The Gathering Dark (Shadow and Bone Trilogy, #1) (Grishaverse, #1)

by Leigh Bardugo

The Shadow Fold, a swathe of impenetrable darkness, crawling with monsters that feast on human flesh, is slowly destroying the once-great nation of Ravka. Alina, a pale, lonely orphan, discovers a unique power that thrusts her into the lavish world of the kingdom's magical elite - the Grisha. Could she be the key to unravelling the dark fabric of the Shadow Fold and setting Ravka free? The Darkling, a creature of seductive charm and terrifying power, leader of the Grisha. If Alina is to fulfil her destiny, she must discover how to unlock her gift and face up to her dangerous attraction to him. But what of Mal, Alina's childhood best friend? As Alina contemplates her dazzling new future, why can't she ever quite forget him? Glorious. Epic. Irresistible. Romance.

• ISBN10: 1780621116
• ISBN13: 9781780621111
• Publish Date: 3 May 2012
• Publish Status: Cancelled
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Hachette Children's Group
• Imprint: Indigo (an Imprint of Orion Children's)
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 224
• Language: English

Reviews

[Quirky Cat]

Shadow and Bone is the first novel in a trilogy of the same name by Leigh Bardugo. It’s also the first novel in Bardugo’s groundbreaking larger world, known as the Grishaverse. And I’ve taken entirely too long to get around to reading it. But I’m about to make up for lost time here.
Ravka has been torn apart by war and the Shadow Fold – a tear of darkness across the land that contains within it deadly beasts and monsters. This is the world that Alina and Mal were born into. Raised as orphans, the two of them end up joining the war effort. Only their entire lives are changed thanks to one catastrophic event.
When their regiment took them into the Shadow Fold (yes, the Shadow Fold) they were unsurprisingly set upon by monsters. But this action did result in one surprise – the revelation of Alina’s suppressed power.

“’I’ve been waiting for you a long time, Alina,’ he said. ‘You and I are going to change the world.’”

Warnings: There are some heavier subjects covered in Shadow and Bone. Most of it can be expected, based on the plot. And almost everything is foreshadowed ahead of time, including the animal death.

Shadow and Bone was everything I had been led to expect. And yet it still completely blew me away. What an amazing and striking read. No wonder people have been talking about this series so much, if the first book is anything to go by!
Man, am I completely kicking myself for taking so long to dive into this series. Shadow and Bone was as brilliant and beautiful as all of my friends have been promising. And to think that I might not have read it at this moment, had I not been seeing all of this talk online about the TV adaptation (I’ll confess that it was my fear of spoilers that finally spurred me onward).
I’m completely fascinated by this world. Ravka has so much to offer, and Bardugo did an excellent job creating this lush and dangerous world. I’m desperate to see more of it. I’m also desperate to see more of the Grishas (the magical term in this universe).
I knew that Alina was going to end up with them, based on the description alone. But I don’t think I was fully prepared for everything that happened. Or for how Alina felt about it all. It was emotionally taxing to read at times and yet oh so powerful (no pun intended).
What I loved most about this book is the fact that the main reveal was set up in such a way where it was totally believable from the moment it happened. It made complete sense, but the foreshadowing was subtle enough to not be blatantly (or annoying) obvious. It was the perfect balance.
I don’t typically jump on the ship train for antagonists in series, but this time around I can certainly understand why so many are enjoying this character. And why people are hoping for a redemption plot with him (and if that happens – don’t tell me! I wanna find out for myself).
I know I just finished Shadow and Bone, but I honestly think I’m going to sit back down and read Siege and Storm right away. I’m desperate to see more of this world, and what’s going to happen next. I don’t know how anybody else managed to wait the year (or more) between books as they were releasing.

For more reviews check out Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks

[ibeforem]

I had low expectations for this series, but ended up being pleasantly surprised! Alina is a mapmaker for the King's army, and her childhood best friend Mal is a scout with unusual abilities. They grew up together in an orphanage, where they were both evaluated for powers by the Grisha when they were young. Since (it appeared) neither had Grisha abilities (such as the ability to control the wind, or fire, or heal/hurt people's bodies), the King's army was the most logical place for them to end up.

When the story begins, the army is preparing to go through the Unsea, a dark place caused by the mistake of a powerful Grisha of the past that is infested with terrible creatures that kill nearly everyone they encounter. When Mal's life is threatened on the trip, Alina discovers a power that no one, including her, knew she had. Alina is suddenly a very popular girl.

