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InkyBooks (43 KP) created a video about Shadow and Bone (The Grisha #1) in Books
Nov 4, 2017
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Little Knife (Grisha Verse, #2.6)
8.5
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In this third Ravkan folk tale from Leigh Bardugo, a beautiful girl finds that what her father wants...
Crooked Kingdom
9.1
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The hotly-anticipated sequel to SIX OF CROWS, this is GAME OF THRONES meets OCEAN'S ELEVEN in a...
Siege and Storm
8.0
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Book Two of the Grisha Trilogy Darkness never dies. Hunted across the True Sea, haunted by the...
Young Adult Grisha Trilogy Fantasy Magic
Alice (117 KP) rated Six of Crows in Books
Mar 3, 2021
Unpopular Opinion alert: I was so close to giving this three stars, I was literally about 75% of the way through this before I even remotely cared about anything that was going on and I was close to dnf-ing numerous times but it sort of redeemed itself enough at the end for me to boost it <i>just</i> into the four-star realm... I think. Maybe because I hadn't read the Grisha trilogy prior to this it hindered my enjoyment a bit but I'll probably read the next book anyway.
Sophia (Bookwyrming Thoughts) (530 KP) rated Shadow and Bone (The Grisha #1) in Books
Jan 23, 2020
<i>Shadow and Bone</i> could have been better – a lot better.
What annoyed me: Alina Starkov.
There is this thing about characters: there are lots of different types – the desperate ones, the annoying ones, the mopey ones, the overly happy ones, the sassy ones, etc.
Alina is the mopey one for – wait for it – a whopping half of the book. It takes her literally <i>half</i> of the book to realize that maybe she should stop being so mopey over Mal, or stop being so insecure about herself and comparing herself to a Grisha of what? Ten plus years? Really, it almost stalls the book as the character tries to get her bearings and a love triangle developing (I've pretty much decided if one couple happens, I'll have a field day.).
<blockquote>I didn't belong in this beautiful world, and if I didn't find a way to use my power, I never would.</blockquote>
She's also the desperate one – a very dangerous combination to put with mopey. Certainly not as desperate as <i>Eon(a)</i>, as Alina doesn't resort to doing anything stupid or harmful to herself. She's more of the, "I can't do this, I can't fit in with the others, why am I doing this, etc." type of person rather than, "Hey! Here's how I can fit in and be more manly: pump myself up with sun drugs!" (Admit it – that was totally Eona in <i>Eon</i>. Alina doesn't dress up as a guy to be a Grisha in <i>Shadow and Bone</i> if anyone's wondering. That would certainly be a fun plot twist to see though!)
What actually kept me reading, aka what kept me from throwing my arms up in exasperation: the idea and the setting.
Based off Imperial Russia, Bardugo's depiction of Ravka seems magical – the Grisha and the Shadow Fold seem to fit in nicely into the story without many hiccups if there's even any.
The Grisha idea is pure genius – no guide needed, even though it took me awhile (okay, 30 pages) to actually figure out how to tell which Grisha from Grisha (in common, sensible terms that I understand). As much as it may sound really complicated, it's actually pretty simple.
The first in the <i>Grisha</i> trilogy has a fantastic idea set in a mystical version of Russia, but it really could have done better (I'm probably sounding like a broken record now). With the fear of the sequel being worse than the first one (or any terrifying possibility), I'm almost afraid to pick up the second book.
<a href="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/review-shadow-and-bone-by-leigh-bardugo/"; target="_blank">This review was originally posted on Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>
What annoyed me: Alina Starkov.
There is this thing about characters: there are lots of different types – the desperate ones, the annoying ones, the mopey ones, the overly happy ones, the sassy ones, etc.
Alina is the mopey one for – wait for it – a whopping half of the book. It takes her literally <i>half</i> of the book to realize that maybe she should stop being so mopey over Mal, or stop being so insecure about herself and comparing herself to a Grisha of what? Ten plus years? Really, it almost stalls the book as the character tries to get her bearings and a love triangle developing (I've pretty much decided if one couple happens, I'll have a field day.).
