Reviews with content warning for Genocide - Shadow and Bone

Reviews tagging 'Genocide'

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

39 reviews

casdelvo's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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the_paperbackprincess's review

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

"You cannot claim what was not given to you. The stag chose me."-Okay, this is technically a quote from the show but it's such a good line.

I first read this book back in 2020 and I didn't remember much before I started rereading it. However, when I started, I was immediately taken back to the first time I read it and how much I enjoyed it.

Alina's growth is my favourite part of this book. Seeing her being pushed and tested and still coming out on top was so amazing to me, especially because it shows how much she's learnt from training and how much she's grown from the start. Even when the rug was pulled out from under her feet and she had to adapt to a new reality, she still fought (she is a soldier after all).

I love how this book ends off and how it shows that even though Alina has learnt a lot and she knows how to use her power, it's not the end of her growth period. There are still things about herself and about her relationships that she needs to figure out now that almost all of the pieces have been revealed.

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jinx_mars's review

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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shaylashaylala's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

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perhappiness's review against another edition

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adventurous fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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onefineelephant's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

7/10. I think the magic system and even the political system are interesting. However, I usually hate love triangles and this is no exception. I typically love the friends-to-lovers trope but Mal kind of sucks at the beginning. Like, who would sleep with a ton of girls when you're actually in love with your best friend the whole time?? I like Mal more by the end. Also, them confessing their feelings wasn't satisfying at all and fell kind of flat. I think that the character of the Darkling is super fascinating and complex, which I love. I am not a fan of Alina which is really unfortunate because she's the main character - but this is because she is TOO MUCH of a main character. She just wants to fit in when she clearly is unique, she is a peasant in high society, she only has one friend and doesn't get along with other girls (aka she's not like other girls), and she won't kill when it is absolutely necessary. The dialogue is kind of so bad that it's good. Like it's very bad but most of the time it made me laugh because of how bad it is instead of making me say "this is stupid." The ending was awful, in my opinion. I know there are more books in the series but the events of the last 50 pages made me say "what the f is this?" about 8 times.

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