The rest of the story follows Alina as she is taken into the Grisha population and learns how to use her powers. There's a lot of political intrigue, and she also must navigate getting to know the Darkling, the powerful leader of the Grisha who is particularly interested in what she can do.

The story has Russian influences, but isn't a straight retelling of any particular piece of Russian folklore. I found it very engaging, and jumped right into the second book of the series -- something I haven't done in a long time.

[thepunktheory]

Full review on my blog!

I was a little scared that this would be just another blueprint YA heroine story. One more glorified Hunger Games/Divergent version.
Luckily, that was not the case!
While some elements of Shadow and Bone might resemble out typical YA book, the vibe was rather different.
First of all, the setting is quite unique. You can tell that Ravka, the way the country looks, the language that is spoken, the habits people have are inspired by Russia. That alone creates for an atmosphere and a setting so different from the other YA books I've read so far, that I was at ease after the first chapter.
Bardugo also tackles an interesting concept with the Shadow and Bone books. The story revolves around faith, its connection with power and where you draw the line between science and miracle.
The Grisha in her books have extraordinary powers but are still human. However, some aspire to greater things and stop at nothing to get what they want.
While there is still a love story to be found in the books - I really wish YA writers could produce one damn novel without that - it takes a place in the backseat. I am so glad about that!
The story is fascinating and you'll encounter plot twist and turns along the way that you didn't see coming. Or some that you saw coming but hoped weren't true. In any way, Shadow and Bone is thrilling. Bardugo's book mixes magic and mystery with elements that feel all too real, thus making for a captivating story.
I won't go into detail with the characters now, I need something to talk about in the next reviews ;-)

[anastasia]

Full Review on my blog!

"The problem with wanting," he whispered, his mouth trailing along my jaw until it hovered over my lips. "Is that it makes us weak." 

I've wanted to read this series for the longest time and I don’t even know where to start.  I fell in love with the story from page one and thoroughly enjoyed it the entire time.

This book was a really good start to a series. It lays the ground work for what's to come and I'm really excited to continue on.

The story follows Alina Starkov who is in the military with her childhood best friend Mal. Alina has never been good at anything, or special, she is just kind of a run of the mill orphan. Mal though has been doing pretty well for himself in the military and the two have drifted apart. When a accident in the shadow fold reveals a power that Alina had no idea she had her entire world changes and she is thrown into a new set of circumstances with plenty of court intrigue, power plays, and a bit of romance.

“I missed you every hour. And you know what the worst part was? It caught me completely by surprise. I'd catch myself just walking around to find you, not for any reason, just out of habit, because I'd seen something that I wanted to tell you about or because I wanted to hear your voice. And then I'd realize that you weren't there anymore, and every time, every single time, it was like having the wind knocked out of me. I've risked my life for you. I've walked half the length of Ravka for you, and I'd do it again and again and again just to be with you, just to starve with you and freeze with you and hear you complain about hard cheese every day. So don't tell me why we don't belong together," he said fiercely.”

The world building in Shadow and Bone was probably my favorite thing about the novel. The descriptions of the different types of Grisha (those who wield magical power), the shadow fold (where are the bad things live), and just the general atmosphere pulled me in right from the beginning. I also liked that although this is a big, complex, new world there weren’t really big information dumps and I never felt like I didn’t understand what was going on.

The story telling in Shadow and Bone is brilliant. The story unfolds quickly. Before you know it you are in thick of events, from the ship in the Unsea to the royal palace. The pacing, in my opinion, which was almost pitch perfect with only a couple of slow patches in the story, when Alina was learning details about the Grisha world. The principal characters of Alina, Mal & Darkling, all were well created with enough depth & character flaws. The plot twists in this book definitely kept me on my toes and made it so I couldn’t put the book down.

I really enjoyed Shadow and Bone and I'm definitely excited to be starting the next one.Yes,the book followed some of the traditional ya aspects and was predictable at times but this book definitely stands out from the crowd in ya and fantasy genre. 100% would recommend.

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Shadow and Bone | Review
Siege and Storm | Review soonTM
Ruin and Rising | Review soonTM


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[jeannamichel]

So, I have some feelings about Shadow and Bone.

The world building is superb. Bardugo knows how to make her worlds come to life and she definitely does that with the Grishaverse. As I've already read the Six of Crows duology, it's interesting to get more of the Grisha side of her world than we received in the two books.

The story itself had everything I love about a fantasy. A fantastic magic system, a girl who has magic hiding in plain sight, a lovely childhood friendship that may turn to more, and so much more. I can't wait to read the next book in the series! I'm just disappointed that it has taken me this long to start this series.