<blockquote>I didn't belong in this beautiful world, and if I didn't find a way to use my power, I never would.</blockquote>
She's also the desperate one – a very dangerous combination to put with mopey. Certainly not as desperate as <i>Eon(a)</i>, as Alina doesn't resort to doing anything stupid or harmful to herself. She's more of the, "I can't do this, I can't fit in with the others, why am I doing this, etc." type of person rather than, "Hey! Here's how I can fit in and be more manly: pump myself up with sun drugs!" (Admit it – that was totally Eona in <i>Eon</i>. Alina doesn't dress up as a guy to be a Grisha in <i>Shadow and Bone</i> if anyone's wondering. That would certainly be a fun plot twist to see though!)
What actually kept me reading, aka what kept me from throwing my arms up in exasperation: the idea and the setting.
Based off Imperial Russia, Bardugo's depiction of Ravka seems magical – the Grisha and the Shadow Fold seem to fit in nicely into the story without many hiccups if there's even any.
The Grisha idea is pure genius – no guide needed, even though it took me awhile (okay, 30 pages) to actually figure out how to tell which Grisha from Grisha (in common, sensible terms that I understand). As much as it may sound really complicated, it's actually pretty simple.
The first in the <i>Grisha</i> trilogy has a fantastic idea set in a mystical version of Russia, but it really could have done better (I'm probably sounding like a broken record now). With the fear of the sequel being worse than the first one (or any terrifying possibility), I'm almost afraid to pick up the second book.
<a href="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/review-shadow-and-bone-by-leigh-bardugo/"; target="_blank">This review was originally posted on Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>
Six of Crows
9.2
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Nominated for the CILIP Carnegie Medal 2017, this fantasy epic from the No. 1 NEW YORK TIMES...
Andrea D (21 KP) rated Six of Crows in Books
Mar 6, 2019
Variety of characters (1 more)
The lack of black and white thinking
A Second chance.
This is the second time I have attempted to read Six of Crows and I've only chosen to pick it up after loving the original Grisha Trilogy so much. This time around I stuck with it and feel deeply hugely in love with the Dregs.
There are very few morals in this book and money is king, don't expect to go into this book liking all the characters as it seems to take a while to truly understand them.
I love the way Leigh Bardurgo has refused to make her characters pure and innocent people who can do no wrong. Every single person in this book is deeply flawed but that's what makes it all so good.
The Grishaverse has a huge following and it is certainly well deserved. You do not need to have read the original trilogy to read this one but I did find myself overly excited every time I recognised a character from the originals.
There are very few morals in this book and money is king, don't expect to go into this book liking all the characters as it seems to take a while to truly understand them.
I love the way Leigh Bardurgo has refused to make her characters pure and innocent people who can do no wrong. Every single person in this book is deeply flawed but that's what makes it all so good.
The Grishaverse has a huge following and it is certainly well deserved. You do not need to have read the original trilogy to read this one but I did find myself overly excited every time I recognised a character from the originals.
Sophia (Bookwyrming Thoughts) (530 KP) rated Siege and Storm in Books
Jan 23, 2020
I have completely mixed feelings about Leigh Bardugo's <i>Shadow and Bone trilogy.</i> So mixed, I was scared of reading <i>Siege and Storm</i>, despite the fact the librarian pretty much promised the entire series gets better by the book.
The second book in the <i>Grisha Trilogy</i> is certainly better than <i><a href="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/review-shadow-and-bone-by-leigh-bardugo/"; target="_blank" rel="noopener">Shadow and Bone</a></i> – whereas Alina Starkov (aka Sun Summoner) was overly mopey for a good part of the first book (to the point where I started calling her Mopey), Alina is less mopey this time around. A fantastic turnaround, because I don't think I can handle Starkov being mopey for two books. Instead, our fabulous Sun Summoner "Saint" is a little more... overconfident. Spunky (but that's what I've always like about Alina). And definitely in control of the situation, even if it's not in her favor and there are unpleasant rumors about her floating among the Grisha and everyone else.
But even though Alina is in control of the situation for the most part, there's somehow not a love triangle, but a love <i>square</i> surrounding Saint Sun Summoner.
Boy #1 (Mal): My least favorite corner, Mal wasn't a terrible character back in <i>Shadow and Bone</i> – I actually liked Mal a little. I particularly liked his interactions and dialogue with Alina. In the sequel though... he turns into Adrian Ivashkov 1.0 (HOPEFULLY 1.0).
