opinion about teenage romance hold you back from buying this!) so I decided to give it a few more chapters.

I'm SO glad I did! The entire book jumped on it's head, what I thought was happening, actually hadn't been happening, betrayal, fighting and magic and swords and rifles! The pace ramped up so much I found I was often holding my breath. I seriously could not put it down, and the build up I'd rolled my eyes and groaned at, turned out to be like the slow haul at the beginning of a roller coaster, which really, was exactly what this book was like! Oh, and what a beautiful portrayal of real love as opposed to what passes for romance these days. What a ride.

Yes, read this book, I say, wholeheartedly. I really enjoyed it and by the end, I finally got used to the way the narrator read the story. It took two books for this to happen though. There were just a few ways she intoned things that kind of pulled me out of the story, and/or which I thought didn't suit the character but for the most part she is really, really good to listen to. So yeah! Two thumbs up! I'm stoked to see there is more for me to read in this series! I'm off to get the next book!

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11 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

eh...

the book is fine but the narrator makes every single character sound like a stuck up snob, makes it REALLY hard to get attached to any characters

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9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

fantastic fantasy

this is a great way to start a fantasy trilogy. Soo good, I really liked the way the story had good character development, enough to keep you engaged with both the characters and the plot.

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Don’t waste your time

I was very excited to read this book when I saw the trailer on Netflix.
I found it a struggle from the start. What is an amazing storyline is ruined by the fast pace of the story. Jumping from one event to the next without fluidity. It all feels so rushed and juvenile. I was very disappointed.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

It's alright

Good, but not a fan of the focus on relationships, of there was more fantasy and action it would be better.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Good book

I started this book but then got bored with it and swapped to six of crows also by Leigh Bardugo which I fell in love with! After finishing the books in that set it made me determined to and wanting to read the other books in the Grisha series which lead me to finish this book, although reading six of crows first spoiled some things in this book for me it also helped compel me on as I wanted to find out how it ended up that way and started to enjoy the book much more once it got past the slow start.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Wow

I’m buying the box set for my 15 yr old daughter. I love that I have found another book series to avidly share with her. Thank you to the author and the beautiful reader.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

I love this

Amazing storyline, definitely reading more.
New fan.
The details described is incredible, it takes you another world.
Would recommend

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Ready for the next book!

Audio was very weak, constantly had to have it up at high volume. Overall really well written, found myself following every step eagerly. Already have downloaded the next book in the series :)

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Hot garbage.

Our protagonist, if that word can be used to describe someone who literally does nothing of her own accord, seems incapable of making any meaningful choices or actions throughout the book. She is helped, pushed, pulled and molested by those around her because everyone else knows what she should be doing better than she does. And while that’s not exactly the strong feminine lead we’d hope for or expect these days… it may actually be for the best as she is incredibly uninteresting and wishy-washy.
The most impressive thing about this book is the author having produced both a story this predictable and a protagonist who somehow manages to be surprised by it.
2 stars rather than one because the premise is interesting, it was read to a C standard by Lauren and I got it for free.

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1 person found this helpful

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