There is nothing like reading a really good fantasy series to give you a break from the tedium and anxiety of living through a pandemic. Opening up another world, meeting new characters and learning how they confront their fears and anxiety can be both cathartic and enlightening! Bardugo provides an excellent case in point with her Shadow and Bone Trilogy which follows a young orphaned girl who becomes more powerful the she ever imagined, but must also learn that her power demands sacrifice and does not exempt her from sorrow and loss.

Alina Starkov, was just an expendable soldier fighting against the monsters that emerged from the Shadow Fold, a vast and unknowable wasteland that divided her country in half. But when her regiment was attacked her dormant powers were unleashed. Now celebrated as a hero, she is enrolled in the Grisha Academy a place where people with magical powers like hers are taught how to use them. The leader of the Grisha, known as the Darkling, is intrigued by Alina’s raw and vast power and begins to take an interest in her, because he believes that she might be capable of destroying the Shadow Fold and reuniting their divided kingdom.

Under the guidance of the Darkling, Alina begins to explore and use her powers, but her powers are unpredictable and there is even more danger to Alina and to those around her. Soon Alina, must decide whether she wants be a pawn in the machinations of the Darkling, or to find her own path and find the means to control her powers. As her capabilities grow and the urgency to find a way to evade the Darkling’s pursuit rises, Alina finds it more and more difficult to trust those around her, even Mal, her trusted and devoted friend. Isolated and alone, Alina must find a path that is true to what she believes even though it may not satisfy the hopes and dreams of others.

Bardugo is a great write and has created an intense and vey believable world of monsters and magical powers. Alina is an interesting character who unfolds before your eyes. Initially she is nothing and then suddenly she is a hero and has powers the she cannot begin to understand. Bardugo deftly shows us the complicated feelings and difficulty Alina experiences in that transition. Alina and Mal’s  relationship also undergoes significant challenges as Mal, who does not have magic sees the radical transformation it has on Alina. Alina’s journey from insignificance to hero, is not unusual but Bardugo, makes it unique and powerful!

Brenda’s Rating: ****(4 Out of 5 Stars)

Recommend this book to: Lauren, Marian and Sharon.

Book Study Worthy? Yes

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