Currently Reading: Shadow and Bone (Grisha Trilogy #1)
And by "currently reading" I mean "finished in a day," because dude this book is fantastic. Imagine Crown Duel, mashed up with Harry Potter, set within a Russian fairy tale, and you'll get something close to Leigh Bardugo's Shadow and Bone.
Summary: The Kingdom of Ravka is divided by a swath of darkness, the Unsea--an uncrossable strip of dead land populated by terrors that threaten the health of the country. The Grisha--elite practioners of the "Small Science" ("magic" in this world)--and the King's soldiers have tried to combat this threat for centuries. Little progress has been made in eliminating the darkness, until the orphan Alina Starkov uncovers a force within herself that may be the key to destroying the Unsea altogether. Recruited by the Darkling, the enigmatic leader of the Grisha, Alina must leave her childhood friend Mal behind to join the Grisha court and study the Small Science to unlock the power that may save the Kingdom. There she learns the truth of her abilities--and the dark political truths of the the Grisha, the Darkling, and the abomination scarring the land.
Reasons you should read it:
Alina is intelligent and a badass, but is also HUMAN and is totes someone you'd want to hang out with (and someone you'd want to have your back).
Mal Orestev is the capable, strong, smokin' hot best friend and is handy with a bow (I HAVE A THING FOR ARCHERS OKAY).
The Darkling - dark, seductive, mysterious, kind of terrifying, and a powerful thing of beauty, this dude essentially makes this gif a necessary thing:
Imagine instead of going to Hogwarts to practice magic, you go to the court of a Russian palace and wear silk robes and learn to control the elements and take badass unarmed combat lessons on the side.
Did I mention the Darkling?
It is the the Russian influence, however, that seems to set this fantasy apart and represents one of the most compelling elements of the books--especially since epic fantasy so often takes place in a pseudo-Medieval-Europe setting. Ravka is some mix of a fantastical, old Russia, and Soviet-era politics (or at least the imminent threat of them). There's a Rasputin-esque priest in service to the crown; the country has been in a constant military state for a century; and set against a backdrop of fascist ideologies, the Unsea calls to mind the the Iron Curtain.
What I'm saying is GO READ IT, because it's totally captivating. Magic, romance, courtly intrigue, and state politics make it an awesomely compelling read. And, last but not least--and intentional or not--"the Darkling" is a total Keats shoutout, which I am ALWAYS in favor of.
Darkling I listen; and, for many a time I have been half in love with easeful Death, Call'd him soft names in many a mused rhyme, To take into the air my quiet breath; Now more than ever seems it rich to die, To cease upon the midnight with no pain, While thou art pouring forth thy soul abroad In such an ecstasy! Still wouldst thou sing, and I have ears in vain-- To thy high requiem become a sod. (John Keats, "Ode to a Nightingale", ll. 51-60)
