Lest you think my demi-employment has been all cerebral movies and nonfiction books bent on edification, I have to admit to something: I love young adult fiction. I mean, technically I am still a young adult so that's cool and all, but really - I love reading about people and places that tickle the imagination, and books that blatantly tug on the heartstrings.
Leigh Bardugo's Grisha trilogy (Shadow and Bone, Siege and Storm, and Ruin and Rising) takes place in a world not entirely unlike our own. Ravka, the kingdom where the trilogy is set, is roughly based on Imperial Russia just before the February Revolution, with the attendant issues of traditionalism vs modernization, a shadowy advisor to the queen who may not have the kingdom's best interest in mind, and a large dark unsea that has split the kingdom in half that threatens to plunge all of Ravka into eternal night and damnation. Wait, that last part is new. So is the "little science" aka Magic that the Grisha use...
Anyway, I highly recommend this book because it focuses on an unlikely heroine, subverts the love triangle trope of YA fiction whenever it can, and shows true friendship between many of the characters. It's a bit steampunk as well, which is cool. There's also an adorable kitten in the third book, and since I'm allergic to cats, I love them all (unless they mess with Ellie).
Rating: one of the most enjoyably written and fully realized YA series I have ever read - don't miss the four ebooks that expand the story by recounting the fairy tales of Ravka. Best read in published order so you get the references in the books!
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