Midnight Readers: Winter Warmers ~ Ruth Warburton picks The Gathering Dark

Thursday, 13 December 2012

Winter Warmers ~ Ruth Warburton picks The Gathering Dark

For the second day of the Winter Warmers Event we are so pleased to hand the blog over to Ruth Warburton!! We came across Ruth's book via The Cait Files blog where Bungle won a signed copy of her first book, A Witch in Winter, which she loved!!

We will now hand over to Ruth who is going to tell you why The Gathering Dark, also know as Shadow and Bone, was one of her favourite debute reads of 2012.

A fabulous wintry read, perfect for curling up by a roaring log fire in your best kefta (read the book!) The Gathering Dark is a lavish fantasy set in an alternate version of Russia called Ravka. It tells the story of orphan Alina, and her journey from Keramzim orphanage to the court of the Grisha, the all-powerful magical army of the King of Ravka. Along the way she loses her true friend Mal and meets the mysterious Darkling, but perhaps the biggest mystery may be Alina herself. The story is a delight but it's Bardugo's world-building that is the real star here, and I defy anyone to read this without wanting to jump on a plane to St Petersburg.

Goodreads says: 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.

We would like to say thank you to Ruth for taking time out of her busy schedule and joing us on the blog today, we are very grateful!! We urge you to find out more about both authors by folloing the links below.