The official website for Damini Kane's writing
I inhaled this book over a long weekend and I’m currently suffering a book hangover. I can’t stop thinking about this novel, and don’t intend to any time soon. Here’s my spoiler-free review.
Despite myself, I really enjoyed Shadow and Bone
What I found fascinating about this book (aside from everything else, because it’s brilliant), was the three personalities of the main character.
It’s more likely that the VP in your company is a “psychopath” than some doe-eyed teenage boy in your neighbourhood.
If we were living at the beginning of an SFF novel, this would be the ideal time for the Chosen One hero to reveal themselves and save the day.
While you may think this is a novel about political intrigue, it’s actually more of a love story.
Have you ever noticed there’s no male equivalent to this trope? There’s no Strong Male Character? Of course not, it is always assumed that men are strong.
What struck me the most about this book is the tone. In this post, I wanted to examine how the tone influences the characters and how that enhances the reading experience.
This is the kind of novel I’ll reread on a bad day for many years to come. It’s rare to find books that comfort you like that. And yet–and yet, there’s something I can’t reconcile with: their incredible privilege.
Damini Kane 