“You betrayed me.” (The Darkling to Alina)

OK, Darkling, if you’re trying to make me choke on my tea, you’ve succeeded.

HOW GOOD IS IT?

7/10

ABOUT THE BOOK

Author: Leigh Bardugo

Genre: Fantasy

BASICALLY

Alina works in the army as a mapmaker. One day, as her team is attacked by Volcra – super ruthless and creepy creatures – during a trip along a dangerous border, people see her release sunlight-like power that chases the monsters away.

As Alina has no idea about her own power, she is taken to the Darkling, a century-old leader of the magic casters in the country. He informs Alina that he would like to wear matching clothes with her her power might be the answer to their country’s problem and puts her in training.

Alina’s adventure begins here as she starts school, meets new people, and unveils secrets (not on her own, but they do get unveiled).

SO

Shadow and Bones was an exciting read. Taking place in an 18th-century Russian-inspired country, the world building is unique, maybe not on the level of The Mirror Visitor, but it’s certainly on a league of its own.

Alina is not annoying, and I believe that already makes her better than a lot of YA’s heroines nowadays. I will say that she does spend way too much time pining for this one guy who is impossible to relate to (which I will explain below) while her new life is ten times more exciting.

Alina, as a heroine with the key to unimaginable power, is also quite a inactive. She mostly does what she is told and makes too few decisions on her own. If you read this book as a standalone, you might not like Alina. But keeping in mind that this is the first book of a trilogy, we can say that she still has time to develop. At least I hope that she will.

What is relatable about Alina, though, is the way she finds the power within herself and activates it. It reinforces the message that if you actually appreciate your skill, you can get better at it.

The story is not without YA cliches: a dark, brooding guy who ruffles his own hair and smirks way too many times; an ordinary, easily manipulated female lead who is the chosen one; etc. But overall, the plot is engaging enough and quick to resolve.

Some parts drag but revelations that follow usually make up for it.

SPOILER THOUGHTS

The Darkling can totally crack you up. A brilliant villain – there’s no doubt about it. He is ruthless and has his eyes on the goal until the end. There are some instances where his manners don’t exactly match with the fact that he’s more than a hundred years old; and sometimes he just talks like a 17-year-old for some reason. But maybe… that is all part of his plan to manipulate Alina?

And of course, every time Alina mentions Mal, we get a reaction from the Darkling that just makes us think “OK, this guy’s got issues”. There’s definitely some inner turmoil going on behind his villainous façade and the guy definitely kisses Alina more times than he should, even if it’s only for the plan.

Mal, Mal, Mal – of all the good things in this book, Mal is not one of them.

A good-looking soldier who is fawned over by a lot of girls, even heavenly beautiful Grisha girls.

Alina spends a good chunk of the book stating her love for Mal, sulking in misery when Mal does not reply to her letters. In the end, Alina even chooses to save Mal at the expense of a lot of people. But when we actually get to see Mal and see them spend time together, I seriously don’t get why she bothers.

This is due to the fact that Mal barely has any personality beside being Alina’s love interest. Even their love is not given the proper time to develop; we are just supposed to take Alina’s word for it.

All right, I admit it, they are adorable in the Before and After chapters; but that’s about it. In fact, it would have been better if Mal and Alina had remained friends like they are in those chapters. We could completely eliminate the “romance” and the story would stay the same.

So yes, the Darkling is evil, David is cold, Botkin and Baghra are mean, Genya keeps secrets, but I would rather see Alina spend time with any of them than with Mal because they each offers something unique to the story and shapes Alina’s development.

Why couldn’t Alina kill the stag? Yes, I get it that a conventional hero/heroine is supposed to cuddle animals and all that, but this seems inconsistent with Alina’s background. She is not a princess who is lost in the wild for the first time, she has known the discipline of the army, she has seen brutality even before meeting the Darkling; and if the stag’s life can stop evil and save a lot of lives, why… not?

All being said, I do appreciate how the stag serves as a reminder to Alina of the good in her and how it can be rewarding.

END OF SPOILERS

BOTTOM LINE

I am all for reading the next book to see how far the Darkling will go about the whole matching outfits thing.