Okay, so it’s not actually about magical Russian saints, but I’m currently re-reading Shadow and Bone and am looking forward to reading the second book Siege and Storm, both by the incomparable Leigh Bardugo.
Shadow and Bone follows a heroine that doesn’t believe she has much heroic in her in the beginning. She knows she’s different and she doesn’t want it. Alina is madly in love with her long-time friend Mal. Both were raised as orphans and both joined the military in order to be useful to the world. But where Mal turns heads and makes her jealous (even inadvertently) through the looks he gets from the fairer sex, Alina herself hasn’t made many waves. She’s always been seen as sickly and frail. There were really only a few things that seemed to make her stand out -- her love of maps, Mal’s inexplicable attention to her, and this secret. And once the secret is out, the biggest powers in the world want her -- or want her dead.
She’s the Sun Summoner. The contrast to the Darkling. The one who is meant to free her people from the shadow they’ve lived under for so long. And quite possibly the most powerful magic user -- called Grisha in her world -- alive. Possibly even more than the Darkling himself.
It’s a great book and really well written. The world is rich and detailed, like a jeweled box or a faberge egg. The character, while potentially powerful, has been her own block for so long that between being a fish out of water, you also feel her powerlessness in a situation that she is new to. I love Alina. She dragged me along her story the first time -- and again now. She has her flaws, but I can only imagine she’ll get better with time. And the fact that the setting feels very “Russian fairytale” to me is very awesome.
I recommend this book with a white russian or a straight-up vodka, because the winters are long and cold in the north. It’s always good to have something to keep you warm. And if neither of those is your taste, a cup of tea. Russian Caravan, of course.
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