Review: Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

Alina is nothing special.  She's a skinny mapmaker and a mediocre one at that, but as she sees her best friend Mal being attacked by monsters, Alina unleashes a power she didn't know she had.  Suddenly, she has the attention of the King and even worse, the King's warlord, the mysterious Darkling.

At first she is disturbed by the Darkling's attention, but as she slowly begins to relax, she begins to trust him.  Unfortunately for Alina, the royals in theses types of novels are rarely as well meaning as they seem....

One thing I really enjoyed about this book was that was when Alina did come into her own beauty and strength, there was a definite reason for it - not one that involve learning how to dress, fix her hair properly or apply make up.  No one had to uncover her or show her how beautiful she could be.  All Alina had to do was accept herself as who and what she was and she was able to shine. It was a really powerful moment in the book and will send a great message to the teens (and adults) reading this book.

All in all is great book and highly recommend it for those of you who are fans of The Hunger Games or   Vampire Academy series will enjoys this book!