Author: Leigh Bardugo
Pages: 358
Publisher: Henry Holt & Company
Goodreads Rating: 4.05 stars
Published: June 5th, 2012
Source: Paperback/bought
Description:
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.
My Thoughts:
I was a little blindsided by this book. Honestly, at first I had a little trouble getting sucked into it {books that seem to just be about fantasy war don't tend to hold my attention}. However, I needed a break between a a couple books in the same genre, and this was the only one I had with me on vacation. Plus, I was doing a read-along with a group of bookstagrammers, so I thought it would be the perfect time to give this trilogy a try. I'm so, so glad I joined that read-along!
Alina is very much what you would imagine an impoverished apprentice mapmaker might be like. Skinny, dark circles under her eyes, and none of the boys or men she travels with give her a second look, especially her friend Mal, whom she's loved almost as long as they've known each other. But they're ripped apart when a power she doesn't even know she has comes roaring to life. Taken to the Darkling and to be trained in the Grisha ways, Alina finds herself floundering in this unknown world, with few friends and many enemies.
Leigh Bardugo has an amazing writing style and it seems like a knack for getting the reader to become entirely immersed in the worlds she creates. It did take me a little bit to get into the book, but once I did, I was hooked! I needed to know more about Alina, how her power worked, who the Darkling even is {that is a whole can of worms that is barely even opened yet} and what the bleep was going to happen. This books leaves the reader with more questions than answers, but I guess that's okay considering it's the first in a trilogy. I can't wait to get my hands on the next one!
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