Shadow and Bone

 

Shadow and Bone
By: Leigh Bardugo

"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."

Shadow and Bone takes place in a fantasy world that was inspired by Russia.  The drink of choice is kvas, which is treated like an alcoholic beverage in the book, but is actually a fermented drink made from rye bread and usually contains little to no alcohol.

"Snowy evenings were spent in the domed hall, gathered around the tile ovens, drinking kvas and gorging ourselves on sweets."

I used this recipe from Natasha's Kitchen.  The taste actually did remind me of beer, albeit watery and quite a bit sweeter.  The flavor of the rye bread is definitely present and it's neat how the fermentation adds a light carbonation.
The snack accompanying our kvas is an assortment of foods that Alina grows tired of eating on her journey.

"On the way out of town, I stopped at a market stall to buy a supply of hard cheese, bread, and dried meat."
"We ate a meager dinner of hard cheese and stringy dried beef."
"If I never saw another piece of hard cheese again, it would be too soon."

Ok, ok, I think you get the inspiration! I'm guessing Alina's travel snacks did not look like my charcuterie board; otherwise, what on earth did she have to complain about?!
I used white cheddar and sharp cheddar, store-bought jerky, and these crusty French Bread Rolls from Dinner Then Dessert that I will definitely be making again.

Shadow and Bone: ★★★☆☆

I decided to read Shadow and Bone because the trailer for the show on Netflix looked good and I always like to read the book first.  The plot was intriguing and I enjoyed the unique Russian-inspired setting, but all in all, I think the book was just okay.  I didn't love the main character, Alina. In fact, she kind of annoyed me at times.  I don't want to judge her too harshly because this is a YA (young adult) novel and some angsty teenage vibes and immaturity are expected, but I'm really hoping to see some personal growth in the next book.

As I mentioned, the plot was intriguing enough that at some point I will be picking up the next book, Siege and Storm.  For now though, I'm going to pour a glass of kvas and cue up the show on Netflix!
Happy reading... or watching!