Boy #2 (Darkling): I shipped Alina and the Darkling back in book one... until the end. The Darkling doesn't grace us readers in <i>Siege and Storm</i> as much as he does in <i>Shadow and Bone,</i> but he's really just that one desperate dude with the way he constantly tells Alina that there's no else like them and that they "belong together."
Boy #3 (Nikolai): My third least favorite corner (aka my favorite corner), despite the fact Nikolai is probably going to end up as one of my favorite characters in the entire trilogy after I read <i>Ruin and Rising</i>. Nikolai's two things: arrogant and adorable. Arrogant because seeing as he's royalty, he'll obviously have a big head of sorts (but not too big). Adorable because of his conversations and dialogue with Alina – I pretty much ship them... even if Nikolai probably likes her for political purposes.
The world building, as it was in the first, is spectacular – Imperial Russia spectacularized into fantasy. The concept is phenomenal and a fantastic pitch – even though I have mixed feelings about the entire series altogether, the <i>Grisha Trilogy</i> definitely deserves the hype and praise.
The trilogy so far is essentially Alina running, getting caught, and running again (with attacks and whatnot in between) – if that's the case for the first and second book, I'm definitely scared of reading the last book now. It could go extremely ugly – down the rabbit hole – or extremely well – mind = blown.
<a href="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/review-siege-and-storm-by-leigh-bardugo/"; target="_blank">This review was originally posted on Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>
The second book in the <i>Grisha Trilogy</i> is certainly better than <i><a href="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/review-shadow-and-bone-by-leigh-bardugo/"; target="_blank" rel="noopener">Shadow and Bone</a></i> – whereas Alina Starkov (aka Sun Summoner) was overly mopey for a good part of the first book (to the point where I started calling her Mopey), Alina is less mopey this time around. A fantastic turnaround, because I don't think I can handle Starkov being mopey for two books. Instead, our fabulous Sun Summoner "Saint" is a little more... overconfident. Spunky (but that's what I've always like about Alina). And definitely in control of the situation, even if it's not in her favor and there are unpleasant rumors about her floating among the Grisha and everyone else.
But even though Alina is in control of the situation for the most part, there's somehow not a love triangle, but a love <i>square</i> surrounding Saint Sun Summoner.
Boy #1 (Mal): My least favorite corner, Mal wasn't a terrible character back in <i>Shadow and Bone</i> – I actually liked Mal a little. I particularly liked his interactions and dialogue with Alina. In the sequel though... he turns into Adrian Ivashkov 1.0 (HOPEFULLY 1.0).
Boy #2 (Darkling): I shipped Alina and the Darkling back in book one... until the end. The Darkling doesn't grace us readers in <i>Siege and Storm</i> as much as he does in <i>Shadow and Bone,</i> but he's really just that one desperate dude with the way he constantly tells Alina that there's no else like them and that they "belong together."
Boy #3 (Nikolai): My third least favorite corner (aka my favorite corner), despite the fact Nikolai is probably going to end up as one of my favorite characters in the entire trilogy after I read <i>Ruin and Rising</i>. Nikolai's two things: arrogant and adorable. Arrogant because seeing as he's royalty, he'll obviously have a big head of sorts (but not too big). Adorable because of his conversations and dialogue with Alina – I pretty much ship them... even if Nikolai probably likes her for political purposes.
The world building, as it was in the first, is spectacular – Imperial Russia spectacularized into fantasy. The concept is phenomenal and a fantastic pitch – even though I have mixed feelings about the entire series altogether, the <i>Grisha Trilogy</i> definitely deserves the hype and praise.
The trilogy so far is essentially Alina running, getting caught, and running again (with attacks and whatnot in between) – if that's the case for the first and second book, I'm definitely scared of reading the last book now. It could go extremely ugly – down the rabbit hole – or extremely well – mind = blown.
