shadow and bone Archives - A Bookie's Books

My Reaction to the Newest Shadow and Bone Cast Members-repost

Hey all,

I wanted to share my article for Her Campus that I posted a week ago.

I wrote out my reactions to the new Shadow and Bone cast members.

Here is an excerpt from the article:

“NIKOLAI LANISTOV:

My biggest fictional crushes cast was perfect. They cast Patrick Gibson from The OA. Nikolai is my blond and beautiful privateer. Patrick is beautiful and he looks exactly like my imagination. I cannot wait to see him in his privateering getup.

I am a Nikolai fan. I am die-hard and am still holding out hope that he and Alina fall in love on the show.

I was nervous that the cast member was going to be someone I have seen in another show before, like some of the rumors about Brandon Flynn. I have never seen the OA, so I have no prior exposure to Patrick. This means I can see him fully in the role of Nikolai.

WYLAN VAN ECK:

Holy moly!

The casting for Nikolai was so good; I didn’t know it could get better. Jack Wolfe from The Witcher is AMAZING. Jack literally is Wylan. He looks like the producers pulled him out of Leigh Bardugo’s brain. He fits the little moppy-haired demolitions expert vibe perfectly!

Also, Wylan and Jesper’s storyline was my favorite romance in both these series. I think it was an injustice that he was not in the first season. But, the anticipation was worth it.

TAMAR KIR-BATAAR:

Anna Leong Brophy from Back is perfect also. I did not have a set vision for Tamar, but Anna fits my loose definition perfectly. Looking at pictures, I can tell Anna is perfect for the role.

TOLYA YUL-BATAAR:

Now this casting was interesting for me. Lewis Tan from Mortal Kombat is set to be Tolya. I imagined Tolya to be a huge hulk sized Heartrender. Lewis is not hulk sized, but he is still huge. He is also very attractive. I never thought Tolya was attractive while reading, but I can tell watching this series is going to be different.”

As always, thank you for reading,

A Bookie

Six Reasons to Like Six of Crows

Title: Six of Crows

Author: Leigh Bardugo

Series: Six of Crows #1

Published September 29th 2015 by Henry Holt & Company

Pages: 465

Genre: Fantasy, YA, Adventure

“Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price—and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can’t pull it off alone. . . .

A convict with a thirst for revenge

A sharpshooter who can’t walk away from a wager

A runaway with a privileged past

A spy known as the Wraith

A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums

A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes

Kaz’s crew is the only thing that might stand between the world and destruction—if they don’t kill each other first.” -Goodreads

My Review:

Wow!

The hype for this book was deserved. This made the whole Grishaverse from Shadow and Bone WAY more exciting and adventurous.

It had exciting plot lines and a huge adventure that ACTUALLY get finished in the book.

From binge reading the Shadow and Bone series to reading starting this duology was a huge change.

To review: Shadow and Bone lacked good development of characters and setting. It lacked a show not telling piece in the story that would have set it high on my list. It was a great story and had great characters…but it lacked depth.

But Six of Crows was a major improvement in that area. While it may have lacked in few key character and plot development moments, it was a drastic improvement from SaB.

Plot

The plot was really interesting. It had a beginning, middle, and end. That seems like a very basic “well duh” element of a book but in Shadow and Bone, I felt like every book just stopped in the middle of a plot line until the next book. This book had a climax and falling action. It actually wrapped up really nicely with only one major cliff hanger for the second book.

2. Kaz

Kaz Brekker is my new favorite crush. This is probably influenced by the Netflix Shadow and Bone adaptation with him being played by Freddy Carter. But, hey what can I say. I love a man who secretly harbors a crush for a girl. I love the trope of “he-would-burn-the-world-down-for-her.”

3.Inej

Inej is a badass. You know I love badass women in literature. This book has the wraith, who no matter how much the world is out to get her, she defies them…and gravity.

4. Literally all of the characters

You couldn’t help but to love all of the characters. They all spoke to me in little ways. I think out of all of them Jesper is my favorite. He was witty and fun. He is also attractive and has some history around him.

