Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

HOLY SMOKIN' ASS.

That was... phenomenal! I can't even say... I'm rendered speechless by it's amazingness (is that even a word?).

Seriously though, I cannot believe this is Leigh Bardugo's debut novel. At all. The writing style, characters, the plot, the world building was almost perfect. It's terrifying how accomplished Bardugo is on her very first novel.

Shadow and Bone was that good until the point I stayed awake util 5 AM in the morning to finish the book entirely. I spent six hours reading and unable to stop myself at all. All I could think about was "I must finish this bloody brilliant book."

GO AND GET THE DAMN BOOK. YOU'LL MISS OUT A LOT.



...Cough. Anyways, I shall start my in-depth review now.

The writing style has never bothered me at all. I tend to skip some pages when I'm reading noves just because I can predict the outcome or it has become a chore for me. But this novel is one of those where I'm glued to every single page. If Bardugo hasn't become one of my favourite authors ever, she is now.

The characters are amazing in every single way. They are three-dimensional characters that have flaws. They are human and not completely faultless or perfect. But most of all, the grow throughout the book. Even the Darkling has flaws. Oh boy. The Darkling (cue dreamy sigh here). I'm warning you now because starting this point I'm gonna throw spoiler bricks at ya. (view spoiler)[Despite of him being the ultimate villain of the book, I can't stop loving and fawning over him. He's that amazing. I kept wishing in the back of my mind "Maybe he's being evil for a good reason, maybe the old crook of a woman is just a full bag of bullshit." ...But it wasn't. Even by the obvious by the end of the book, I STILL CAN'T HATE THE DARKLING. I want to kiss his dark and brooding ass. I sure wouldn't be a heroine of an epic book... I'll run off with the Darkling before the book even finishes. (hide spoiler)] OH GOD CAN I HAVE THE DARKLING???

...Cough, Well uh that's enough fangirling. Yeah, where were we? Oh. The world building. The world building is every bit rich and complex. Most of all, it is undeniably fresh. I don't know why, maybe because of its Russian culture that is rarely seen in a fantasy or dystopian world but the whole Unsea, Darkling, Gresha (sorry if I misspelled, I'm too lazy to google the correct spelling or skim through my book again) as well as the whole hierarchy and countries are every bit new to me. Refreshing. I didn't thought it was possible, but magic was reinvented. And now I'm craving on every bit of information of other countries' culture that is definitely going to be explained in the next book.

The plot is typical of an epic fantasy series, but the way the author executes is what makes the book every bit amazing. Unusual and definitely a satisfying read. By the time I finishes the book, I was pulling my hair craving for the next book in the series. Sadly, only in 2013. I was in awe. I felt the same wonder I felt every time I finishes a Harry Potter book, or the Hunger Games book. I regretted months ago when I saw this book in the bookstore and I almost bought it. But I didn't. What a really bad, bad decision I chose.

The book is really an epic ffantasy/adventure series.

WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?? GO GET IT YOU WOMAN(OR MAN).

Now let me go and run off with Darkling and have a steamy hot romance somewhere on earth. Pfft, I wish.

edit OKAY. I JUST FOUND OUT THERE'S GONNA BE A MOVIE. FROM THIS BOOK. PRODUCED BY HARRY POTTER PRODUCERS. HOW AWESOME IS THAT??? I HOPE IT'S GONNA BE ONE HELL OF A MOVIE.

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