Her confidence and belief in herself seemingly rests upon his approval of others and as a special snowflake, this slowly builds. The first half of the book depicts a vapid court life of Grisha attending dances, improving their looks using magic and Alina being drawn into the Darkling’s irresistible magnetism. Alina starts off as a solider but when she gets captured, she somehow becomes very mellow and absorbed in Grisha culture.

The world of Grisha as the magical elite being protected by the mysterious and formidable Darkling was unique and fascinating. Not being able to place half the terms threw me off from engaging with the book. What resulted during the first half of the book was frustration over the lack of a glossary. Lots of Russian terms are thrown in without explanation, interchanged with some completely new ones such as the corporalaki and the Volcra. Shadow and Bone is another book that has been raved about in the blogosphere, so I picked it up with high expectations. The dark fantasy storyline was intriguing and I was swept up in the world of The Grisha, but there were some things that affected my enjoyment. But what of Mal, Alina's childhood best friend? As Alina contemplates her dazzling new future, why can't she ever quite forget him? If Alina is to fulfil her destiny, she must discover how to unlock her gift and face up to her dangerous attraction to him. Could she be the key to unravelling the dark fabric of the Shadow Fold and setting Ravka free? The Darkling, a creature of seductive charm and terrifying power, leader of the Grisha. Alina, a pale, lonely orphan, discovers a unique power that thrusts her into the lavish world of the kingdom's magical elite - the Grisha. The Shadow Fold, a swathe of impenetrable darkness, crawling with monsters that feast on human flesh, is slowly destroying the once-great nation of Ravka. My video below summarises my thoughts on the Grisha Trilogy as well!Īmazon | Book Depository | Publisher | Angus & Robertson | Booktopia Here’s my thoughts on each of the books, and I’ll answer the question at the end. For those of you in the same boat – you may be wondering whether you should read the original trilogy before delving into the next book. Before that, I had only read the first book about 4 years ago, along with my beloved Six of Crows duology. I binge read the whole Shadow and Bone trilogy in preparation for the release of King of Scars next week, which is one of our most highly anticipated books of the year.

Grisha book