5. Setting

Setting-wise, I was able to visualize Ketterdam and the Ice Prison really well. This was helped my a fantastic map of the Ice Prison thing in this book and a map of Ketterdam in the second book. Bardugo explains the setting with better details than her last series. She shows a lot of improvement in this series.

6. Multiple POVs

With multiple POVs, we get to see more characters and their thoughts. In Shadow and Bone, we only saw people through Alina’s eyes. Now we can make our own judgements about each character without bias from someone’s thoughts.

While she may have improved her writing, I did find a few things lacking.

The six person POV was interesting, but at times it felt rushed. There were moments and situations that I would have loved to see from another POV. I think that the six person thing was to needed at times because they were mostly all together in the same room.

The romance between Jesper and Wylan was a little rushed and lack luster. It seems to get glanced over. Jesper seemingly hates Wylan and than all of the sudden he is flirting with him? Yes, between the POV’s there is a whole lot of time going on there so obviously his feelings changed. I just wish I could have seen that.

There are more positives and negatives I would love to talk about, but I am trying to avoid spoilers.

Let me know what you guys thought down below. If you haven’t already, read this book (but read Shadow and Bone first so you don’t get spoiled for somethings.

As always, thanks for reading,

A Bookie

Ruin and Rising: The…interesting…end of the series

Title: Ruin and Rising

Author: Leigh Bardugo

Series: Shadow and Bone #3

Published January 17th 2014 by Henry Holt and Co

Genre: Fantasy, YA, Romance

Pages: 465

“The capital has fallen.

The Darkling rules Ravka from his shadow throne.

Now the nation’s fate rests with a broken Sun Summoner, a disgraced tracker, and the shattered remnants of a once-great magical army.

Deep in an ancient network of tunnels and caverns, a weakened Alina must submit to the dubious protection of the Apparat and the zealots who worship her as a Saint. Yet her plans lie elsewhere, with the hunt for the elusive firebird and the hope that an outlaw prince still survives.

Alina will have to forge new alliances and put aside old rivalries as she and Mal race to find the last of Morozova’s amplifiers. But as she begins to unravel the Darkling’s secrets, she reveals a past that will forever alter her understanding of the bond they share and the power she wields. The firebird is the one thing that stands between Ravka and destruction—and claiming it could cost Alina the very future she’s fighting for.” -Goodreads

My Review:

WHYYYYYYYYYYY

is this book series so good but so hard to read?

I do not want to make this long because I just have no f*cking words.

So many things went wrong. And so many things went right.

Lets start with right first since I think it will be a shorter list. Also SPOILERS IN THIS LIST!

Right:

Alina did not end up with the Darkling
Nikolai did not die
Alina and Mal ended up with a really happy ending
The Unsea is gone
The plot wrapped up really well (sort of)
Alina did not pull a lose-only-half-of-her-powers type deal

Wrong:

Alina did not end up with the Darkling
Nikolai did not die
Alina and Mal ended up with a really happy ending
Nikolai got turned into a monster
But like that was only touched on for a little
Mal was the third amplifier, like what????
Alina lost all of her powers
There were a thousand sun summoners created that was not described well
Nikolai got turned into a monster
Alina did not end up with Nikolai
Alina and Mal were supposed to go into hiding but they like didn’t?

The plot was, like I said last book, long on parts that should have been short and short on parts that should have been long. And there were so many holes.

But it was so good.

I just dont understand how mixed up my feelings are. I hated the means of the ending. The ending was nice (other than the aforementioned 1000 sun summoners) and wrapped well. But everything from the first page until the Unsea left, was wack.

Also, I hate to admit how I cried at Alina saying “Aleksander” at the end. That broke me in two. BUT HE WAS THE BAD GUY!

UGH I cannot talk about it anymore.

Did anyone else feel this way?

As always, thanks for reading,

A Bookie

Star Rating: 3.6

Siege and Storm: Review

Title: Siege and Storm

Author: Leigh Bardugo

Series: Shadow and Bone

Published June 4th 2013 by Henry Holt and Company

Genre: Fantasy, YA, Romance

Pages: 435

“Darkness never dies.