I really could not stand Alina. She was obsessed with her appearance because she was 'oh so ugly'. It is common in YA books that the main character does not realize her beauty and thinks of herself as a plain girl, but Alina was a whole different level. It was all she could think about.

As in every YA book, our main character is unaware of how special she is and which powers she possesses. When she is attacked, her powers are discovered and she is rushed into her new life of a Grisha. She accepts it and after a while, she even embraces it. However, we do not have any time to dive deeper into the friendships she develops. When there is nothing special happening to the plot with Alina and the Darkling, we just skip that time period. Which would not be a problem normally, except if it happens so often that it feels as if the author herself did not care for any of these characters.
When there is sexual abuse of power, we only have one phrase that shrugs it off. Alina just does not care enough. When Mal tells her he never got her letters, she doubts him, she starts arguing with him, because he is clearly lying about something so insignificant. When she gets one (very strange) kiss from the Darkling, that is all she can think about, even though she always had feelings for Mal. Even though 'she had often kissed boys'. Yeah, like every seventeen-year-old who thinks of herself as ugly and has a life long crush on her best friend, has kissed many boys. Very convincing.
The main problem I had with this book, besides the main character, was the way Alina got her powers. She failed at controlling them herself, she always needed an amplifier. Until she suddenly realized that she did not need it, and suddenly, she could do everything and she was completely in control! Unfortunately, the same happened at the end, when she could not fight the Darkling but wait, she realized she was actually stronger and suddenly she was! What a beautiful way to ruin every plot.

I will be continuing this series in the hope it gets better, or in the hope that Mal becomes the main character instead of Alina. I do not understand why everyone hates Mal so much, sure his romance for Alina did not seem genuine, but he was a really nice guy and did not do anything wrong. The books are fast-paced and not a long read, but I really hope Six of Crows has a better start than this trilogy.

[maggiefan]

It was not awful and also not good enough. The ending was pretty interesting to follow, but I have some issues with it. And throughout the whole book I was kinda disappointed in Russian elements in the story (I'm Russian, so I know what I'm talking about).

[alisoninbookland]

I liked it better this time around. Listening to the story really enhanced it. I loved the accents.

[Emma (SCR)]

This review was originally posted on Star Crossed Reviews I was lucky enough to receive a copy of this via Netgalley but I actually read (listened) to this on audible. I sign up to a lot of blog tours and I end up pausing some books half way through so I can meet blog tour deadlines (totally going to be more organised next year) but I have found I can listen to books while I do other things like getting ready for work, driving, washing up etc so I actually listened to this one instead of reading the netgalley copy.

I was actually going to listen to Six of Crows as it had a full cast but I found out that the two series were related and this book was chronologically first. A lot of people said it was fine to listen to Six of Crows first but I'm a bit of stickler for that sort of thing so I went for this book (and the rest of the trilogy first) I am actually glad I did it that way round because there's a lot of world building that is in Shadow and Bone which I think you are expected to know when you read Six of Crows.

I found Alina a realistic character for one in such a made-up world. She is your average girl. There's nothing special about her. She is in love with her best friend who doesn't realise it and carries out her day to day chores and roles. I know a lot of people don't like Alina but I found her character intriguing because she was such an average girl before she discovers that she's actually grisha.

Once Alina's true identity is discovered she meets The Darkling. Essentially the leader of the grisha. I had a love-hate relationship with The Darkling. There is something so appealing about him that you want to like him but you just know you shouldn't. He's also a great character to quote.

Leigh did an amazing job with the world building in this book. I believe it is inspired by Russian history. I am not big on history but Leigh did such a good job of pulling me into the world that it really didn't matter. Everything you need to know Leigh will tell you. Piece by piece.

This was a great start to the series that will have you gasping in shock, sitting on the edge of your seat in suspense and screaming in anger. As soon as I finished this one I had to start Siege and Storm because I knew I had to be back with these characters again.

[celinenyx]

I heard a lot about Shadow and Bone when it was released years ago. Young adult fantasy has never worked well for me - the easier-going kind of narratives always seemed slightly jarring when combined with epic worlds. This book was a pleasant surprise. The world has different kinds of magic, but a Russian/Eastern-Europe inspired world. It's a familiar story, but told refreshingly enough to make it interesting.

I felt like the politics could have been more complex though, and the writing occasionally had the tendency to narrate the mundane too much, like moving from one place to another. It was immensely readable, though, and it struck the right balance between light scenes and darkness.

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Trigger warnings: violence, death, questionable consent, orphanhood.