<a href="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/review-siege-and-storm-by-leigh-bardugo/"; target="_blank">This review was originally posted on Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>
Erika (17788 KP) rated Shadow and Bone - Season 1 in TV
Jul 16, 2021
Shadow and Bone is based upon the popular Young Adult series, The Grisha Trilogy, which takes place in a steampunk-ish, Russian fantasy world at war. The story’s main character is Alina Starkov (Jessie Mei Li), an orphan who discovers she has some magical powers when she journeys into something called the Fold with her childhood friend Malyen, “Mal” (Archie Renaux), for short. The witches in this fantasy world are called Grisha and are trained to help with military operations for some king. The General of this witch army is Kirigan, played by Ben Barnes. There are also two other storylines, this group of kidnappers, and a Grisha that’s enslaved.
This series wasn’t really made for a general audience, it was made for the fans of the book trilogy. The series starts, and the watcher is immediately thrust into this fantasy world that doesn’t really make much sense with no prior knowledge. If you couldn’t tell from the series description, I wasn’t really into it. It took me two months to watch all eight of the episodes. I almost didn’t keep watching after the first two episodes, but my boss encouraged me to keep going.
The storyline is your standard YA novel, a girl who didn’t know her powers, some lame love triangle, and for some reason, the girl is the only one that can save the world. Nothing new to see here. My interest was only piqued by Barnes’ character Kirigan, and Barnes was the main reason I actually kept watching the show. The seventh episode, which features Kirigan’s backstory, was the most interesting.
The whole kidnapping crew storyline wasn’t really all that interesting. The leader, Kaz (Freddy Carter) is a kingpin-type character with an unexplained limp, or I missed the explanation. The crew also had an assassin-type character, Inej (Amita Suman), who might not really have been an assassin, again, missed that explanation. The best member of this crew was Jesper (Kit Young), who was the charmer, expert trick shooter, and the second most interesting character in the series.
The subplot with the whole kidnapping Alina thing was neither here nor there, I don’t even remember the characters’ names that were involved in this subplot. Maybe it meant something to the readers of the novels, or it’ll make sense in the next season, but it certainly didn’t mean anything to me. I think I fast-forwarded through those portions in the last episode.
I think I started liking it after the seventh episode, but two interesting episodes does not make an interesting series. It’s been about a week since I finished it, and I honestly had to look up all the characters’ names. I probably seem flippant about explaining the different plots, but it’s legitimately all I remember. This series also didn’t leave me with a hankering to read the book series, nor would I care to watch any further seasons. I’m sure if you’re a fan of the book series, you’d probably love this, but it was not for me.
This series wasn’t really made for a general audience, it was made for the fans of the book trilogy. The series starts, and the watcher is immediately thrust into this fantasy world that doesn’t really make much sense with no prior knowledge. If you couldn’t tell from the series description, I wasn’t really into it. It took me two months to watch all eight of the episodes. I almost didn’t keep watching after the first two episodes, but my boss encouraged me to keep going.
The storyline is your standard YA novel, a girl who didn’t know her powers, some lame love triangle, and for some reason, the girl is the only one that can save the world. Nothing new to see here. My interest was only piqued by Barnes’ character Kirigan, and Barnes was the main reason I actually kept watching the show. The seventh episode, which features Kirigan’s backstory, was the most interesting.
The whole kidnapping crew storyline wasn’t really all that interesting. The leader, Kaz (Freddy Carter) is a kingpin-type character with an unexplained limp, or I missed the explanation. The crew also had an assassin-type character, Inej (Amita Suman), who might not really have been an assassin, again, missed that explanation. The best member of this crew was Jesper (Kit Young), who was the charmer, expert trick shooter, and the second most interesting character in the series.
The subplot with the whole kidnapping Alina thing was neither here nor there, I don’t even remember the characters’ names that were involved in this subplot. Maybe it meant something to the readers of the novels, or it’ll make sense in the next season, but it certainly didn’t mean anything to me. I think I fast-forwarded through those portions in the last episode.
I think I started liking it after the seventh episode, but two interesting episodes does not make an interesting series. It’s been about a week since I finished it, and I honestly had to look up all the characters’ names. I probably seem flippant about explaining the different plots, but it’s legitimately all I remember. This series also didn’t leave me with a hankering to read the book series, nor would I care to watch any further seasons. I’m sure if you’re a fan of the book series, you’d probably love this, but it was not for me.