Tm, pilot-in-training on the Rocinante & cake yum!'s Reviews > Shadow and Bone

** spoiler alert ** Eh….Not too bad, I say, as I sail ever closer to the distant shores of literature, completing my summer of YA.

3 antlered sandskiffs.
⭐️🦌⭐️⛵️⭐️

(Mildest of spoilers ahead.)

This is a steady, likable and very okay book about a young magical, orphaned (improbable as that may seem for the genre) heroine discovering her power in a lavish little palace of magical training. First she turns down a black cloak, and would rather wear the blue cloak, but then later she wears the black cloak, and then I think the blue cloak again. Along the way she also learns hand to hand combat, with discoid mirror gloves (I know, that was weird for me too) and struggles to liberate her edisonian magic. She eats in a cafeteria Hogwarts style; both her friends and her frenemies are stunningly beautiful. As is requisite in all YA fantasy, she has an excellent giant bathtub.

I felt that she could have used an animal friend, or a pet or some other type of furred character to assist with her exploits and adventures. Just like a little feral kitty cat or similar would’ve made her (our) long days more interesting.

I was relieved to find that I did not have to put up (much) with the as ever inappropriate love story between a teenager and a centenarian, and that it wasn’t insta-love either. Just regular, you know, orphan stuff.

But really though. Why is it ever appropriate for these young women/teens to fall in love with incredibly old magic dudes/fae/vampires/warlocks? I mean we know it wouldn’t be appropriate for them to date a 35-year-old. When does it get cool? 55 years old? 75 years old? 95 years old? Well, it seems that right at around 120 years old is when it’s sexy for a teen to date an older person again. Then voila: Rhys or a Cullen or a Darkling. Who are, I’m only a little ashamed but very confused to admit, pretty sexy creatures. I mean, talons right? But I digress.

I liked the book. I did prefer our protagonist when she was frail and sickly - I thought that was a much more interesting trait for a powerful magical character to have than, sigh, beauty, but ok. I nevertheless stuck with her through to the end. The world building was moderate. This Russian type world was nothing compared to Bear & Nightingale, but ‘twas nice to visit that neck of the woods again.

Overall, solid rating for solid writing, with occasional very insightful moments.

⭐️🦌⭐️🦌⭐️