Shadow and Bone (Review)

Book: Shadow and Bone
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 358
My Rating: 5 of 5 stars

Blurb:

Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one lonely refugee.

Alina Starkov has never been good at anything. But when her regiment is attacked on the Fold and her best friend is brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power that saves his life—a power that could be the key to setting her war-ravaged country free. Wrenched from everything she knows, Alina is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling.

Yet nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. With darkness looming and an entire kingdom depending on her untamed power, Alina will have to confront the secrets of the Grisha…and the secrets of her heart.

Oh My God! I loved this book. Truthfully, I had seen everybody talking about it on goodreads but I didn't check it out until recently. While reading it I could not believe that this was the author's first novel.

I loved the characters, from Alina to Mal and I have to admit I liked The Darkling in the beginning. They all developed beautifully and were realistic, even though some of them had "powers", they all had flaws.

The world that Leigh Bardugo created was simply magnificent. It was like Russia but at the same time it really wasn't Russia. I think this land has the ability to rival Narnia, that is how good it truly is.

This was one of those books that I couldn't read fast enough but at the same time dreaded ending. I will definitely be purchasing it since I checked it out of the library and will also be buying the sequel. Too bad I have to wait forever for it to come out!

If you haven't read this book yet you really should. It is simply amazing and it is written beautifully.

Bad Girls Don't Die (Review)

Book: Bad Girls Don't Die
Author: Katie Alender
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 346
My Rating: 4 of 5 stars

Blurb:

Alexis thought she led a typically dysfunctional high school existence. Dysfunctional like her parents' marriage; her doll-crazy twelve-year-old sister, Kasey; and even her own anti-social, anti-cheerleader attitude. When a family fight results in some tearful sisterly bonding, Alexis realizes that her life is creeping from dysfunction into danger. Kasey is acting stranger than ever: her blue eyes go green sometimes; she uses old-fashioned language; and she even loses track of chunks of time, claiming to know nothing about her strange behavior. Their old house is changing, too. Doors open and close by themselves; water boils on the unlit stove; and an unplugged air conditioner turns the house cold enough to see their breath in.
Alexis wants to think that it's all in her head, but soon, what she liked to think of as silly parlor tricks are becoming life-threatening--to her, her family, and to her budding relationship with the class president. Alexis knows she's the only person who can stop Kasey -- but what if that green-eyed girl isn't even Kasey anymore?

Going into it, I really didn't expect the book to be too good. Boy was I wrong. I loved how creepy this book was! It left me wondering if maybe my sibling would become obsessed with dolls and turn into a possessed monster. This book really brought the creepy factor without being gory or too horror-y. And come on, Alexis' sister was just plain scary. I must admit I read it because it was a ghost story, I am a sucker for them.

There were some things that bothered me, how come Alexis' parents didn't realize something strange was happening to their youngest daughter? If I was a parent I think I would notice something like that right away.  Also the dialogue was awkward, it just didn't seem as realistic as it could have been. But it was short and the author kept it simple so that was what saved it for me.

Overall, I did like this story, it was a fun read that kept me up turning the pages well into the night just so I could find out what happened next. I would recommend this to people who are looking for those who like ghost stories and are looking for a quick easy read.