Book #192 of 2017:
Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo (Grisha #1)
This is the first novel in Leigh Bardugo’s Grisha trilogy, a series I’m reading after (and on the strength of) the author’s Six of Crows and its sequel Crooked Kingdom. Those books share a world with this series and take place after it, but are otherwise unconnected… and so far, I like them a lot better. Shadow and Bone isn’t bad, but the heroine is too passive for my tastes and I don’t think Bardugo builds up a particular other character enough for certain twists to land with much impact. The book ends on a promising upswing for the remainder of the trilogy, but it’s not a good sign when my main takeaway from a story is a slightly greater understanding of the background geopolitics in its semi-sequel.
★★★☆☆
The Lesser Joke: book reviews and more 
Leave a comment