The Shadow and Bone series (Grishaverse)

All you need to know about

SHADOW AND BONE TRILOGY

Author : Leigh Bardugo 

The once-great Ravka is in shambles. The country has been torn apart by the Shadow Fold, a barrier that is almost impossible to penetrate and is inhabited by flesh-eating monsters of darkness. The country itself has been ravaged by civil war and the citizens are in pitiful conditions, and the cities seem to have graveyards that extend far wider than the cities themselves. 
Alina Starkov had never been capable of much. A sickly child when she was younger, and a plain young woman with abysmal social skills and a grouchy personality, Alina had been a lonely orphan most of her life, save for her only friend, Malyen Oretsev. Best friends since birth, both orphaned by war and yet serving as soldiers in a regiment, they'd only ever had each other, though Mal's less grumpy temperament gained him more companions. 
But when a journey into the Shadow Fold proves disastrous and it seems that the entire regiment was going to face its end, as Alina tries to save Mal's life, a long-dormant power inside of her sparks to life and ends up saving everyone's life. 
But little does she know that her story has just begun, that a star that had remained dim all its life, was beginning to slowly sputter and glow. 
For her power was no ordinary one. This was the power that the entire nation of Ravka had been waiting for all these long years. Hers was the power that was going to set an entire nation free, a power that was going to save them all after decades of war and strife. 
Whisked away from the life she had known since her birth, Alina is escorted to the Little Palace, the home of the Second Army, the army of empowered individuals almost similar to herself. The Grisha army. 
But Alina's power was unlike anything the world has ever seen, even unlike the powers of the Grisha. Under the watchful eye of the mysterious Darkling, she must learn to harness her ability and train rigorously, to uncover her true potential.
Little does she know, that this lavish world had dark secrets of its own. Something dangerous was on its way, and it was approaching swiftly. Nothing will be the same anymore. Alina's power could either offer them liberation, or it could very well destroy them all.
Dark and powerful forces were at play, and even those closest to her couldn't be trusted. As Alina battles through betrayal, grief, desire and pain, it was only a matter of time before darkness triumphs over light forever.
But can the Sun ever be completely extinguished?  

ALL BOOKS IN ORDER
  • Shadow and Bone
  • Seige and Storm
  • Ruin and Rising
The final book of the series, Ruin and Rising was published on 17 June 2014. A short story, The Demon in the Wood had also been published, which acted as a prequel to the series, taking place thousands of years before the events of the trilogy. It is meant to be read after the completion of the trilogy.
A sequel series, the Six of Crows duology, had been published the following year, on 29 September 2015. The events of this duology occur two years after the final book of the trilogy and feature different characters and a separate plot. This duology will be covered in my future updates. 





My Comments 

I had always wanted to read the Grishaverse books, as I had heard that it was one of the best young adult fantasy fiction novels out there, and I'm happy to say that I wasn't disappointed. 
Inspired by Tsarist Russia in the 1800s, this trilogy is the dream read for readers interested in dark fantasy and adventure fiction. 
In my opinion, it was the world-building that I enjoyed in this trilogy. Ravka is no utopia, it is a war zone, and it was impressive how well that was highlighted. There was a well-defined plot split over three books, and it never felt rushed. And the plot twists were completely unforeseeable. And I think that's one of the most important things when one is writing a book. If the reader can guess the plot, then that would pretty much defeat the purpose of the excitement, wouldn't it?
To me, the only flaw was the fact that I found the side characters more interesting that the main protagonist herself. Alina had layers of depth and character development, but somehow, I enjoyed the other characters more. Maybe it was because of the fact that she felt way too similar to all female protagonists in most series? Probably, but while I still enjoyed her character a great deal, she felt a little bland. 
Nevertheless, to me, the Shadow and Bone trilogy was a truly amazing experience, and it has definitely made it to my list of top recommendations. Best suited for readers aged 13 to 18 and above (depending on the reader's choice), this trilogy is sure to take your breath away. 



Location: Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

INTRODUCTION

Hello! First off, thank you so much for visiting my blog! I hope my entries help all the bookworms out there get their perfect dream book and start a whole new adventure in its pages. As a reader myself, I found it REALLY hard to find the ideal book and immerse myself in it for the next few months. But as soon as it was over, i had always struggled to find another perfect book. It is always a melancholic moment when a book ends, and we are left with the thoughts of the particular story for days before we find another book. Such books are rare to come by and will always be special to us. There are also some lesser known series, which are not as popular and well known as the Harry Potter and Percy Jackson series, but are just as amazing. But never fear! In this blog, i will write about the books i am particularly fond of, and all those stories i enjoyed a lot and hope you will too. So when you finish a good book series, and is left to stare at the wall, rethinking the plot and how great
Read more

The Pandava Quintet series

Image
  All you need to know about THE PANDAVA QUINTET (THE ARU SHAH SERIES) Author : Roshani Chokshi Aru Shah is a sassy and quirky twelve year old living in Atlanta, Georgia who also happens to be as salty as the Dead Sea. She is also shockingly good at lying, which was what lead to her unleashing a trapped supervillain and almost causing the end of time.  Yup, that went from 'normal' to ' definitely not normal' a little too fast. Let me back up a little. Aru's mom, Krithika Shah, owns a museum. The Museum of Ancient Indian Art and Culture. As a student of Augustus Day (AKA 'School for the Snobbiest'), to fit in, Aru often stretches the truth to impress her fellow classmates. But living in a museum is un-cool by Middle school standards, and definitely doesn't help Aru to become one with the aristocratic crowd. And it certainly doesn't help that her mother was always away on Museum work and was almost never home. Which was another contributing factor to
Read more

The Wings of Fire series (The Dragonet Prophecy)

Image
All you need to know about WINGS OF FIRE (Arc 1) Author : Tui T Sutherland Ever since the Sandwing tribe queen's demise, the peaceful land of Pyrrhia was ravaged by war among the seven dragon tribes, locked in a never-ending battle over an ancient, lost treasure. As winds of turmoil blew fiercely through out Pyrrhia, a secret movement, the Talons of Peace, sought to cease the war with the help of the Dragonet Prophecy, a fore-telling issued by the clairvoyant Nightwings.  In accordance to the prophecy, five dragonets from five different tribes were chosen and raised in a cave, against their will. After years of intense training and rules, the dragonets decide to escape the cave and the  expectations piled on them, and travel in search of their families, and finally have the chance to explore the world outside.  But when a successful expedition outside their cave goes awry, the dragonets realize that they have escaped from the fire pan, just to fall headfirst into the fire.  Thus en
Read more