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Review

This is the follow up to the hauntingly magical Shadow and Bone. As the middle book of the trilogy it brings some big twists and turns to the story, and was an enthralling read from start to finish.

Note – This review will contain spoilers for book 1, so read ahead at your own peril.

The book starts with Alina and Mal still on the run from the Darkling and the horrors that took place on the Fold. When unexpected events bring them back to Ravka, Alina finds herself once again thrown very reluctantly into the limelight as the Sun Summoner. But this time she wields even more power and soon begins to realise her importance in the events that are playing out, and exactly what that means not only for her future, but the future of her entire country.

Alina is a bit of a hardass in this book, and I really loved that. She seems wise beyond her years, and I admired her strength and drive to do the right thing. I could also understand her struggle to combine this new part of her life with her old life and who she always thought she would be – particularly when it comes to Mal. Awesome as always, Mal is fully supportive of Alina and even though he is also struggling to adapt to his new reality, he is by her side every step of the way. But they are both faced with situations they never anticipated, and with the Darkling never too far away and with their responsibilities pulling them apart, there is a little bit of romantic teen angst added to the story.

The romance is actually minor factor in this series. It’s there, and there’s even a bit of a love triangle/square thing hinted at, but it definitely takes a backseat to the action, fantasy and political manoeuvrings going on.

The Darkling remains an enigmatic, creepily sinister presence, but the highlight of this book for me was the introduction of Nikolai. A massive game changer in the series, I absolutely adore him! Intelligent, arrogant, determined and endlessly sarcastic, he brings so much lightness to the story, but also a lot of depth, and some badassery. I thought his introduction to the story was absolutely epic and his interactions with the other characters are fabulous. I honestly loved every moment with him and can’t wait to see how things will develop for him in the next book.

As I said, there are some big twists in this book, and I love the direction that the story is taking. I was kept guessing right up until the action-packed, kickass ending, and am still not sure how it’s all going to play out. The ending has some big shocks and is a bit of a cliffy, leaving us at a very exciting starting point for the big finish. Bring it on!

4 stars.

Shadow and Bone