Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

There is nothing earth shattering about Shadow and Bone. It's an easy to read book about decent characters in an interesting universe. Like most YA fantasy books, it has a few stereotypical qualities.

The universe that Leigh Bardugo built for this story is interesting and highly political. The political structure within books is nothing new. No matter how many different names are slapped on to different rankings and people, it is the same structure you see in many YA fantasy books. There are the monarchs, the religious figures, the higher military rankings, the magic users, and the military grunts. Shadow and Bone keeps the fantasy stereotype of the division between the magic and non magic users. The Grisha, users of the Small Science, are this universe's version of a magic user. While the story claims the Grisha abilities are purely based in science, it seems to me like the Grisha abilities are more based in magic and fantasy with a small touch of basic science thrown in. Perhaps the science aspect will be further elaborated in the later books of the trilogy. Parts of the Grisha way of living are a lavish mockery of the poor within the country of Ravka, while other parts are pure opulence; this gives an interesting insight on the true power of the Grisha within the political system. The monarchs sit pretty upon their throne while the top religious figure, called the Apparat, and the top Grisha, called the Darkling, control things behind the scene. Typical structure aside, I did find the universe and its quirks enjoyable.

As far as the writing style goes, it is an enjoyable read. Bardugo's writing is smooth, but a little on the basic side. I personally would enjoy a little more embellishment. I wish I could say the plot surprised me. It didn't. Even though the story was well written, I found much of it predictable. The parts that I didn't foresee weren't original enough for me; I found myself wishing for something a little more unpredictable. For example, the reveal of the antagonist was easy enough to spot based on opposite powers alone.

Many of the characters are commonly used stereotypes. I could dive into the whole cast of characters, but I will just touch on Alina, the protagonist, the Darkling, the antagonist, and Mal, Alina's love interest. Alina is very much the dull, unnoticeable girl who ends up with a fantastic power. She is relatable enough for me, her reactions to many things being realistic, but she also manages to annoy me to no end. Alina is very much the type of character to make stupid or oblivious decisions, but, somehow, things end up alright in the end. The Darkling is the tall, dark, and handsome villain stereotype. While not initially revealed to be the antagonist, he's pretty easy to spot at a conflicting force. Mal is the jock. Not the idiot kind, but the good at what he does kind. He's the good hearted, good looking guy that all the women want to get with. The "why is a guy like him with a girl like her?" character. The relationships between characters are also a bit stereotypical, but some twists have been made. I found parts of the relationship between Alina and Mal quite adorable. I also enjoyed the twisted nature of some of the interactions between Alina and the Darkling.

I would recommend this book as a nice, enjoyable YA fantasy read, just don't expect anything mind blowing.