Mommy Read That! Review of the Grisha Trilogy, Books 1 and 2

So I know I'm kind of cheating by writing a book review, but I've been working on another cake post for 2 weeks and it's coming, but slowly, and I needed a break, so, yeah, book review! And of course, it is YA, although it is one of those YA books that I am not sure just how young the adult should be to read it.

Books 1 and 2 of the Grisha Trilogy by Leigh Bardugo

 and 

And because I am nice, I am going to provide you with quickie review, in case you just want to know if you'd even be interested before wading through my rambling.

One-sentence summary

It's like Harry Potter crossed with the Hunger Games, set during the Bolshevik Revolution.

Disclaimers*

• There are two criteria I have for liking a book: It must have an interesting plot or be well written, extra points for both!
• I like trashy books. I don't necessarily mean "50 Shades of Grey" trashy, although I have read that masterpiece of misogynist porn modern love as told through erotica, you just won't see a review of it here. Okay, maybe you will, here goes: Save your money, people. There, all done!

On with the show

I think I can endorse the Grisha series (the first two books, anyway) for both interesting plot and decent writing. With some reservations, of course. The prose isn't flowery or moving or anything, but it is dramatic and clean and throws in random Russian words, which I really like, because I took Russian for two years in college, and while I can't speak it or really understand it, I can pick out the random phrase (phonetically spelled, of course,"Oo menya nyest kaniga" means "I have a book." Technically, it means "At me there exists a book." Thank you, communism!). It makes me feel smarter.
The plot is absorbing, if somewhat familiar in the genre. These novels are YA fantasy, but thankfully free of werewolves or vampires. They are chock-full of magic and monsters, though, which is great if what you're looking for is escapism.

The basic premise is not unfamiliar: an ordinary orphan girl, Alina, and her life-long friend and fellow orphan, Mal... 

...are scraping by as conscripts in the First Army of what is essentially a feudal society, with the "haves" being the King, of course, and his court, and also, the Darkling, who commands the Second Army. This army is comprised of Grisha, who are basically wizards whose magic seems to lie mostly in controlling certain elements. Everybody else is a "have-not." That includes the entire First Army.
The big "bad" in the first book is an entity called "the Fold," which is this enormous gash of a wasteland that sprung to life a century ago as a result of the former Darkling using some kind of bad ju-ju and is full of man-eating versions of these guys:

The first real "action" in the book is when Alina, a cartographer, and Mal, a tracker, have to cross the Fold. They know going in that not everyone will make it, but there's no choice, and they have a few flame-thrower Grisha to help them with the beasties.
I don't think I'm spoiling anything by telling you that not all goes smoothly on this journey, and just when it looks like our heros are done for, something.Magical.Happens.

I'll stop there. The rest is up to you to read. There are epic quests, adventures, kidnappings, ships, gruesome deaths and maimings, smooches, coups, and fun little wisecracks. I will say that the first book is better than the second in terms of plot tightness, but the second is no freaking joke at the end. The middle drags a bit, mostly with relationship and political stuff, but the end is kind of brave of the author, I think. It ain't pretty, in many ways. But I'm interested in seeing where #3 takes us. In other words, if you hated books 2 and 3 of the Hunger Games, well, you've been through this before.

What I liked 

I really enjoyed the wintry, gothic feel of these books, and I liked the world, although I wish there'd been a little more focus on the mechanics and training of the Grisha, and a little more about the history of Ravka.  In this arena, Harry Potter, it ain't.

What I didn't like

There's, like, 3 love interests. But not really. It's lame. Also, Alina is kind of Katniss-like in her grouchiness, although noone really has to twist her arm to get her to step up to the hero plate. Still, there are moments when I had to remind myself of why I was supposed to like her.

What I am on the fence about

Alina and Mal's relationship. In the beginning, it's kind of like this:

But without this:

And eventually is also like this:

What I liked about it, though, was that the real problem in the relationship is not another character (not really, although there are a few thrown in there) or even that Alina is *super special* and Mal isn't, it's the way the world treats those two roles, and the ideologies that the two of them grew up with that they can't quite shake. And also, they are young and stupid. I say this with absolutely humility - I was the former once, and am the latter frequently.

All done

So there you have it! A good couple of reads for the beach or the lake or staying up late into the night. And maybe next summer we can all read the thrilling conclusion, Ruin and Rising. I hope we find out a lot more about Alina's early history, why she was orphaned, why the Grisha Screening Committee totally failed, if Mal has super powers, and if Alina ever gets her hair fixed. Ah, the anticipation.

*Disclaimers subject to change at any time. I have actually read and enjoyed books just as trashy as 50 Shades, but probably with fewer sex toys.