This was a completely magical book and I was under it's spell!
The world that Leigh Bardugo has created was amazing. Everything was so vivid, the story line flowed good. It was well written. It had everything that I love in books; action, magic, adventure, an exotic location, some romance (no insta-love)!
The characters were amazing! I loved them all.

This book surprised me, I didn't know what to expect before I started it, but I'm sure glad I had the opportunity to read it. Buy the book when it comes to stores I know I will, why because it's pure awesomeness!
My only question is: When is the second book coming out?

Thanks so much to Henry Holt and Co. and NetGalley!

I don't think I've read something as strange and awesome as Shadow and Bone. I can honestly say that I have never read anything quite like it. I'm new to the high fantasy genre, and if others in this genre are a great and unique as this one than I will have to read them all. Shadow and Bone was extremely well done!

What a great way for Leigh Bardugo to debut! Will an imagination this vast and writing and story telling skills this great she will no doubt go far with her writing career. The world of the Grisha is epic, with the shadow-fold and the frightful creatures that hide in its darkness I was drawn in so far that I just didn't want to come out. To top it all off Grisha powers are pretty kick-ass, I wish I had some of those.

Alina started off as an okay character, but as she learnt about her powers and how to use them I grew to love her. Her powers are pretty neat as well, but I won't tell you what they are you will have to find out for yourself. I really loved her bestfriend Mal, especially as their friendship leaned towards something more towards the end. Even though the Darkling is the bad guy of the story I loved him as well he had some nice sensitive sides with Alina in the book.

As first I was a bit confused with the odd words used in Shadow and Bone to describe the world and didn't types of Grisha and what exactly their powers were. Eventually I did learn them, they are just words I have never seen before and their were so many I kept having to flip back to the Grisha guide at the front of the book. That guide was very helpful. Once you get used to and understand the world of Ravka, you will no doubt fall in love with all the characters, and the world of Grisha. This book is seriously amazing, and I need book two now. I'm am ecstatic to be apart of the blog tour coming up, look out for an interview with Leigh in mid June.

4.5/5 stars

I wonder if I would have liked this more if I’d read it when it was first published nine years ago. I have a feeling I would have. As it is, I really enjoyed reading it but found it very formulaic. It’s incredibly similar to so many other YA fantasy romances and there was nothing particularly special to me to make it stand out.

I wanted a lot more from the world building – it’s one of my favorite things about high fantasy and while this had a lot of potential, ultimately I was left wanting more. Overall I felt like everything just… lacked depth. I wanted more oomph, more excitement, more danger, more romance, more adventure. It was such a quick read and I kept waiting for the real story to begin. I imagine that might happen in the next two books but I feel like even in a trilogy each book should stand as a story on its own.

NOW, having said all that, I did find it really addictive and I’m interested to see what happens next. It was a fun, engaging read and I’m definitely still looking forward to reading the rest of the series! I honestly didn’t dislike this, I just didn’t love it the way I was hoping to based on all the rave reviews. I can also 100% understand why this was made into a TV series; I can see it being an absolute visual delight and I can’t wait to watch once I’ve finished the books.

By far one of my favorite fantasies that has come out! Leigh Bardugo is an amazing author who knows how to hook you into her world and characters! If you haven’t gone to the bookstore yet to grab it you must go now you will not regret it!

Rereading this book 7 years later and I still like it. And see how it influenced a lot of YA novels after it...

This book has everything you would want in a fantasy, a kick butt heroine, a broody villain and a gorgeous hero. Or are they? I really liked this world and it's magic system. It's a really fast read and makes you want to reach for the next book as soon as possible. There were enough twists and turns that made the pages fly. Definitely recommend for all readers!
Received copy from Netgalley for revew..(have since purchased my own copy)