Hunted across the True Sea, haunted by the lives she took on the Fold, Alina must try to make a life with Mal in an unfamiliar land, all while keeping her identity as the Sun Summoner a secret. But she can’t outrun her past or her destiny for long.

The Darkling has emerged from the Shadow Fold with a terrifying new power and a dangerous plan that will test the very boundaries of the natural world. With the help of a notorious privateer, Alina returns to the country she abandoned, determined to fight the forces gathering against Ravka. But as her power grows, Alina slips deeper into the Darkling’s game of forbidden magic, and farther away from Mal. Somehow, she will have to choose between her country, her power, and the love she always thought would guide her—or risk losing everything to the oncoming storm.” -Goodreads

My Review:

Ahh just look at how beautiful that cover is. It is so gorgeous.

Anyways, so this book was really good. I read it in about a day and a half. I devoured it is what I should really say.

Because I have been behind on my reviews, I am going to keep this a really short.

First LOVE THE DARKLING and I am very ashamed. Second HATE MAL and I am not ashamed. Third Alina is dumb but also I like her. I dont know I have mixed feelings.

Then there is Nikolai. Let me just say that I am a Nikolai fan page now. I only care about Nikolai in this story and Nikolai only.

The pacing of the story is horrendously annoying. Some moments that should last half a page last for three. Some things like big epic moments, that I would accept lasting a chapter, are like a page long. I am pretty sure (SPOILERS FOR THE REST OF THE PARAGRAPH) huge fights between Mal and Alina lasted longer than any fight between the Darkling and when they capture the ice dragon thing.

Improvements form the last book:

Plot- adding in Nikolai
Plot-way more thoughts out then the last book. I think most of it seemed like filler and Bardugo could have just added…more. But, way more of an improvement.
Nikolai
Realm Building-Ravka became way more in-depth in this book than the last one. I think explanation of conflicting nation wars were better. We saw other places other than the Little Palace. I think there were better descriptions of buildings.
Character Development-Everyone in this book had growth and changed, unlike the last book. They all had some sort of significant shift in their persona. Mal became a big bag of d*cks. Alina got slightly less stupid and I could relate to her and her pull to the Darkling. The Darkling seemed to start to love. And Nikolai was introduced which made the series better.
Nikolai
Getting to see Nikolai

Also, let us talk about how I really thought we were going to get (AHH SPOILERS) that whole anti-hero arc we deserved. The darkness just never took ahold of Alina like I wanted. I mean seriously the ending was like on the precipice of this ultimate twist but nope, she just became a blonde. OOOOO scary!

Anyways, what I am trying to say is yes I liked the book. Could it have been better? YES! But, do I hate it? GOD NO!

It is definitely worth the read. But, like I said, it could have been better. Way better than the first book though!

As always, thanks for reading,

A Bookie

Star Rating: 3.8

Shadow and Bone: Book Review

Title: Shadow and Bone

Author: Leigh Bardugo

Series: Shaodw and Bone #1

Published September 2017 by Henry Holt and Co.

Hardcover

Genre: Fantasy, Adventure, Romance

Pages: 369

“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 his 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.” -Goodreads

My Review:

I repeat, this is about the book and not the show. I am currently reading all of the books to get to watch the show.

DONT JUDGE FOR ME BEING BEHIND

Anyways…

This book was pretty good.

I have read better and I have definitely read worse.

This is how it went for me:

Beginning: Eh pretty good

Half way through: Okay this going on forver

About the last 100 pages mark: YES I LOVE THIS

Last few chapters: Oh okay, back to eh

I think that it was a little slow to start, sped up, and then had a pretty dull ending. I think it built well for the second book, but like not well enough. I like to have a good structured ending so I kind of know what the next book will start like.

This book wrapped up the ending really nicely, but the only thing I can be sure of is that I will be seeing Alina and Mal on a boat or on new land. There was no destination. No end goals, nothing. I will have to see what happens I guess.

Alina was a really cool character. I knew she was going to discover that about herself, but the way Bardugo goes about that is a little lack luster. I think that she could have had Alina conscious. Because she was trying to save Mal, I think this would have been a good point to touch on during that certain event. I did not like that we had to see others recount the scene to her. I also think her character development where she learns to control the powers is also lack luster. I would have loved some more build up and some more action in that scene. The whole night of the ball thing near the end felt very rushed and then way to easily resolved. I think that the teacher lady could have dropped more hints and the Mal fight should not have been over and forgiven as fast as it was.

Anyways, Alina was a cool character but she was not fully developed in my eyes. She stayed pretty static throughout even though I think the idea was for her to become a new person.

Mal seems like a nice guy, but we know we do not like the nice guys on this blog. He seemed sweet, but he literally disappeared for half the story. That is not his fault but I do not think we got to see a lot of him to love him.

But lets talk about who we really love: The Darkling. Ah yes, I know we are not supposed to like him, but goddamn he is really enticing. I cannot say too much with out spoiling big things, but holy hell I think I am in love and I hate it.

Ravka was a really cool map and place to look/learn about. I think that the map could have had more details like the tiny towns that Alina passed through so that we would see where the journey took them the entire time. I have heard before that it is supposed to resemble a more Russian vibe than anything else so I took that into consideration when imagining everything.

I thought this was a pretty decent book. I would have liked to see more development. That will hopefully come in the second and third book. I am excited to see where Alina’s story goes and then watch the show.

As always, thanks for reading,

A Bookie

Star Rating: 3.5

Hmm…What will I be Reading?

For those that dont know, WWW is a meme and this meme was formerly hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm and revived on Taking on a World of Words. And it involves answering the 3 Ws!

I have gladly finished some books and am now reading new ones so here you go!

What am I currently reading?

A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas

Legendary by Stephanie Garber

What did I recently finish?

I have reviews for these coming out tomorrow and Friday respectively.

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

What am I reading next?

Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo

As always, thanks for reading,

A Bookie

Money was burning a hole in my wallet, so I bought books!

Hey y’all

I love posting book haul posts. Those are literally my favorite posts to read.

And that is totally why I spent another $100 on books.

Now, if my mom sees this, I am sorry but I promise you these were for a good cause.

That good cause is my bookshelf looking full.

Now, like I said last book haul, which sadly, was only a week ago, I bought Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom (which I got both in the mail two days ago. They are so pretty look!).

Pic of my copies of Six of crows and Crooked Kingdom

I also got really nice copies of the last 2 Caraval books but that is besides the point.

For this book haul I got 5 books, all hardcover, and one of those was a preorder.

So here they are:

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo

(You might notice that Siege and Storm is missing, but guess what I did not want to spend the astronomical amounts of money on that book because for some reason that book is the most expensive of the series)

From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout

A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire by Jennifer L. Armentrout

(I hope you guys are noticing a theme)

Preorder: The Crown of Gilded Bones by Jennifer L. Armentrout

AHHH my friend Sydney and Booktok made them sound so good! And because this last one literally comes out tomorrow, I thought I would buy all three. I might try to binge read all of them and give a three book review.

I bought all of them in hardcover, because I have been working hard these past few weeks on school and my now three jobs I have. I wanted a little something extra for myself.

Also, I might start my Bookstagram back up, I am not sure. So if I do I want some hardcovers to get my pictures popping.

Have I read any of these? No. Have a I read any Leigh Bardugo? No. Have I only read a total of three Jennifer L. Armentrout books and they weren’t of this genre? Yes. But do I care? NO.

I have bought books I disliked and have bought many books I like. Like I said in the last post, every book is an investment towards my huge library I hope to have one day.

Also, sorry mom for spending my money on books, but hey this did not go over my Entertainment budget. It was exactly the rest of my entertainment budget and some change.

Anyways, I hope you all enjoy. Let me know if you have bought anything recently!

As always, thanks for reading,

A Bookie